Updated with Planet of Lana and the excellent Braid: Anniversary Edition. Enjoy!
The Switch has a lot of platformers, and a lot of puzzle games, and that extends to puzzle platformers. If you're raising your eyebrows and saying, "What are you on about, you can't just combine them like they're ice cream flavours," then stick with us. It's a thing, we promise.
Rather than games focused purely on running and jumping accurately, or just using your noggin to find clever solutions, these games combine the two to rather charming effect. Often you'll take pause at points to plot a way forward, combining skill with intellect. Puzzle platformers also often have a strong approach to storytelling, making them a relatively impactful experience when at their best.
Below you will find our picks for the puzzle platform games currently available on Switch. This selection is presented in no particular order and will continue to grow and evolve over time. We'll also continue to check on reader suggestions in the comments and from our team, as quality games in this genre emerge regularly.
Without further ado, let's get to it!
BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! (Switch eShop)
Bigger and more fully featured than ever, BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! marks a high point in this quirky puzzle-platformer series. It's not perfect - the stripped back aesthetic and lethargic physics won't be everyone's cup of tea - but fans of co-op puzzlers, in particular, should investigate pronto. The 'Tale for Two' campaign lets a second player take control of Qucy and you must work together to create strings of boxes and navigate through each 2D level to the exit. It remains a distinctive and deceptively layered puzzler very much in line with the trilogy on 3DS, but the fact that you can now bring a partner in on the fun makes this the best BOXBOY yet.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Switch)
A beautiful little game, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a winner whether you're after puzzling or jump button-less platforming. With beautiful visuals and an upbeat soundtrack, it's is a real gem; a wonderful and gorgeous 3D platform puzzler fit for all ages, and one which you should definitely experience if you're yet to. The two-player co-op Nintendo added makes this offering even tastier with Toadette joining the Captain, and there's even a nice little nugget of DLC for once you've polished off the main game.
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Toki Tori 2+ (Switch eShop)
Another puzzle platformer with no actual jumping, but you do solve environmental puzzles in order to progress. Toki Tori 2+ is a game that had a bit of an overhaul after its original Wii U version (hence the '+') to help players make sense of its surprisingly sizeable world, it's a charming take on the IP's puzzle style. Of course the original Toki Tori is also on Switch eShop, if you'd prefer more conventional single-screen challenges.
Inside (Switch eShop)
Inside is the spiritual successor to Limbo and it builds on its predecessor in every imaginable way. A grimly beautiful platform-puzzler that, while brief, is packed full of jaw-dropping highlights, its dark tone won't be for everyone, but it's been executed brilliantly, with gently taxing physics-based conundrums woven into a haunting wordless narrative. It's a very similar game to its predecessor in many ways, with side-scrolling elements, a gorgeous, moody art style, and a vulnerable protagonist at the heart of it. Everything's just bigger, better, and more affecting.
GRIS (Switch eShop)
We’re very careful when we use this word, but Gris is a masterpiece. Its jaw-dropping visual style and heart-wrenching score combine for one of the most emotional pieces of interactive art you’ll ever play. It may be too short for some, its puzzles may be on the simple side and the lack of any real challenge may not be to everyone’s taste, but this is a game focused more on fragility than ability and as long as you’re willing to go along for the ride, it’s one that will stick with you for a very long time indeed.
VVVVVV (Switch eShop)
Another game where you technically don't jump, but flipping gravity does essentially the same thing. VVVVVV still feels every bit as fresh on the Switch as it did on the 3DS in 2010; if you didn't try it back then you should definitely pick it up now. If you did, now may nevertheless be a good time to revisit. Multiplayer makes the Switch version even more interesting, and this is a game that still serves up an intense and enjoyable challenge.
Evergate (Switch eShop)
Evergate is a wonderfully designed puzzle/platformer that starts off strong and goes from strength to strength over the course of its campaign. Every new world you encounter here adds a new twist to proceedings, gradually becoming more complex as it layers mechanics on top of one each other, enabling you to experiment and come up with your own unique ways to bound across its intricate levels. Speed-running here, for us, feels like it was tacked on for no real reason but, besides this one little misstep, this really is an essential purchase for puzzle/platforming fans and a standout example of its genre on Switch.
Horace (Switch eShop)
Horace is something very special — blending intensely challenging stages with emotive storytelling. If you have any interest in superb level design, headscratching and tricky blends of tight platforming and puzzle solving, excellent storytelling, terrific art, evocative music, great characters, hilarious situations and emotional gut-punches, Horace is a no-brainer. It's moving without being manipulative, clever without being smug, and nostalgic without being a lazy rehash. It's also fiendishly difficult, if you fancy a challenge.
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (Switch)
The entire series is available on Switch, so this entry ultimately represents them all. With the exception of the third release they're all fundamentally 2D puzzle platformers, with combat thrown in, as you embark on fantastical adventures with our three heroes. Some rooms (especially in the first two games) may take a while to puzzle through, and mastering each character's abilities is integral to making progress.
And if you like this, Trine 5's a good shout, too.
