Skip Navigation
Remote View
games @hexbear.net
notthenameiwant [he/him] @hexbear.net
Hexbear Recommends

What are the best 2D Platformers ever made?

Decades:

70s

80s

90s

00s

10s

Genres:

First Person Shooters

We have finally entered a different paradigm. This part of the series will be primarily focusing on genres. So far I have [RTS, Turn based RPG, Action RPG, Board Game, Arcade Game, third person shooter, MMO, Action, 4X (Civilization-like), 3D Platformer, Roguelike, Dungeon Crawler, Card Game, Point and click, Indie, Text dungeon, Stealth, Rhythm, Horror, Metroidvania, Survival, Sandbox, City Builder, Adventure, Simulation, Puzzle, Bullet Hell, Fighting, MOBA, Real Time Tactics, Visual Novel, Racing, Tower Defense, Sports, Idle, Flash, Trivia, and Casual] as available genres. Let me know if I missed something, and I will try to get it added.

This is eventually all going to get compiled into one megathread for people who want gaming recommendations from Chapos specifically. Other consoles and genres will come in sporadic subsequent threads. Please contribute to previous threads if you missed them. This is meant to be an exhaustive list.

Expanding on your choice(s) is definitely a plus. Not everyone knows about or has played non-mainstream titles.

49 comments

  • I'm gonna go with Hollow Knight and Celeste. I know they're popular, but they're popular for a reason! They're both so good. They both have amazing soundtracks, amazing stories, and amazing gameplay. They also both have gameplay that complements their stories beautifully. Celeste's message of being determined to succeed even when doing seemingly impossible tasks works amazingly with a super hard precision platformer. And Hollow Knight's story about discovering what the hell is happening in this old, run-down kingdom full of bugs (and then saving the kingdom in one of several ways) works exceptionally well with its exploration-heavy gameplay and secrets hidden around every corner.

    Also, neither of them is shy about hiding story behind incredibly difficult gameplay. What I'm saying is there is a lot of work that the dev teams did that will only ever be seen by determined players. And yet if you're a less-determined, more "casual" player who only does the main, easier content, you likely won't feel super left out. It's a delicate balance and one I feel both games pull off extremely well.

    They also are both incredibly speedrun-friendly, if you're into that. Oh, and the background never overwhelms the foreground and it's always clear what will kill you and where you can land safely, unlike some other platformers I've played. (I'm looking at you, Ori and the Blind Forest.)

  • I second the people saying Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight. I just played through both these games in quarantine and they've both stuck with me for months after playing them. They both have great platforming with very tight controls that make everything feel possible. It's amazing how much content has been added to shovel knight since I first bought it and Hollow Knight has a huge world for an entirely hand drawn game.

  • While hardly the "Best" and hardly that big or comprehensive, Clarence's Big Chance is a light hearted, silly little platformer that I quite enjoy. It's a good 2 hour flash game and might be worth a bit of your time if you like platformers

49 comments