Best Platformers on PS4 1
Image: Push Square

What are the best platformers on PS4? If you've been playing games for any length of time, you'll know that platformers have been around since the very beginning. Some of gaming's most recognisable characters are from platformers — your Marios, your Sonics, and so on. Mainly concerned with testing a player's dexterity, these games are all about running, jumping, and collecting things in 2D and 3D obstacle courses. That said, there's a huge amount of variety within the genre.

Platformers on PS4 come in all shapes and sizes. You have 3D, large budget adventures like Tearaway Unfolded or PSVR's Astro Bot Rescue Mission, but there are also small scale side-scrollers like Celeste and Shovel Knight. Of course, there's everything in between, too.

These games tend to skew towards a family audience, meaning they're usually bright and colourful with little in the way of combat. However, you do see platformers veer into action-orientated territory too, and even horror; for every Rayman Legends, there's a Guacamelee or a Little Nightmares to test your fighting prowess and your nerves respectively. Long story short, there are platformers of all stripes on PS4.

To figure out which are the best of the bunch, we're gonna need your help. The games on this list are ranked based on your ratings, meaning that you can directly influence the shape of this article. If you want to have your say, you can search for your favourite PS4 platformers using the box below, or simply go to any game's page on Push Square and click the star to rate it. The aim is that this list will always reflect your views on the best platformers on PS4.

A game will need at least 30 ratings before it makes its way onto this page. If your personal favourite PS4 platformer is missing, it could be that it just hasn't been rated enough times yet.

So, here's our list of best platformers on PS4, as chosen by you.

20. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4)

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time gets the marsupial back on track. This is a stylish, highly polished 3D platformer that harkens back to the gameplay of the original games while feeling fresh and modernising the controls. Throw in a lovely art style, multiple playable characters, and oodles of optional side content, and you have a super robust game that players of all ages and skill levels can enjoy.

19. Little Nightmares (PS4)

Tarsier Studios, using its experience making LittleBigPlanet Vita, returns with something much more sinister. Little Nightmares might share some of that physics-driven platforming DNA with Sackboy, but tonally it's the other side of the spectrum. This is a creepy, atmospheric, horror-tinged puzzle platformer about a child trapped in a strange facility. Escaping will mean solving some intense puzzles and outrunning some horrible nasties.

18. Fez (PS4)

Fez has been around longer than the PS4, but Phil Fish's puzzle platformer has stood the test of time. It remains a brilliantly unique game, with its dimension-flipping core mechanic leading to some astonishing twists and turns. As you run and jump through the (seemingly) 2D world, the game unfolds a grander mystery that's a joy to discover. It's a poster child for indie games for a reason.

17. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS4)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a blend of action and platforming that feels distinctly old school. If you enjoyed the likes of Jak & Daxter back on PS2, you'll find a lot to like in this charming adventure. You'll explore a lush world, collect adorable Rot creatures, solve environmental puzzles, and engage in surprisingly tough combat. A really enjoyable game from start to finish.

16. Limbo (PS4)

Before Inside, developer Playdead made Limbo. This game arrived just as the indie boom was really starting to take off, and with its unique presentation and minimalist storytelling, it was a big success. You play as a young boy in this 2D puzzle platformer, tasking you with moving from screen to screen by overcoming environmental obstacles. It's all very eerie, with its black-and-white visuals and haunting music. Inside is generally considered the better game overall, but it wouldn't exist without Limbo.

15. The Last Guardian (PS4)

From the team behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, you shouldn't overlook The Last Guardian. This third game in the loosely connected trilogy has just as much heart and impact as the others — not to mention one of the most technically impressive AI companions yet seen. Playing as a small boy, you and a large, mysterious creature called Trico must escape from a crumbling, enigmatic place full of dangers. The bond you'll form with Trico — who gradually learns to trust and listen to you more as the game goes on — is unlike any other in video games, leading to an incredibly emotional and touching adventure.

14. Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4)

Sony ported over the beautiful PS Vita classic Gravity Rush and gave it an even more stunning facelift for PS4. This is the original game, complete with all its DLC, allowing you to fly about the land and turn the world upside down without the need for Sony's second handheld. It's a fantastic adventure more than worth experiencing, and then you can play the just as good sequel.

13. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (PS4)

Remember Crash Bandicoot? The madcap marsupial makes a grand return on PS4 in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a remake of his first three adventures. The games may be relatively old, but they've been brought up to modern standards with colourful graphics and updated gameplay. There's lots of fun to be had across this trio of platformers, with hours and hours worth of tricky levels to run through.

12. Spyro: Reignited Trilogy (PS4)

Before Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, and Spider-Man, it was Spyro that gave Insomniac Games its big break on PS1. That first trio of action platformers was wonderful back in the late 90s, but they're even better in Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, a vibrant PS4 remake. It features all three classics with a gorgeous, cartoonish visual makeover and modernised controls. The result is a nostalgic package that equally pleases old fans and new ones alike.

11. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4)

Developer Drinkbox Studios struck gold with Guacamelee, a side-scrolling Metroidvania with a comical Mexican wrapper. The Super Turbo Championship Edition is that same great game along with all its DLC bundled in and some extra content for good measure. Playing as Juan, you explore a vibrant, interconnected world that slowly opens up as you earn new abilities. These luchador powers double up as combat and traversal mechanics, with the game leaning into fights and exploration equally. It's great fun solo, but you can also play with up to three friends in co-op, which adds to the colourful chaos.