10 Best Platformers on Xbox Series X|S (2026)

Looking for best platformers on Xbox Series X|S  in 2026? This list brings together ten of the most exciting, creative, and downright fun platformers you can play right now. Each game here offers something special — crazy worlds, smart puzzles, tight controls, or wild co-op action. Let’s jump right in and count down the best Xbox platformer games, starting with number ten.

List of 10 Best Xbox Series X|S Platformer Games in 2026

I wanted this list to cover platformers that actually offer different reasons to play them. Some of these games are better for solo runs, some are more fun with another person, and some are here because they bring a style of platforming that still stands out in 2026. I also tried to avoid making this only about the newest releases, since older games can still sit comfortably beside newer ones if they hold up well on Xbox Series X|S.

This ranking is based on how much each game offers once you actually start playing, not just how popular the name is. I looked at movement, level design, challenge, variety, and how strongly each game leaves an impression after you put the controller down.

10. Another Crab’s Treasure

Tiny crab hunts for his shell in a wild ocean adventure

Another Crab’s Treasure follows Kril, a tiny hermit crab who loses his shell after a debt collector takes it away. The game has a funny surface, with bright colors and silly ocean trash, but Kril’s trip is rougher than the cute look suggests. He has to cross dangerous areas, deal with angry sea creatures, and find anything useful enough to wear as protection. Instead of using normal armor, Kril picks up things like cans, cups, and bottle caps. Each shell acts like a shield, but each one also has its own trick. Some protect better, while some offer special attacks.

Overall, the game is about Kril needing protection, enemies wanting to crush him, and every shell choice affecting how safely he gets through each fight. The gameplay mixes jumping, dodging, blocking, and sword-like attacks with Kril’s fork. You move through side paths, climb ledges, cross gaps, and fight creatures that hit hard if you rush in without thinking. Battles ask you to watch enemy moves, block with the shell, dodge at the right time, then strike back during open moments. Shells break after taking too much damage, so swapping to a fresh one becomes important during longer fights. So, if you are on the hunt for a good 3D platformer on Xbox Series X|S, I’d highly recommend Another Crab’s Treasure.

9. Super Meat Boy 3D

Meat Boy runs through 3D danger rooms full of traps

Super Meat Boy 3D sounds wild at once, since this series has always been known for tiny stages, instant retries, and painful little mistakes. Meat Boy is still the same squishy red hero trying to cross hazard-filled courses, but the 3D shift adds more space around each jump. Instead of only running left to right, the player now has to watch depth, gaps, corners, slopes, blades, and platforms arranged across compact arenas. In this game, you have to reach the end, dodge the danger, and try again after every slip.

Stages are short enough that each attempt teaches something useful. Miss a jump, hit a saw, or slide too far, then restart near the same challenge and adjust the next run. That loop is the heart of the game. It is less about collecting loads of items and more about learning the route piece by piece until the run finally clicks. Meat Boy moves with a lot of snap, so tiny input errors matter during tight jumps. Players run, leap, wall-jump, land on thin platforms, avoid spinning blades, and aim for safe ground before the course punishes them. Super Meat Boy 3D should be a great pick for anyone who likes short challenge stages, clean goals, and that stubborn “one more try” pull after a rough mistake.

8. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Fight through Mount Qaf using acrobatics and time abilities

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown brings the series back as a side-scrolling action platformer with a modern rhythm. Sargon is the hero here, a skilled fighter sent into a cursed royal crisis after a prince is taken. The game uses a 2.5D view, so the path is seen from the side, but the art has depth behind every room. It has the classic Prince of Persia flavor, with wall jumps, blades, traps, time powers, and stylish sword fights. The main goal is plain enough: travel through connected areas, gain new skills, beat strong enemies, and reach places that were out of reach before.

The gameplay is mainly about running, jumping, fighting, and using timing well. Sargon has two blades for close combat, plus special powers that let him dash through the air, shift position, or reach tricky platforms. Platform sections use spikes, moving blades, disappearing floors, and long jump routes. The game teaches each skill through practice, then asks the player to use several skills together in longer rooms. It is one of the best Xbox platformer games for 2026 if you want skill-based action with plenty of room to improve.

7. Limbo

One of the best puzzle-platforming games of all time

Limbo is a dark side-scrolling puzzle platformer from Playdead, centered on a small boy moving through a silent, dangerous world. The game uses black-and-white visuals, tiny character details, and sharp object silhouettes, so each screen reads like a moving shadow picture. There is hardly any text, lengthy cutscene, or menu clutter. You simply guide the boy forward and learn by watching the screen. Death happens often, but the restart point usually sits close by, so each mistake teaches the next step without wasting much time. This is the kind of Xbox platformer that respects your attention. It lets the scene speak, then lets your hands figure out the answer.

The platforming is very hands-on. You run, jump, climb, drag objects, push switches, ride moving parts, and time each step around danger. One section might ask for a box under a ledge. Next, the trick could involve water, weight, or a machine that needs proper timing. Limbo rarely explains the answer out loud, but the puzzle pieces usually sit right on screen. The fun is in reading the space, trying a move, dying, then returning with a better plan. Here, every jump has a purpose, every object has a use, and every hazard teaches you how the world operates.

6. Rain World

Survive each day by finding food and escaping larger creatures

Rain World is the kind of platformer that treats you like a tiny creature in a dangerous living space, rather than a hero built to crush every threat. You guide a slugcat through broken tunnels, tall rooms, pipes, shelters, flooded passages, and wide-open gaps while trying to survive long enough to rest safely. Hunger is the main push. Slugcat needs food before resting, so each trip has a purpose beyond reaching the next screen. For Xbox Series X|S players in 2026, this is a standout pick if you like survival, platforming, and creatures that act less like stage props and more like wild animals.

