Best platformer and arcade games

In a platformer, you guide a character through levels by running and jumping between platforms, avoiding enemies and traps. Super Mario Bros. set the pattern on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sonic the Hedgehog added great speed, and modern games such as Celeste show how precise and meaningful the genre can still be. Arcade games were first made for coin-operated machines, so they were designed to be understood in seconds and to become harder over time. Pac-Man, where you eat dots in a maze while ghosts chase you, and Breakout, where a paddle and ball break a wall of bricks, are two of the best known.

For each game we explain the goal, the controls in general terms, what makes later levels hard and the platforms of the original release when we are certain. We also give practical tips. Ratings are editorial opinions. We do not sell or host these commercial games. Several have a natural partner on our site: try our free rooftop runner, maze and brick-breaking games in your browser, with daily challenges and leaderboards.