A Boy and His Blob (Switch eShop)
This is a game that's had an extraordinarily long life, even when only accounting for this updated and eventual HD version. A Boy and His Blob was once a bit of a genre definer, that status is long gone but it's still a very enjoyable puzzling / platforming experience, in which you have to make the most of the Blob's various abilities to make progress. It's rather lovely in its Switch iteration, too.
FEZ (Switch eShop)
FEZ is a fun, challenging puzzle platformer fit to burst with original ideas and unique gameplay wrinkles. Its puzzles bend reality and even leech into our own world on occasion, but aside from a few select mega-challenges it remains fair. From an earlier era of 'Indie' games and one that made its mark on the industry, it's well worth a visit on Switch.
Unravel Two (Switch)
Unravel Two was already a wonderful little game, filled with heartfelt moments of poignant storytelling and challenging platforming puzzles, and then it found a fitting new home on Nintendo Switch. Even with a few downgrades to the visuals, Unravel Two is far from an inferior experience when played on Nintendo's hybrid system. Full of charm and character, it’s one of the best co-operative platformers you can play anywhere, and another robust Switch port that was well worth the wait.
Comments 52
I have a serious soft spot for this genre
@NinChocolate Same here. A lot of great games on this list, and a few of which I have sitting here waiting to be played.
It can be a bit of a platformer at times but the Talos Principle is my favourite first person puzzle game
Where mario at
This very site famously gave BoxBoy a less than glowing review at launch (they called it "boring"). I love the game but it is curious to find it on the "best puzzle platformer" list now.
I've got to get Treasure Tracker, Horace and Fezz at some point. I know it if very pretty, but tbh I found Gris quite boring.
Pretty good list. Little Nightmares could use a spot on it though, and I'd really recommend people start with Trine 1. 3/4 both feel a bit incomplete by comparison. There's also Giga Wrecker, my favorite of Game Freak's weird side projects, and Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, which is pretty basic on the gameplay side, but makes up for it with a fantastic art style.
There are so many great platformers, and they all play amazing in handheld. Switch is just perfect for this games.
One of my favourite genres in gaming and hence I have played and enjoyed the majority of these games. I will investigate the handful I haven't thanks to this feature! My fav is Captain Toad but the most played is Levelhead (partly thanks to the family who love it too). I would acknowledge the best as being Inside and Horace I think.
Captain Toad was such a surprisingly fun game for me. I really enjoyed it
"ibb & obb" is one of the greatest co-op experiences of my life... anyone with a friend who is into the genre should absolutely play it.
I tried Chariot on WiiU and it got very boring... never finished it... is Super Chariot any better?
Captain toad is excellent feels like a Nintendo game of old simple but so much fun to play, it’s charming too. I picked up Horace with 90% off great game I would have been happy paying full price for it really wanna try fez
I love this genre and have a fair amount of games off this list. Semblance I had never heard of but now kind of want. Captain Toad I had been hoping would be on Black Friday sale but unfortunately wasn't.
Gris and Level Head I don't really think of as puzzlers exactly but are good games. Gris is simple but absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite games. Level Head is fun but it's like Mario Maker--you can make or play any of many different platformer sub-genres including puzzles.
JUICED! anyone? Mostly a really cool retro platformer but also has some real brain teasers
Uhhhhhh… Celeste?
You know, I like this site, and I certainly understand that people have different opinions and all that, but I really, really do not understand why they like Horace so much. I hated my time with that game.
Other than that, cool list. Good combination of games I enjoyed and games I’ve been wanting to check out!
@Krambo42 We can't all have the same opinion. I never played Horace just because of the art style, but I also didn't like Fez even though I can understand why people do. I fully expected to like it, I just didn't enjoy it after the intro map.
@FishyS Oh totally agree and understand. That one baffles me more than others, though. Glad they liked it, and cool if anybody else does, but that game really didn’t work for me. Usually I can at least say “eh, not for me, but I get it”. Oh well.
This biggest miss here is MO Astray
Years later and still no Pushmo on Switch. It’s really a shame Nintendo can’t offer that variety anymore
honestly, id put animal well on this list. although its newer and straddles the line between numerous genres, this is the list id put it on over something like metroidvanias
If Trine 4 is here, can't see why Trine 1,2 and 5 are not. But I can see why 3 is missing
Aren't Portal 1+2, Talos Principle and such also puzzle platformers? I thought they are.
I very surprised by Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker, I'm secretly sort of hoping that they make a sequel to that.
What about elechead?
@AgentGuapo that's a twitch platformer
@SilverM put all the Trines in there, I say. It’s a total package all together
What about Grindstone? It's crazy not having it on the list
PS: my bad. Because It's a list for puzzle platformers. Sorry...
Animal Well seems like a strong candidate for this list.
Yes, it’s a ‘Metroidvania/brainia/whatever’, but the Metroidvania genre as a whole could just as easily be described as ‘open-world platformer’.
Whatever you call it, it’s got puzzles and platforms galore!
Mario vs. DK belongs on this list.
