Summary

  • Xbox Game Pass has a diverse range of platformers, from forgotten gems like Alice: Madness Returns to modern classics like Celeste.
  • The service also offers iconic platformers like Banjo-Kazooie, known for its steady pacing and unique humor that still holds up today.
  • For those looking for something different, Gang Beasts combines platforming and combat skills in a fun party game experience.

Xbox Game Pass has a ton of games, and even though prominent genres like FPS and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:RPGs dominate much of its catalog, there's something for everyone here, including platformers. Platformers, especially right now, have a pretty great presence on the service.

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Be🥀st Open-World Games On Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass has an excellen♍t set of open-world games.

You have various classic titles, most of them remastered, multiplayer platformers, indie gems, and even forgotten games that don't see enough love. As time goes on, platformers will no doubt be even bigger on the service when more of Activision Blizzard's catalog comes over to Game Pass with more Crash and Spyro games.

8 Alice: Madness Returns 💃 ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ

A Forgotten Gem

Alice: Madness Returns
Hack and Slash

Released
🌼 June 14, 2011 🐻
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due t♉o Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
🐈 Spicy Horse
Engine
Unrꦜe൲al Engine 3
Platform(s)
PC, PS3, Xbox 360
How Long To Beat
15 Hours

Some of the most creative games of their respective eras have to be the two American McGee Alice titles. In all of Alice in Wonderland media, these games are top-tier and present a vision unlike any other. The 2011 sequel, in particular, nicely continues the story, has an excellent combination of platforming and combat gameplay, and has some 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:pretty solid graphics for the time, especially the hair physics.

It even comes with the original game as well, so you get two games in one. Sadly, the third Alice game never happened, but at least Madness Returns doesn't end on a steep cliffhanger, unlike another game yet to receive a third entry.

7 Banjo-Kaz📖ooie

One Of The Greatest Platformers Of All Time

Released
🦄 June 28, 1998 🧔
ESRB
E for Everyone♌ ꦰ
Developer(s)
Rare
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Platform(s)
N64, Xbox 360
How Long To Beat
11 Hours
File Size Xbox Series
576 MB (November 2023) 😼

Not a lot of games can be considered must-play titles for everyone, but the original Banjo-Kazooie is among that elite few. It's a great classic game you can play every couple of years and have a blast every time, and a large reason for that is the pacing.

Unlike its sequel, the original moves at a steady pace, never getting drawn out, as you can 100 percent each world in a rather efficient manner. Time flies here, and akin to Resident Evil 4 Classic or Mario 64, before you know it, you've already finished the game. The humor and style also do a great job of giving Banjo-Kazooie its own identity, and the platforming still holds up to this day.

6 Celeste

An All-Time Great Indie Game

Released
January 25, 2018 𝓀
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language 😼
Developer(s)
🌼 Extremely OK Game🅷s
Publisher(s)
ඣ Ex꧃tremely OK Games
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Stadia, Steam
How Long To Beat
9 Hours
File Size Xbox Series
1 GB (N🌳ovember 2023) 𒆙
PS Plus Availability
Extra & Pꦆremium

In terms of recent single-player indie games, you can't get much better than Celeste. Even though it came out in 2018, it's already a modern classic with its simple yet brutal platforming gameplay, powerful story, and incredible soundtrack.

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1

The normal campaign is challenging enough, but Celeste caters to those hardened, toughened gamers by including B-side and C-side levels that test you to your absolute limits. It's more than just a brutal platformer as its story will really resonate with certain people, and along with games like Signalis, are some of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:better titles with LGBTQ+ themes.

5 ✨ Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

The Classic PS1 Trilogy Remastered For The Modern Age

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Platformer

Released
🌊 June 30, 2017
ESRB
🦩 E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief
Developer(s)
💟 ౠ Vicarious Visions
Engine
ജ Alchemy Engine
Platform(s)
PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
How Long To Beat
15 Hours

Note that within your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you also get a PC Game Pass, and that factoid is important with this game. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is the acclaimed 2017 remaster of Naughty Dog's classic PS1 trilogy. Playing this remaster on an Xbox Series X|S today is rough, though, due to the lack of enhancements, meaning the games still run at 30fps.

