Leaping, swinging and collecting your way through some of these PS3 platformers is a delight for many who love the genre. This platform is known for the beginning of PlayStation’s narrative revolution within the games space, but the PS3 also holds fantastic platformers, includingLittleBigPlanet3, that many can enjoy today. Here are some of the best and brightest platformers available for the PS3 console.
7LittleBigPlanet 3
LittleBigPlanet 3
LittleBigPlanet 3 is a wonderful explosion of creativity as it lets you create your own levels and experience the beautiful levels that the developer Sumo Digital (Media Molecule created the prior two) has made. Unfortunately, one of its key features of being able to share your levels online and play others has been taken offline, but it’s still a great platformer overall regardless. Despite the creativity of each level in the main campaign being significant, the platforming does feel floaty from time to time, making it not match up to the other games of this list. It’s a great option for families and those who want to play co-op, though. You also have to love the cheeky British humor within LittleBigPlanet 3.
6Puppeteer
Puppeteer is a gorgeous 2D platformer that takes place on a theater-like stage. You’ll hear the audience react as you take down enemies and make daring jumps across the stage. “The puppet theater stage is not a presentation used often in any medium, and players are in for a unique visual treat from start to finish,” said our sister siteGameRant’s review. “Simply put, the game really is quite beautiful.”
One of the unique weapons you have in this game is scissors that can cut through foes and obstacles in the game. It’s also used for traversal. Your life system is also different from other platformers. You’re picking up different heads, switching between them for different abilities and interactions with the environment. This is a must-play PS3 platformer if you’re a fan of the genre. It’s positively delightful.
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5Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
The fourth game of the beloved platforming series, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a wonderful adventure through different timelines of the Racconnus family. The game still looks gorgeous to this day due to its cel-shaded artstyle and the platforming is fun as you’re stealthily making your way through each level. You’ll explore locations based in the wild west and even the ice age. The ancestors of the Raccoonus family are playable and each provide their own mechanics into the mix, stopping the game from being predictable.
4Sonic Generations
Sonic Generations
Sonic Generations brings everything we love from the past games in the beloved platforming series and puts them into a great nostalgic bundle of levels. The twist with this title is that modern Sonic can run through classic levels like Green Hill Zone and Sky Sanctuary, while the classic 2D Sonic hops his way to the end in City Escape and Rooftop Run. The game still looks fantastic to this day with a bright, clean art style, and it’s complemented by an incredible soundtrack that remixes past beloved songs in the series. It’s truly a celebration of why we love the Sonic the Hedgehog games. Hopefully, a Sonic Generations 2 happens one day. We did get a new remaster of the game called Shadow X Sonic Generations, however, with additional Shadow content.
“Sonic X Shadow Generations is a must-play for those who want to witness the rise of the blue blur as well as the Ultimate Lifeform himself as he descends into chaos,” saidour review.
3Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time is one of the best PS3 platformers out there because it has fun platforming segments (including riding grind rails), bombastic weapons and an engaging storyline that features Ratchet finally meeting another one of his lombax kind. It’s dramatic, exciting and features graphics that have been compared to Pixar many times by reviewers and players alike. The Clank puzzles are also a highlight in this game as the robot manages to control his time powers. We called it one of thebest Ratchet & Clank gamesin the series.
2Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight is one of the best indie platformers you’re able to play on the PS3, and if you like old-school 16-bit graphics, you’re in for a treat. Each level is designed in spectacular fashion, adding a new gimmick to keep the platforming fresh. You’re also getting new spells and unlocking new abilities as you progress. If you own the PlayStation version of the game, you’ll also fight God of War’s Kratos as a secret boss, which is super cool. Also, jumping on top of your enemies with the shovel DuckTales-style is so satisfying.
The music by Jeff Kaufman is fantastic. The soundtrack is inspired by classic NES and SNES platformers but adds a lot of energy into the mix. For example, “Strike the Earth! (Plains of Passage” features incredible percussion and has a phenomenal melody throughout that makes you pumped to continue the level. “High Above the Land (The Flying Machine” is also a highlight with its spirited theming.
“Shovel Knight continues 2014’s fantastic indie lineup, but its polish, creativity, beauty and charm might just make it the pick of the bunch,” saidour review. “Yacht Club Games has delivered more than anyone ever could have hoped for, and created an experience that gamers young and old will thoroughly enjoy.
1Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is the full package when it comes to a 2D platformer. The levels stand out in a gorgeous hand-drawn-like art style that really pops on screen. Ubisoft Montpellier’s creativity truly shines as we delve into stealth-based levels or jumping to the rhythm of a song in the background. Each level is designed so thoroughly and you can tell there’s a lot of love behind this French-developed game. The music by Christophe Héral & Billy Martin also stands out and helps elevate the already exuberant visuals. This game will also keep you playing for a long time if you want to collect everything.
“The most incredible thing about Rayman Legends is how robust the package is,” saidour review. “It’s simply jam-packed with content, including eighty new stages, forty stages from Rayman Origins (nearly the entire game), daily challenges, daily extreme challenges, weekly challenges, weekly extreme challenges, unique multiplayer, the Kung Foot soccer mode, a creatures gallery, tons of heroes, timed ‘Invasion’ stages and an enormous amount of collectibles.” It should be a crime that Ubisoft hasn’t made a new Rayman game since 2013 because of how great this platformer is.
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