Inside is one of the greatest games ever made, in my opinion. I highly recommend that to everyone.
I feel like NintendoLife really needs to start cleaning up these lists. They end up feeling really cluttered because games are only ever added and not removed, and the recommendations are harder to take at face value because they're bloated with games that really don't need to be included. It's just plain silly having a game the site scored as a 6/10 on a list of the best Switch games in a genre - especially when there are some notable omissions like ElecHead, Animal Well, and Mighty Switch Force! Collection that reviewed better! Basically, I think these sorts of lists should evolve over time instead of just being added to.
@Maxz I strongly agree. And let’s add Iconoclasts while we’re at all.
For those that haven’t tried it, I recommend The Pedestrian demo.
This is probably my favorite subgenre, and ElecHead is almost as good as VVVVVV while being far more puzzley. Some of the puzzle solutions are mind-blowing.
I'd add Phogs, and Mighty Switch Force.
@LastFootnote If you do that, then you're just adding every metroidvania to the list, and then genres become completely irrelevant, and there's no point in making lists.
@John_Deacon Grindstone isn't a puzzle platformer in any sense of the term. There's no platforming, or even direct control over a character. It's barely even a puzzle game, it just looks like one, because it was originally made for mobile to cash in on Candy Crush money, but you never actually have to solve anything, and it's basically impossible to not win. So probably not crazy to not have it on the list.
@Bolt_Strike yeah Mario vs DK really should be on here!
@NinjaNicky You shouldn't have to wait long for a discount - Inside is one of those games that almost feels like its on sale just as much as it's not. 90% off every 6wks or so for the last couple of years according to Deku Deals. Can't go wrong for £1.69 IMO
@Poodlestargenerica you're right. My bad. I hadn't seen it's only for platformers until you told me. Other than that, I disagree with you about virtually every aspect you mentioned. It's a pretty challenging game from the mid section on. Lots of variation, great animation. It's a high level puzzle game
I wonder how Tetris would do with this style. Not the biggest fan of Tetris, but still. It could be interesting.
@InTree I don't know exactly but you mean, but mouse craft is basically tetris as a puzzle platformer. It's also similar to a hello kitty game on Gameboy color, and a TINY bit similar to Tetris plus for ps1/gbc, and Blocked Up (which you can find on itch) . There are also two games Blocky Dungeon and Dungetris, which are roguelikes but have some puzzle platformer tropes and involve building your dungeon with tetris like pieces.
@John_Deacon I don't hate the game as much as it sounds, I'm more disappointed they didn't execute the idea better. Pocket Dungeon sort of did what I wanted Grindstone to do so I never play Grindstone anymore, and I'll be honest, I never got to a challenging part but only played a couple hours or so. This is the mobile game thing I meant where originally they wanted people to grind to get to the better puzzles.
@Poodlestargenerica
I’d say Metroidvanias that are especially puzzle-heavy should qualify, but you make a valid point.
But no, I would say that Symphony of the Night, for example, is not a puzzle platformer. Nor is any mainline Metroid game.
@LastFootnote I get what you mean too. Like Teslagrad is basically a puzzle platformer.
Really wish someone would pick up Fez and make a physical for it
@Poodlestargenerica I'll have to check out Mousectaft. I thought both Hello Kitty Cube Frenzy and Tetris Plus were great games and I've been wanting to see more games like it.
@LastFootnote Completely agree. The archetypal ’Metroidvania’ (naturally including both constituent series) primarily creates intrigue through a mix of platforming and combat, with maybe some light puzzle elements sprinkled in for interest. I’d argue most games in the genre stick closely enough to this formula to not risk flooding this list and diluting it of meaning.
If the meat and potatoes of the game are essentially ‘puzzling’ and ‘platforming’ then does it really matter whether the game’s areas are selected from a level menu (as in a traditional platformer) or connected as a sprawling network (à la Metroidvania)? As entertainment experiences, ‘what you spend most of your time doing’ seems more important than the layout of the map.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Animal Well to someone who likes puzzle platformers. The fact that its puzzle/platform chambers are all connected seems largely irrelevant.
@NinjaNicky for Inside, it really doesn’t matter how long the game is. It’s such high quality, that it’s worth every penny you pay for it. Also, it’s not 3 hours. It’s more like 5-6 hours. It’s a fantastic game, and you would not be disappointed when you get it. It’s been out for a long time, so just get it now and play it. If you love puzzle platformers, you’ll love it like I did.
@eaglesfly76 It's MAYBE 3 hours if you strip out all the problem solving and dying/replaying. Whenever I look at HLTB, I always find it undershoots massively; typically my playtime is like 1.25-1.5X what they posit.
@NinjaNicky perfect! Enjoy it man.
@Andee yeah it all depends on how much of a completionist you want to be, but the game is SOOOO good that the length doesn’t even matter in this case. It’s amazing and should be played by everyone. It’s that simple.
@eaglesfly76 oh absolutely — if anything it's when a game feels unnecessarily padded out or poorly paced is when I start to lose interest
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