There’s real joy in a well-made platforming game – something that’s been tapped into by games since the very early days of home consoles. Now, many years later, there are still brilliant new platformers coming out all the time.

The Xbox One is home to plenty of the very best from recent years, and we’ve gathered a selection of real highlights for you to check out right here, so keep reading to see if you can find your next great platforming game.

If you’re looking for a different genre of game, check out our dedicated lists in the table below.

What are the best platformers on Xbox One?

1. Hollow Knight
2. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
3. Celeste
4. Spyro Reignited Trilogy
5. Shovel Knight
6. Inside
7. Dead Cells
8. Rayman Legends
9. Steamworld Dig 2
10. Cuphead

Hollow Knight

• View on the Xbox store

We adore Hollow Knight, a game that makes the platforming genre feel new all over again, pulling in influences from Metroid and Dark Souls in the process. You’ll explore a huge underground map that has distinct regions, each with its own challenges and boss fights.

The combat is precise but fair, and the platforming gets surprisingly involved by the game’s conclusion – depending on which of its many endings you actually unlock the first time around. There’s so much to discover, and so many delightful touches throughout a wonderful experience.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

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Another hugely celebrated game, the second Ori title is a superb choice. It smoothes over some of the rough edges from the first time out, making things more reliable and giving you fun powers earlier. Plus, the whole thing looks simply astonishing.

It also tells a delightful, touching story that unfolds without many words, and moves at a really nice pace to ensure you’ll never be bored or stuck wondering what to do next.

• Ori and the Will of the Wisps review: Platforming perfection?

Celeste

• View on the Xbox store

A platformer with a carefully-graded difficulty curve, Celeste has you trying to climb a mountain without being sure that you’re actually capable of it, learning that you’re able to do more than you might think. Once you get a dash mechanic very early on, it starts to become clear things are going to get complicated.

The game introduces new challenges and techniques with such care and attention that you’ll sometimes stop and realise that you’re pulling off moves more complicated than you thought – it’s that good at holding your hand while letting you learn.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

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A loving update for three classic games from years gone by, Spyro exploded back onto the scene with the Reignited Trilogy, reminding countless gamers why they have such fond memories of the little purple dragon.

You’ll bound, swoop and fly around great maps that are clearly the same as they used to be, except with the detail ramped up massively and the art style subtly updated to make it look indistinguishable from a modern release.

• Spyro Reignited Trilogy initial review: The most lovingly created remaster yet?

Shovel Knight

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A game that’s modern but looks retro, instead of the other way around, Shovel Knight is a brilliant title that brings the best of old-school platforming to the Xbox One, letting you jump and bounce your way through a tough but fair campaign.

The Treasure Trove edition also offers up a number of expansion packs with new characters to control, each of them completely changing how you’ll play the game, so it’s almost like a few games in one, all of them charming in the extreme.

Inside

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A platformer that doesn’t ask a huge amount of skill of you, Inside might be a side-scroller but it’s got a heavy story focus. That doesn’t mean there’s dialogue and exposition, though – it’s more like walking your way through an amazing mime performance.

We’re incredibly keen not to spoil the experience for anyone, so trust us when we say that if you like short stories and a touch of the macabre then Inside is likely to stay with you for a long time after its stunning ending.

Dead Cells

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For something more action-packed and skill-based, the roguelike Dead Cells should scratch your itch. It’s a side-scrolling combat game that sees you trying to run a randomised gauntlet of enemies and bosses to escape your imprisonment.

Each time you’ll pick up new weapons and skills, learning more about the mechanics you need to understand to make it all the way through. Loads of expansions and patches have made it even better than it was at release, too.

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Another classic gaming character made it onto the Xbox One when Rayman Legends came out near the start of the console’s lifespan, and the game has aged really gracefully thanks to its funky art style, which looks really great.

You’ll run, ride and jump through plenty of diverse levels with a cast of fun characters that join you at times, and some really great twists on the core gameplay mechanics that keep things feeling fresh throughout. All we can ask is this – where’s the sequel, Ubisoft?

Steamworld Dig 2

• View on the Xbox store

The Steamworld universe is a really fun and rewarding one, and this mainline sequel is great fun to play through. You’ll dig down to the bedrock under a frontier town in search of riches and answers, and eventually penetrate far further than that.

By digging through the underground you’ll make your own paths and routes, coming to learn them like the back of your hand, which is an experience that not many other games have offered up that we can think of.

