3D platformers are known for having some of the best movement options that gaming can offer. They allow players to be able to search different worlds or levels that are designed to get through in the most entertaining ways possible. 3D platforms give way to the child inside all of us that seeks to discover.
They are usually chock-full of collectibles that--if the game is done well--are hidden intricately and make finding them enjoyable. The games that will be presented had a lot to offer the 3D platformer genre in terms of how they chose to go about creating the movement options for their character or the areas that are explored.
10 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated
A lot of gamers played this game when they were younger in its un-remastered form. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated is a true remaster as it does little in terms of changing the gameplay, but overhauls the graphics completely. It also added content like a fight against robotic Squidward.
Rehydrated doesn't do the most to change the platforming genre but is undeniably a fun playthrough. The platforming varies in how challenging it becomes and the boss fights, though sometimes simple, are satisfying to play through.
9 Gex: Enter The Gecko
Gex: Enter the Gecko has an insane premise that fits it well. It deals with a couch potato lizard who goes into the TV realm because the government gives him money. There is not much more to it than this, but it's very fitting regardless. The television world theme makes it so that all the different worlds are based on different television genres rather than biomes.
The controls can feel a little stiff and a lot more could have been done with them. The platforming can also feel unfair due to the camera system the game has in place but playing through the different world themes is delightful.
8 Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time has some of the best main characters in platforming history. It takes the main characters that were already loved from previous games and expands on them and their friendship. The gameplay is additionally different from what a lot of players are used to in platformer games. Whereas many platformers force players into combat situations most of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time can be beaten without killing any enemies.
The game's mechanics aren't as clean as other platformers. Nevertheless, this game takes all the games that came before it and makes them better in its theme, and--though not always the best--tries to expand on the mechanics it brings with it.
7 A Hat In Time
A Hat in Time has some problems when it comes to its camera, but those are rare and can be quickly overlooked due to everything else that this game gives players. It brings in a cute quirky story full of characters that feel like they belong in their own television show. The mechanics feel smooth which makes the player feel like a speed running professional when getting around the large levels. It's exhilarating.
All the worlds that levels are located in give off completely different vibes to the game's advantage. Their themes go from a completely open-world type area located deep in the mountains to a scary swamp area ravaged by spectral horrors. Players will want to experience these themselves.
6 Daxter
Daxter was a PSP game that ended up selling more copies than Jak 2 or 3. Even though that's the case it isn't a game that's talked about much. It's deserving of more attention. Daxter has interesting level designs that are based on various locations that vary in the way they must be traversed.
At one point Daxter will have to jump from train to train to do some great precision platforming. The game shines most in its movement as the game is heavily inspired in the way it presents different movement options like using a bug spraying gun to hover.
5 Fall Guys
Fall Guys is a very addicting platformer and that's because of the way that it sets up its model to make it so that people want to endlessly play it. The game is based around 100 players going up against one another and playing against each other in different platforming challenges until there is only one winner left.
Players have to be smart in the ways that they go about getting to the finish line in levels or completing different tasks as different shortcuts and tricks can be found to help players win.
4 Ratchet And Clank (2016)
The Ratchet and Clank 2016 remake in terms of how it changed the story to fit in more with the movie was not the best idea. What was the best idea was to turn Ratchet and Clank's already great gameplay and make it phenomenal. The different planets that players explore feel full of life when players first go through them. They have enemies and hundreds of items being broken and flying toward the player.
The movement feels great and this remake's added weapons introduce new ways to deal with enemies like turning them into pixels with the Pixelizer. It's the best mix of platforming and third-person shooter available.
3 Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine has one of the best singular themes that it manages never make bland throughout the game's duration. The levels all feel like they belong in paradise and the painted enemies don't take away from the beauty that is presented in each level. There's everything from theme parks to haunted resorts.
The game uses movement intelligently as it takes notes from its predecessor by allowing players to have similar movement options but then adds a jetpack to the mix. The different jetpack attachments make it so that players could hover over areas or shoot up into the sky with a rocket. Every aspect of the game is notable.
2 Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie is iconic for the movement that it brings in. Players can use both Banjo and Kazooie to trek through areas with Kazooie offering a quicker movement option by holding Banjo on her back and running. Players also have cool transformations like turning into a crocodile or pumpkin. The artistic styles that this game takes on make it so that every area's theme feels cohesive.
Gruntilda's lair--Gruntilda is the main antagonist of the game--acts as a sort of hub world for the game making every area feel as though it would belong in a magic-filled cavern. Everything creatively comes together.
1 Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 is a beautiful masterpiece that everyone needs to play in their lifetime. The game follows the themes of the original in that it focuses on the player exploring levels that are inside the minds of people coping with traumatic events and mental illnesses that have risen from them.
On top of the striking story that it presents the platforming is also amazing. Every level feels fun to play through as all of Raz's psychic powers are considered in their design. It's a game that more platformers should strive to be like as it's completely unique in what it creatively pushes.