10 Best Platforming Games on Xbox Game Pass (April 2026)

Want to dive into some of the best Xbox Game Pass platformers in 2026? Game Pass is packed with amazing adventures where you can jump, climb, and fight through beautiful worlds. So, whether you love fast action or slow exploration and puzzle solving, there’s something perfect waiting for you.

What Defines the Best Platformers?

Great platformers go beyond just jumping across gaps. The best ones bring sharp level design, solid mechanics, and a world that feels fun to move through. Some hit hard with fast combat and big challenges. Others take their time with deep stories or clever puzzles. What matters most is how each part of the game stays interesting.

List of 10 Best Xbox Game Pass Platforming Games in 2026

These platformers bring something unique, with gameplay that’s both fun and easy to get into. Here’s the full list.

10. Limbo

Dark monochrome journey through deadly traps and puzzle platform challenges

Limbo follows a young boy who wakes inside a dark forest filled with danger. The entire world appears in black and white, which gives the adventure a haunting atmosphere. Soon after entering the forest, deadly traps such as bear traps, spikes, and falling objects appear across the path. Players must observe the environment carefully and interact with objects such as crates, ropes, and levers to clear obstacles. For example, a wooden box can help reach a higher ledge, while a hanging rope allows safe travel across deep gaps.

Because the game provides no dialogue or text instructions, the environment itself guides players toward solutions. As a result, attention to the surroundings becomes very important while traveling through the forest and nearby areas. In addition, certain puzzles require activating switches that move platforms or change the direction of machinery. Through quiet storytelling and environmental design, Limbo delivers a short but memorable platforming journey.

9. Another Crab’s Treasure

Search the ocean floor for shells while fighting sea creatures

Another Crab’s Treasure tells the story of Kril, a small hermit crab living in an underwater town full of sea creatures. One day, Kril loses his shell after failing to pay a strange tax demanded by a powerful authority. Without a shell, Kril becomes vulnerable to attacks from enemies across the ocean world. So, the journey begins with a search for a replacement shell and a way to get his original one back. However, shells in this ocean are not traditional shells. Kril uses human trash that has sunk to the ocean floor. Soda cans, bottle caps, and even small boxes act as protective shells.

Furthermore, different objects provide different defensive abilities and durability. For example, a metal can offers strong protection, while a lighter object may break faster but provides other helpful effects. Because of this system, players often switch between shells depending on the situation. Meanwhile, the underwater world contains many areas filled with enemies and platform challenges. Kril uses a small fork as a weapon to fight creatures such as crabs, shrimp, and other strange ocean animals. If you are searching for the best 3D platformers on Xbox Game Pass, you should definitely play Another Crab’s Treasure.

8. Celeste

Scale a towering mountain through careful jumps and air dashes

Celeste is about a young woman named Madeline who decides to climb Celeste Mountain. The mountain contains many dangerous paths, such as steep cliffs, icy caves, and old ruins. Madeline’s main ability is a quick air dash that sends her forward in one direction. This dash helps her cross large gaps or avoid spikes placed on walls and ceilings. However, the dash can only be used once before she touches the ground again. Because of this rule, players must think carefully about the next safe landing spot.

In many areas, glowing crystals refill the dash ability during midair jumps. Levels introduce creative sequences that involve several jumps and dashes across platforms. Later sections introduce additional ideas that make climbing the mountain more difficult. For example, strong wind in some areas pushes Madeline backward while she jumps across narrow platforms. Frequent checkpoints also help players continue quickly after mistakes.

7. Rain World

A lone creature survives inside a dangerous abandoned ecosystem

Rain World centers on a small creature called Slugcat that tries to survive in a ruined world filled with strange animals and old industrial structures. Heavy rain regularly floods the land, so shelter becomes very important. The Slugcat must search for food such as small creatures or plants before the rain arrives. Once enough food is collected, the character can rest inside underground shelters. However, reaching those shelters is rarely easy. Dangerous animals roam through tunnels, pipes, and broken buildings. Some predators hunt the Slugcat, while others hunt different animals in the environment. So, the world often changes in unexpected ways.

At the same time, the environment itself creates many platform challenges. Long pipes connect different areas, while tall structures require careful climbing and jumping across narrow ledges. Spears act as tools for defense and hunting small prey. They can also stick into walls, which helps the Slugcat reach higher areas. Meanwhile, different creatures react to situations in their own ways. A predator chasing another animal might suddenly cross the player’s path. In contrast, some creatures ignore the Slugcat completely. Rain World therefore offers a unique survival adventure that stands apart from many other platform games in the Game Pass lineup.

6. Little Nightmares II

Escape giant enemies while navigating dark rooms and traps

Little Nightmares II features a young boy named Mono who travels with a girl called Six through a strange and unsettling world. The game moves through eerie locations such as a dark forest, an abandoned school, and other unsettling environments filled with strange characters. Most sections involve platform challenges such as climbing shelves, crossing narrow planks, or jumping across broken structures. Meanwhile, puzzles appear frequently through objects in the environment.