The world has hunters too, and they move with their own habits. Lizards chase, birds dive, and smaller creatures scatter. Nothing waits politely for the player, so every outing has tension without needing constant fighting. Rain also drives the pace. Stay outside too long and the storm becomes deadly, so safe shelter is always on your mind. During play, you climb poles, leap across gaps, crawl through pipes, throw spears, carry useful objects, and hide when danger gets too close.

5. Little Nightmares III

Two kids sneak, climb, solve puzzles, and survive together

Little Nightmares III takes the series into co-op, with two tiny kids trying to survive in a grim nightmare world full of tall threats and weird rooms. You guide Low and Alone, two children who rely on each other to get through places that dwarf them. The game still uses the side-on platformer style fans know, but the pair of heroes adds a stronger partner rhythm. Solo players travel with an AI partner, while two players share the trip online. Low carries a bow, while Alone has a wrench, so each kid has a different use during puzzles. The tool difference is the core trick. Low hits far switches or cuts ropes, while Alone breaks weak objects or turns machinery.

The action is slower than jumpy platformers, but it still needs careful timing. You climb shelves, crawl through gaps, push objects, cross broken paths, hide behind cover, and run during chase scenes. Puzzles usually use the space around you. Co-op adds a fun layer since both players need to talk through actions. Someone may climb ahead while the other opens a path, or both may need to move together across a risky section. Among the best Xbox Series X|S platformers in 2026, this entry secures a higher spot by mixing horror puzzle scenes with careful side-scrolling action.

4. Ultimate Chicken Horse

Create a tricky course together and race to the finish

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a party platformer with a wicked little joke at its center. Everyone wants to reach the finish line, but everyone also gets to make the route harder before the round starts. Each player picks a cute animal, then takes a turn placing a platform, trap, or obstacle somewhere on the stage. The goal sounds plain enough. Reach the end, score points, and celebrate. The catch is that your own additions are part of the path too, so a trap meant to ruin a friend’s run could ruin yours as well. This is where the game gets funny. Victory is tied to timing, smart placement, and a bit of friendly betrayal. It is easily one of the best Xbox platformer games to play with a group of friends.

Rounds are short, so losses usually lead to laughs rather than frustration. The game suits couch sessions really well, but online play brings the same silly pressure. You run, jump, climb, dodge hazards, then aim for the finish. Before each attempt, players add new pieces to the level. Someone places spikes near a jump. Someone adds a moving platform. Someone blocks an obvious route with a swinging danger. After a few rounds, the stage turns into a custom obstacle course shaped by everyone’s choices. Points usually go to players who finish while others fail, so building a route that is possible but risky is the clever move.

3. Planet of Lana II

One of the best Xbox platforming game releases of 2026

Planet of Lana II is still centered on Lana and her little companion, Mui, but the sequel has a wider sense of adventure. The game uses side-scrolling stages, soft painterly art, and a calm pace, so the focus is on reading each area rather than rushing through it. You guide Lana across ledges, ruins, machines, water paths, and creature-filled spaces, while Mui tags along as more than a cute partner. Mui is useful, curious, and often the key to solving what blocks the path. The game has danger, but it avoids turning every screen into a fight. Much of the experience is spent figuring out how the space around Lana is meant to be used.

The way you play is clean and friendly to follow. Lana runs, jumps, climbs, crawls, pushes objects, and activates devices. Mui reaches spots Lana cannot, reacts to commands, and interacts with parts of the stage. The challenge usually sits in noticing the right order of actions. It rarely buries you under too much at once. Timing also has a role, especially during chase scenes or areas with roaming threats. Planet of Lana II is strongest when it lets you pause for a second, read the scene, and solve a puzzle with a calm “oh, I get it now” moment.

2. It Takes Two

Two partners cross wild stages through shared co-op tasks

It Takes Two is still one of the most popular 2-player platforming games on Xbox, mainly due to how closely every section links both players together. Cody and May are a couple going through serious trouble, and then a strange event sends them into a toy-like adventure packed with platforming challenges. The game uses that personal conflict as the reason both characters must travel together, solve problems together, and rely on each other during every stage. Nothing here is designed for solo play in the usual sense. Two people share the screen, talk through each section, and figure out the route ahead as a pair.

Each area teaches the pair a new rule, then builds a short challenge around it. Players jump across gaps, swing over danger, climb higher paths, press switches, ride moving platforms, and solve small puzzles together. Sometimes both players must reach two spots at the same time. Sometimes timing matters more, with one player waiting for the right second while the other moves ahead. The best parts happen when both players speak up and coordinate. Miss a jump, laugh it off, and try again. Fail a puzzle, talk it through, and spot the missing step. It Takes Two also avoids repeating itself for too long. After a section has taught its trick, the next area usually brings a different rhythm, so the adventure rarely drags.

1. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Play as Hornet and cut through enemies with needle strikes

Do I really need to defend Silksong sitting at the top of our best Xbox Series X|S platformers 2026 list? Come on, this is the one people waited years for, then treated like an event the second it arrived. Silksong follows Hornet, a sharper, taller, and more agile hero than the little knight from the older game. She moves with more snap, reaches higher ledges, attacks with a needle, and travels through a strange bug kingdom packed with locked routes, strange faces, hidden rooms, and dangerous arenas.

Hornet jumps, climbs, dashes, strikes, and threads through tight spaces while enemies try to cut her off. Every screen is readable but still tense. You spot a gap, judge the landing, watch the enemy rhythm, then commit. Progress is based on learning the map, finding new abilities, and returning to older paths with better ways to travel. Among Xbox platformers, this one has the rare mix of speed, challenge, style, and depth. It deserves the number one spot.