Best games
Best Platformer games of 2021
The 17 best Platformer games released in 2021, ranked from 3,909 critic and player ratings.
The best Platformer game of 2021 is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, with a critic score of 91/100 — updated August 2026.
01
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Go dimension-hopping with Ratchet and Clank as they take on an evil emperor from another reality. Jump between action-packed worlds and beyond at mind-blowing speeds, complete with dazzling visuals and an insane arsenal.
91
/100
02
Tails of Iron
Tails of Iron is an Adventure RPG-lite game set in a charming and brutal world. Playing as Redgi the Rat, you are heir to the throne when your kingdom is raided by the Iron Frog. Players face challenging, tactical and stunning combat encounters in order to rebuild the Rat Kingdom.
90
/100
03
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
89
/100
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Go dimension-hopping with Ratchet and Clank as they take on an evil emperor from another reality. Jump between action-packed worlds and beyond at mind-blowing speeds, complete with dazzling visuals and an insane arsenal.
91
/100
02
Tails of Iron
Tails of Iron is an Adventure RPG-lite game set in a charming and brutal world. Playing as Redgi the Rat, you are heir to the throne when your kingdom is raided by the Iron Frog. Players face challenging, tactical and stunning combat encounters in order to rebuild the Rat Kingdom.
90
/100
03
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
89
/100
04
B
It Takes Two
Embark on the craziest journey of your life in It Takes Two, a genre-bending platform adventure created purely for co-op. Invite a friend to join for free with Friend’s Pass and work together across a huge variety of gleefully disruptive gameplay challenges. Play as the clashing couple Cody and May, two humans turned into dolls by a magic spell. Together, trapped in a fantastical world where the unpredictable hides around every corner, they are reluctantly challenged with saving their fractured relationship.
88
/100
05
Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 is a platform-adventure game developed by Double Fine Productions and released in 2021. It continues the story of Razputin “Raz” Aquato, a young psychic who joins the international psychic espionage agency known as the Psychonauts. Gameplay combines platforming, exploration, and combat with psychic abilities such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mental connection. Players journey through imaginative levels set inside characters’ minds, each reflecting their personalities and struggles.
87
/100
06
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
It is a metroidvania game that the player will play as a rabbit who can manipulate the big mech-arm on his back, exploring in a vivid diesel punk world and fighting against the evil robot army. There will be a vast world map for the player to explore to meet with friend NPCs and encounter enemies, discover items and weapons and seek for the answers for the secrets hidden behind.
87
/100
07
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
86
/100
08
Metroid Dread
Join intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran in her first new 2D Metroid story in 19 years. Samus’ story continues after the events of the Metroid Fusion game when she descends upon planet ZDR to investigate a mysterious transmission sent to the Galactic Federation. The remote planet has become overrun by vicious alien lifeforms and chilling mechanical menaces. Samus is more agile and capable than ever, but can she overcome the inhuman threat stalking the depths of ZDR?
84
/100
09
Little Nightmares II
82
/100
10
Skul: The Hero Slayer
Skul: The Hero Slayer is an action-platformer that boasts rogue-like features such as everchanging and challenging maps. It will keep you on your toes, as you will never know what to expect. Guide 'Skul' on his quest to single-handedly take on the Imperial Army and rescue his King from captivity, in an action-packed 2D game for the ages.
81
/100
11
The Artful Escape
80
/100
12
Cyber Shadow
80
/100
13
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth
78
/100
14
Axiom Verge 2
76
/100
15
Oddworld: Soulstorm
70
/100
16
Hoa
70
/100
17
Blue Fire
70
/100
B
It Takes Two
Embark on the craziest journey of your life in It Takes Two, a genre-bending platform adventure created purely for co-op. Invite a friend to join for free with Friend’s Pass and work together across a huge variety of gleefully disruptive gameplay challenges. Play as the clashing couple Cody and May, two humans turned into dolls by a magic spell. Together, trapped in a fantastical world where the unpredictable hides around every corner, they are reluctantly challenged with saving their fractured relationship.
88
/100
05
Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 is a platform-adventure game developed by Double Fine Productions and released in 2021. It continues the story of Razputin “Raz” Aquato, a young psychic who joins the international psychic espionage agency known as the Psychonauts. Gameplay combines platforming, exploration, and combat with psychic abilities such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mental connection. Players journey through imaginative levels set inside characters’ minds, each reflecting their personalities and struggles.
87
/100
06
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
It is a metroidvania game that the player will play as a rabbit who can manipulate the big mech-arm on his back, exploring in a vivid diesel punk world and fighting against the evil robot army. There will be a vast world map for the player to explore to meet with friend NPCs and encounter enemies, discover items and weapons and seek for the answers for the secrets hidden behind.
87
/100
07
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
86
/100
08
Metroid Dread
Join intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran in her first new 2D Metroid story in 19 years. Samus’ story continues after the events of the Metroid Fusion game when she descends upon planet ZDR to investigate a mysterious transmission sent to the Galactic Federation. The remote planet has become overrun by vicious alien lifeforms and chilling mechanical menaces. Samus is more agile and capable than ever, but can she overcome the inhuman threat stalking the depths of ZDR?
84
/100
09
Little Nightmares II
82
/100
10
Skul: The Hero Slayer
Skul: The Hero Slayer is an action-platformer that boasts rogue-like features such as everchanging and challenging maps. It will keep you on your toes, as you will never know what to expect. Guide 'Skul' on his quest to single-handedly take on the Imperial Army and rescue his King from captivity, in an action-packed 2D game for the ages.
81
/100
11
The Artful Escape
80
/100
12
Cyber Shadow
80
/100
13
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth
78
/100
14
Axiom Verge 2
76
/100
15
Oddworld: Soulstorm
70
/100
16
Hoa
70
/100
17
Blue Fire
70
/100
FAQ
What is the best Platformer game of 2021?
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart currently tops the ranking with a score of 91/100 across 297 ratings. Ranking updated August 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.