Platformers are known for their tight mechanics and interesting use of those mechanics on different levels. Agood platformerhas levels that feel natural to progress throughout the experience. Platformers tend to have an extensive amount of levels as most of them can be completed quickly if a player has excellent movement.
RELATED:Video Games With The Most Unique Art Styles
These levels are some that include mechanics to the game that are new and enjoyable. Some of these levels also managed to be great because they used the initial game mechanics in perfectly structured ways in their respective games.
10Stadium/Palace Ruins - Jak 3
The Stadium/Palace Ruins in Jak 3 is important for the narrative impact that it has on the series. This level additionally allows itself to be interesting by being ruins that the player got to see from earlier on in the game. Returning to a location that the player once saw collapse is a nice touch in the game.
The number of enemies and terrain make for some highly memorable combat experiences. The platforming is some of the tightest in the game. Overall in design and narrative structure, it outshines many other levels in Jak games.
99/10 Fly Through The Narrow Valley - Super Mario Odyssey
Fly Through the Narrow Valley is located in the Seaside Kingdom world inSuper Mario Odyssey. The Seaside Kingdom is one of the most beautiful worlds that the game offers. The setting is part of what makes this level stand out.
The level uses Gushen which is an enemy that Mario can use Cappy on to take over. By using Gushen’s jet power Mario must fly through a cavernous area. The level is short and sweet but leaves players wanting more as going through the experience is an enjoyable time.
88/10 Off Beat - Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time’s Off Beat level is stunning. It is the only level in the game that has this interesting Mardi Gras parade theme going on. There are ghosts with musical instruments and every time they shoot it’s to the beat of the level’s song. It’s a nice theme that’s intertwined with music throughout its entirety.
RELATED:Most Iconic Mascots In Gaming
There are drum platforms and piano platforms that also play to the song in the level’s beat. It’s all the different platforming mechanics that go into this level that make it so enjoyable.
77/10 Queen Vanessa’s Manor - A Hat in Time
Queen Vanessa’s Manor inA Hat in Timetakes place in the creepy haunted house located in the Subcon Forest. What many players love about this level is how different it is from many other platforming games.
The game introduces Amnesia-like survival horror elements as the player must run away and hide from Vanessa. The level is jarring and though not too difficult it creates a suspenseful experience.
66/10 The Manta Storm - Super Mario Sunshine
Sirena Beach inSuper Mario Sunshineis a beautiful area that is always in the middle of a sunset. This is also home to one of the most challenging yet satisfying levels that the game has.
In this level, Mario has to take out a manta ray that splits into smaller versions of itself. All the versions create more paint over every surface that they go over. After the manta ray splits up a lot the map begins to get very hectic. This adds to the difficulty but taking out a lot of enemies at once is wildly entertaining. It’s also rewarding when the player finally gets the hang of it.
55/10 Boomtown - LittleBigPlanet
The Boomtown level that’s located onLittleBigPlanet’s Canyon’s map is an explosive experience. This is because it has explosives that are introduced to the game.The level’s soundtrackmatches the energy that the level dishes out and is probably one of the most fitting to the game.
RELATED:Cutest Video Game Franchises
There are a lot of different platforming challenges that players will have to overcome. It mixes regular platforming with the game’s jet pack mechanic. This level is the perfect example of how to seamlessly introduce new mechanics into a game.
44/10 Hell Level 20 - Super Meat Boy
Hell Level 20 inSuper Meat Boymesses with people’s minds. It’s a level that takes everything players have been given in the Hell world and puts it into one package.
This level includes horrifically large spikes that players must precisely maneuver around. It makes sure that it uses portals as its main mechanic that takes the player from room to room offering different challenges. There are fireballs in one room while another fills up with lava and then expels some lava revealing a tricky path Meatboy must quickly go through. It’s the perfect level for all of those looking for something that’s challenging, but not pull all of your hair out and cry challenging like some of the levels that come after this one.
33/10 Treasure Trove Cove - Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooiehas huge levels with many secrets to uncover. What makes this level so great is that it feels like it is a living organism. There are secrets all over the map ready to be explored. The platforming is tight which makes for a lot of fun movement options for the player to engage with.
RELATED:Most Relaxing Games
There are also a lot of memorable parts to it like learning how to fly for the first time. This expands the entirety of the game as it makes for a more grandiose experience. The aesthetic design of the map is also calming as it tosses beach and pirate themes together.
22/10 Search The Sewers - Ratchet and Clank Remake
The Search the Sewers level in theRatchet and Clankremake encapsulates so much of what makes a platformer fun. This level forces the player to take all of their platforming skills and put them to the test. Ratchet and Clank must escape the sewers before they get completely flooded and both of them drown.
The level mixes a lot of enemies that must either be dealt with quickly or avoided. The platforming needs to be done with split-second timing. It’s the perfect amount of heart-racing tension to make for an amusing level.
11/10 Psychonauts 2 - Bob’s Bottles
Bob’s Bottles inPsychonauts 2tells the player the story of a man who fell into alcoholism. The story that unfolds around it is as gorgeous as its design. The gameplay and environment match the story that surrounds this level wonderfully. Players must help Bob find seeds to plant so that he can get over his trauma. The player will travel on an ocean littered with giant empty alcohol bottles.
There are so many sections to the level that unfold. An example is a cavern-like area that’s full of bioluminescent bottles that pour water out of themselves in a haunting yet captivating manner.