Players may drag boxes to reach high areas, push carts to create bridges, or activate switches that open new paths. However, enemies often patrol these areas, so careful planning becomes important. Sometimes hiding behind furniture or inside small spaces helps avoid detection. Meanwhile, stealth moments appear regularly, especially during encounters with larger enemies roaming the environment. So players must observe the surroundings carefully before moving ahead. Overall, the game delivers a creepy atmosphere with platform challenges and environmental puzzles. That is why it earns a higher spot on our best Xbox Game Pass platformer games list.

5. It Takes Two

The best 2-player co-op game in the Xbox Game Pass lineup

It Takes Two is a cooperative platform adventure designed only for two players. One player guides Cody, and the other guides May, a married couple who suddenly shrink to toy size inside their own home. Normal household spaces turn into huge platform routes filled with obstacles. Players travel across bookshelves, garden areas, toolboxes, and many other everyday locations that now appear enormous.

However, reaching the next area always requires teamwork. One character might operate a device while the other crosses a gap or activates a mechanism. Meanwhile, both players must communicate constantly so that actions happen in the correct order. Another interesting aspect involves how the game introduces new mechanics in almost every chapter. Overall, this cooperative design makes the adventure enjoyable for friends, couples, or family members who want a shared platform game.

4. Ultimate Chicken Horse

A great multiplayer platformer game on Game Pass

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a party platform game that becomes more fun with friends. A group of players picks funny animal characters such as a horse, chicken, raccoon, or sheep. The level starts almost empty. There is only a starting platform and a flag at the end. Before the round begins, everyone chooses one obstacle from a small list. Someone might pick spikes, a crossbow, sticky traps, or a moving platform. After that, players place the obstacle anywhere on the stage. Then the round begins, and everyone tries to reach the flag.

However, the interesting part comes from how the stage changes after every round. If a player reaches the flag while others fail, that player earns points. Meanwhile, new obstacles appear every round since everyone keeps adding more traps. As a result, safe paths slowly disappear and the level becomes harder. Sometimes the stage turns into a ridiculous mess full of arrows, saws, and spikes. On the other hand, placing too many traps can block the level completely, and nobody scores. In the end, rounds become funny and unpredictable, especially with friends laughing and shouting during close jumps.

3. Planet of Lana

Guide Lana and her creature companion across dangerous alien landscapes

Planet of Lana is a side scrolling adventure about a young girl named Lana and a small creature named Mui. Lana travels through forests, cliffs, lakes, and ancient mechanical ruins on a distant planet. The main objective in most areas involves reaching the next location while avoiding danger and solving environmental puzzles. Lana cannot defeat enemies directly, so safe routes and careful observation become very important.

Some sections require hiding in tall grass while machines patrol nearby paths. In other areas, Lana climbs ledges, jumps across gaps, and pushes objects that open new routes. Meanwhile, Mui helps with many tasks that Lana cannot complete alone. However, Mui is more than just a companion. The creature can interact with switches, pull small objects, and distract certain enemies. Therefore, many puzzles require coordination between Lana and Mui. Lana might guide Mui toward a device while she moves to another platform. Then, both actions together unlock the next path forward.

2. Relooted

A futuristic heist adventure about reclaiming cultural artifacts

Up next on our best Xbox Game Pass platformers 2026 list comes Relooted, a heist adventure with a very different idea. The game takes place near the end of the 21st century, after a treaty promised the return of African artifacts from Western museums. However, museums begin hiding many items from public display so they do not have to give them back. So a small group steps in to reclaim them directly. You play as Nomali, a member of a crew determined to return these important artifacts to their rightful homes. The team includes people from different African countries.

Before any mission starts, planning becomes the most important step. First, you look through the museum layout and decide how the escape should work. Then you recruit teammates who can help during the job. You also study corridors, locked doors, and security devices so the escape route stays clear once the artifact leaves its display case. Once the artifact leaves its display case, the real action begins. A countdown starts, and security reacts quickly. Now you must guide Nomali through the museum and reach the exit.

1. Hollow Knight: Silksong

The best action platformer with acrobatic combat and intense boss fights

The final game on our 2026 list of best Game Pass platformer games is Hollow Knight: Silksong. The game places Hornet in a dangerous new kingdom that she must travel through while climbing toward the top of the land. The game plays like a side-scrolling platform adventure. You guide Hornet through areas filled with enemies, tricky jumps, and environmental obstacles. During combat, she uses quick attacks and agile abilities to deal with large groups of insect enemies.

However, platform sections remain just as important. Players jump across narrow platforms, climb vertical areas, and react quickly to hazards. Meanwhile, enemy encounters appear frequently, which keeps the pace active through most of the journey. Another important part of the game comes from the large number of enemies and boss battles. More than two hundred different foes appear during the adventure. In addition, over forty major bosses challenge players with unique attack styles.