That's okay for a narrative adventure game like Hellblade 2, but for a platformer, you want 60fps, and it just doesn't feel right on consoles. Thankfully, the N. Sane Trilogy is playable through PC Game Pass, and that version can run at 60. The save file is cross-platform with the ability to earn Xbox achievements, and all of this makes the PC version the definitive way to play through the service.

4 🎀 🥀 Gang Beasts

A Great Party Game

Released
♛ December 12, 2017
ESRB
𓃲 E for Everyone: Cartoon Violence ꧂
Developer(s)
Boneloaf
Publisher(s)
Boneloaf
Engine
Unity
Multiplayer
💞 Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
Platform(s)
PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC
File Size Xbox Series
1 GB﷽ (N🦄ovember 2023)
Platforms That Support Crossplay
✤ PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xboxꦑ One

Gang Beasts may not look like a platformer, but once you start playing, you'll learn fast that good platforming is required to win. The objective of Gang Beats is to eliminate all the other players. This often involves throwing them off the level or into a stage hazard.

This is when platforming comes into play because you can save yourself by climbing the edges or other obstacles to reach the playing field again. In certain levels, one player could just stand by and camp until you come to them because reaching said player often is a challenge on its own with Gang Beasts' destructible environments. You need both platforming and combat skills to succeed, and this often leads to intense fights.

3 Limbo

Another Classic Platformer

Released
July 21, 2010 🍌
ESRB
ꩲ T For Teen dꦫue to Animated Blood, Mild Violence
Developer(s)
Playdead
Publisher(s)
Playdead
Engine
Box2D
Platform(s)
PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS Vita, Switch, PC, Android, iOS
How Long To Beat
5 Hours
File Size Xbox Series
2🐓12 MB (November 2023)
Metascore
90

The big game that reintroduced the narrative-driven platformer seen in earlier works like Another World is Limbo. The black-and-white art style, puzzle-platforming gameplay, and various memorable setpieces made this a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:stand-out Xbox Live Arcade title.

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Those setpieces, in particular, are so well done, and everyone will remember their first encounter with the giant spider and how satisfying it was to kill. Playdead's follow-up title, Inside, is also on Game Pass, but Limbo is more straightforward and more of a platformer. Inside definitely leans more towards the puzzle elements.

2 P🌼sychonauts

You Can't Beat The Original

Released
April 19, 🔥2005 💝
ESRB
e
Publisher(s)
꧙ Majescꦺo Entertainment
Engine
ဣ Proprietary Engine 🌊
Platform(s)
PC, PS2, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Linux, Xbox 360
How Long To Beat
12 Hours

Psychonauts 1 and 2 are available on Xbox Game Pass, and they're both great. However, the edge has to go to the original. The second instalment has a lot of improvements, the voice actor's better, and it's far better looking, but the original title offers a creative vision so distinct that it's been unmatched by anything before or since.

Don't let the old-school 4:3 aspect ratio dissuade you because this game's arguably the best platformer ever created in the sixth generation. The only game that comes close is the original Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

1 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehyd༒rated 🥃

The 2003 Cult Classic Is Back And Better Than Ever

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated
3D Platformer
3.5/5

Released
𓆏 Janꦏuary 21, 2020
ESRB
E10+ 🦩For Everyone 10+ Due To Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief 𒁃
Developer(s)
🎃 Purple Lamp
Platform(s)
PS4, PC, Switch, Xbox One
How Long To Beat
9 Hours

The sixth generation of consoles was filled with poor-quality licensed games, but one title that was actually pretty kick-ass was SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikinꦐi Bottom. With a clear love for the source material, incredibly smooth controls andꦉ platforming, and solid level design, it was a blast for not only kids but adults as well.

The Rehydrated version is essentially the same game but with better graphics and a new engine. The controls aren't as smooth, but to be frank, unless you're a hardcore player of the game or a speedrunner, you won't complain.

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