10 Awesome 3D Platformers To Play On The Switch If You Loved Mario Odyssey

There are a number of colorful and enjoyable 3D platformer games available on the Nintendo Switch that capture the spirit of Super Mario Odyssey.

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Considering Nintendo consoles used to be brimming with quality 3D platformers, it’s peculiar that there are few to be found on Switch. While they were prominent in the ’90s and early 2000s, this style seems to have taken a backseat to the renaissance of 2D platforming. However, it does make sense why Switch developers might shy away from this style after the epic Super Mario Odyssey set the bar so astronomically high.

Thankfully, there are a number of colorful and enjoyable 3D platformers on Nintendo’s current platform that capture at least some of the spirit of Mario’s latest adventure. While most of these games may not be as rich or expansive as Odyssey, they prove fun and charming in their own right. So let’s embark on a 3D adventure as we examine the best 3D platforming offerings on Switch that Odyssey fans will love.

10 Poi: Explorer Edition

This adventure platformer certainly doesn’t have all the polish or expansiveness Odyssey contains, but it definitely captures the feel of Super Mario 64. Funny enough, the ’90s 3D platforming homage is ironically unique in a modern-day context, given the lack of similar games made today.

As you’d gather from the title, Poi leans on exploration rather than fast-paced gameplay or puzzles. It also utilizes some compelling world design, exhilarating flying mechanics, and a smattering of coins and medallions to collect. It certainly does ring as something of a ’90s/early 2000s-era Mario clone, but it’s still a fun, well-crafted one. If it ain’t broke, why fix it, right?

9 Snake Pass

This snake slithering romp might seem like a simple platformer, but it sports some charmingly fun classic platforming gameplay. It also looks and plays extremely smooth too, thanks to its usage of Unreal Engine 4 and solid physics.

The game perfects the art of using simplicity to its advantage, while still providing a satisfying, fundamentally solid platformer. You’re dropped in a variety of colorful stages brimming with obstacles, platforms, and posts that you’ll have to navigate by slithering your way through, across, and around to gather collectible trinkets. The level design is simple, yet cleverly built, feeling akin to a digital playground that coaxes you to explore every nook and cranny.

8 Ginger: Beyond The Crystal

Much like Snake Pass, don’t expect the level of detail or complexity that Super Mario Odyssey contains. Still, a basic platformer certainly doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had, and there’s plenty when it comes to Ginger: Beyond the Crystal. And while not perfect, it’s certainly a uniquely enjoyable 3D platformer on Switch.

The game has you embark on a 3D adventure in which you’re tasked with rebuilding various unique environments, which have been devastated by the explosion of a mystical crystal. Along the way, you’ll be gathering crystals which can be spent to bring citizens back to abandoned towns, as well as open up portals to new lands beyond. There’s a cool variance of 2D and 3D platforming, a nice blend of puzzles and collection-based missions, as well as a strong sense of progression.

7 RiME

While Snake Pass stresses navigation and Ginger focuses on collecting items, RiME’s core gameplay emphasizes Zelda-style puzzles within a 3D platforming arena. It also provides a majestic sense of exploration with some gorgeous cell-shaded 3D worlds, each of which comes with a fine level of detail.

The game provides a feeling of peaceful serenity, but also thrills and wonder. You’re left to explore these unknown lands with minimal hand-holding as you venture, climb, and swim your way through pretty landscapes and clever puzzles.

6 Yooka-Laylee

Sure, we don’t have a Banjo Kazooie game on Switch despite their surprise appearance in Smash Bros, or any of those classic Rare 3D platformers for that matter. Though, if you’re looking for a game that captures much of the essence of those glorious ’90s 3D platformers, Yooka-Laylee is about as close as you can get. The game’s development team even includes some former Rare employees.

The game contains a nice and steady sense of progression as you explore five distinct and enriching worlds, unlock expansive new areas, and build up your arsenal of abilities. Your charming protagonists come with some satisfying moves, including a Sonic-like roll, offensive spin, and the ability to flutter for a short time Kazooie-style.

5 Fe

Fe is a unique 3D platformer that demonstrates and celebrates enriching art design nearly as much as its gameplay. The core feature that truly makes it stand out, however, is its emphasis on musical melodies.

The game takes a minimalistic approach both with its level design and its silhouetted cell-shaded visuals, focusing on puzzles rather than plentiful pitfalls or enemies. The result is a wondrous and mystifying sense of atmosphere that borders on eerie. You’re dropped into a desolate world as a small singing fox, who must use his howling melodies to unlock secrets, solve puzzles, and occasionally take out baddies.

4 LEGO City Undercover

This charming open-world adventure game based on the classic Lego toys feels part Mario Odyssey, part Grand Theft Auto—minus the raunchy adult themes, of course. Once a Wii U exclusive, LEGO City Undercover was thankfully ported to Switch, where it plays more smoothly and dazzles visually.

The game emphasizes exploration and a variety of unique missions within a vast open Lego world. You’ve got a number of interesting puzzles, platforming portions to traverse (like making your way across tower buildings), and thrilling driving missions. The Switch version of this game even adds an enjoyable two-player co-op.

3 de Blob 2

Take the 3d Mario formula and infuse it with Splatoon’s painting sensibilities, and you might have de Blob 2, an even more refined and fleshed-out sequel to the awesome first entry. There’s a bit of a Super Mario Sunshine influence here, but inverted, as the game revolves around coloring various objects. The simplistic gameplay and your ability to color the world around you makes for a delightful experience that can be played alone or with a friend.

Similar to LEGO being more tailored to the Wii U control scheme, de Blob 2 is more centered around the Wii controls since it was built for that console. Still, this charming little platformer translates quite well as a Switch port.

2 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

It’s nice to see Mario’s mushroom chum have a role in a game beyond tossing you an occasional collectible or informing him that the princess is “in another castle.” Super Mario 3D World players will recognize this concept as a more fleshed-out version of The Adventures of Toad minigame. Captain Toad features a whopping 68 stages constructed like virtual 3D puzzles, from which you must navigate Toad through and gather collectibles along the way.

The intricate, clever level design built with the unique isometric 3D biomes and the fun puzzle gameplay more than make up for the restrictive lack of a jumping function. You even get a taste of Odyssey in the remastered Switch version with a handful of stages modeled off of that game.

1 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Crash fans will tell you that you get a truly epic package of quality 3D platformers here. N. Sane Trilogy on Switch features the familiarly enjoyable gameplay of the first 3 Crash Bandicoot games with some pretty visual and gameplay enhancements. Each game contains its own charm and a diversity of fast-paced platforming with some sharp mechanics, colorful landscapes, and fun obstacles to traverse.

Ironically, this once Sony exclusive ends up being one of the Switch’s greatest platformers, and a shining example of a remaster done right.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/3d-platformers-play-nintendo-switch-mario-odyssey/