Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service is home to all kinds of games in a variety of genres. The service categorizes these games by genre, with a whole section dedicated to platformers. There is still quite the selection of platformers to choose from, and so Xbox Game Pass subscribers may not know where to start.
Here are five great Xbox Game Pass platformers to try out.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Rare in the early 2000s gave the company control of Rare’s most popular games and IPs. While many have faulted Microsoft for not properly taking advantage of those IPs in the years since, it has at least made many of them available to play on modern hardware. This includes Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie series, with all of the main series Banjo-Kazooie games currently available to play for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
Available through the Rare Replay collection on Game Pass or standalone, the Banjo-Kazooie games are often hailed as some of the best 3D platformers ever produced. The original Banjo-Kazooie in particular is looked back on fondly, though Banjo-Tooie earned its fair share of high review scores back in the day as well. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts is a far more divisive entry in the series, mainly due to its focus on a vehicle-building mechanic, but it too earned mostly positive reviews. And since it’s free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, those that have yet to give it a chance may as well try it out.
The success of Super Meat Boy inspired a long line of ultra-tough 2D platformers, though one that stands out from the pack is Celeste. An incredibly challenging platformer where players have to scale a mountain as a woman named Madeline, Celeste earned widespread critical acclaim when it first launched in 2018. Praise was given to virtually every aspect of the game, and it won numerous awards as a result. Celeste is easily one of the most successful indie platformers there is, and so it makes a strong addition to the Xbox Game Pass lineup of platformers. Fans of the genre will be doing themselves a disservice if they don’t play it as soon as possible.
FromSoftware completely changed gaming with its Dark Souls franchise, essentially creating a new kind of genre with a focus on tough but fair boss battles. One game that takes clear inspiration from Dark Souls, both with its boss fights and its worldbuilding, is Hollow Knight. Essentially what one gets if they mix a Metroidvania with a Dark Souls-style game, Hollow Knight is a gorgeous platformer that will keep Xbox Game Pass subscribers busy for hours as they explore its haunting world.
EA Play’s lineup of games have been added to Xbox Game Pass, giving subscribers instant access to some of the company’s best games. This includes many of EA’s games from the Xbox 360 generation, like Mirror’s Edge. Developed by Battlefield studio DICE, Mirror’s Edge is a first-person platformer with a focus on parkour elements. It’s a rather unique take on the genre, and while there have been games in the series since then, they don’t hold a candle to the original.
Microsoft itself has helped fund one of the most-acclaimed platformer series of recent years, publishing by Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Fresh takes on the Metroidvania genre, both Ori games have earned critical-acclaim and have won numerous awards in the process.
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