If you’re the kind of gamer who loves saying “They don’t make them like they used to,” 2025 has been your year. In between modern behemoths like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Monster Hunter Wilds, we’ve gotten a steady drip of retro-inspired games that call back to the good old days of 2D platformers. The floodgates have burst in the last few weeks especially though, as three high-profile games have stolen the thunder of much bigger releases. Even with a few months still to go in 2025, I’m confident in saying that we’re currently living through the best years for 2D platformers since the Super NES era gave way to the 3D age.
That argument starts with a trifecta of games that all dropped one after another. First there was Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a faithful pixel-art throwback that impressed critics back in late July. Just one month later, it got one-upped by Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. The excellent action game revives a classic series with illustrative art, incredibly quick combat, and a deconstructed Metroidvania format that fuses retro and modern into something unique.
That trilogy has now come to a close with Hollow Knight: Silksong. Team Cherry’s new Metroidvania is already generating breathless praise from critics and players alike, positioning it as a potential instant classic. It’s the only game released this year that poses a real threat to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Game of the Year odds. If it pulls that feat off at The Game Awards in December, it would be the first 2D game to win top honors at the show.
Those three games alone would make a strong case for 2025 as the year of the 2D platformer, but those are far from the only hits. Nestled amid that run of games, you had the excellent Öoo. The compact platformer about a bomb-dropping caterpillar is a remarkable game that tests the limits of how just one tool can be pulled apart to create deceptively complex puzzles. (There’s a good reason we recently argued that it deserves to be a Game of the Year dark horse.)
Even before the summer, we’ve had a bounty of 2D games to dig into. The Metroidvania scene was cooking long before Silksong, thanks to Blade Chimera and Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist. The former is a fantastic action game by Team Ladybug and WSS Playground that beat both Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi to the “cool retro ninja game” punch in January. Ender Magnolia, on the other hand, follows in Hollow Knight’s footsteps to create an atmospheric Metroidvania filled with striking art and tough bosses. Don’t sleep on Shadow Labyrinth either. Bandai Namco’s oddball Pac-Man game has its flaws, but it makes fascinating use of the yellow puck to create some truly gonzo gaming fever dreams.
For the roguelike crowd, The Rogue Prince of Persia riffs on a classic series to fuel a Dead Cells-like action game with a greater emphasis on fluid mobility. And if you’re looking for a true sleeper hit, Bionic Bay might just be 2025’s ultimate hidden gem. The Limbo-inspired platformer is full of ingenious physics puzzles cut from the same cloth as Portal. From changing gravity’s direction to swapping with objects, it delivers brain-bender after brain-bender in some of the year’s most striking 2D spaces.
Those are just a few of the highlights, but they’re enough to leave me wondering about the last time we’ve had such a bounty of great 2D platformers. We get plenty of good ones every year – who can forget Super Mario Bros. Wonder or Animal Well? – but the bar has been raised in recent months. I’m personally glad it’s happening, because all of these games teach us that 2D games can still be as fresh or innovative as 3D ones.
Considering how much Silksong is currently dominating Steam charts, I get the feeling that the biggest studios out there may wise up to that fact soon too. Don’t be surprised if you see this trend turn into a full-blown renaissance very soon.