Cuphead

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For those who like a lot of punishment before they get any pleasure, Cuphead is a brilliant treat. It’s got a cutesy throwback art style that looks incredibly accurately like a cartoon from the early days of movies and cinema.

That’s a facade, though – hiding one of the most brutally difficult games released in years. It’s a tough-as-nails run and gun side-scrolling shooter that will have you tearing your hair out when its bosses drop new moves on you. Trust us, this is one for the hardcore gamers among us.

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For

• Beautiful visuals
• Great movement
• Solid combat

Against

• Not a very long game

A hugely celebrated game, the second Ori title is a superb choice. It smoothes over some of the rough edges from the first time out, making things more reliable and giving you fun powers earlier. Plus, the whole thing looks simply astonishing.

It also tells a delightful, touching story that unfolds without many words, and moves at a really nice pace to ensure you’ll never be bored or stuck wondering what to do next.

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For

• Great new graphics
• Classic gameplay
• Good value

Against

• A little old-school

A loving update for three classic games from years gone by, Spyro exploded back onto the scene with the Reignited Trilogy, reminding countless gamers why they have such fond memories of the little purple dragon.

You’ll bound, swoop and fly around great maps that are clearly the same as they used to be, except with the detail ramped up massively and the art style subtly updated to make it look indistinguishable from a modern release.

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For

• Lovely art
• Great soundtrack
• Challenging but fair

Against

• Some will bounce off it

A game that’s modern but looks retro, instead of the other way around, Shovel Knight is a brilliant title that brings the best of old-school platforming to the Xbox One, letting you jump and bounce your way through a tough but fair campaign.

The Treasure Trove edition also offers up a number of expansion packs with new characters to control, each of them completely changing how you’ll play the game, so it’s almost like a few games in one, all of them charming in the extreme.

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For

• Fun art style
• Chunky action
• Pretty addictive

Against

• Can be hard at first

For something really action-packed and skill-based, the roguelike Dead Cells should scratch your itch. It’s a side-scrolling combat game that sees you trying to run a randomised gauntlet of enemies and bosses to escape your imprisonment.

Each time you’ll pick up new weapons and skills, learning more about the mechanics you need to understand to make it all the way through. Loads of expansions and patches have made it even better than it was at release, too.

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For

• Lovely visuals
• Great soundtrack
• Fun platforming

Against

• Where’s our sequel?

Another classic gaming character made it onto the Xbox One when Rayman Legends came out near the start of the console’s lifespan, and the game has aged really gracefully thanks to its funky art style, which looks really great.

You’ll run, ride and jump through plenty of diverse levels with a cast of fun characters that join you at times, and some really great twists on the core gameplay mechanics that keep things feeling fresh throughout. All we can ask is this – where’s the sequel, Ubisoft?

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For

• Incredible art
• Charming soundtrack
• Inventive enemies

Against

• Brutally difficult
• Occasionally unfair

For those who like a lot of punishment before they get any pleasure, Cuphead is a brilliant treat. It’s got a cutesy throwback art style that looks incredibly accurately like a cartoon from the early days of movies and cinema.

That’s a facade, though – hiding one of the most brutally difficult games released in years. It’s a tough-as-nails run and gun side-scrolling shooter that will have you tearing your hair out when its bosses drop new moves on you. Trust us, this is one for the hardcore gamers among us.

How to pick your next platforming game on Xbox One

There are so many platformers to pick from on the Xbox One that you might need some help narrowing things down – these questions could help.

How hard do you like your games?

Platformers aren’t always difficult, but some of the games on this list (in particular Cuphead) have absolutely sky-high difficulty options that can make things really tough. Check out reviews of the games you’re thinking of, in case that’s an off-putting prospect for you!

Is exploration fun for you?

Similarly, a lot of the platformers we love have an exploratory element to them, where you’ll be off to find out where a passageway leads, or to see if you can find a new save-point before you fall in combat or miss a jump. It can be exhilarating, but if you want something more on-rails that’s worth swerving around.

Have you checked out Xbox Game Pass?

As with any list of games on Xbox consoles, we think it’s key that you check Microsoft’s Game Pass membership scheme before you buy a game – to make sure that you couldn’t enjoy it for a lower entry price by signing up for a month of Game Pass. While you might want to fully buy it regardless, so that you have ownership of it whenever you want to replay it, Game Pass is worth remembering if you’re on a budget.