I have autism/special needs and get lost in games very easily, so I'm looking for straightforward platformers that aren't first party Nintendo stuff. Things like this that I've already played are Shovel Knight, Sonic Mania, some of the Mega Mans, and Celeste.
A friend gifted me Hollow Knight and I got extremely lost and frustrated by not knowing where I was supposed to go. So games of that nature/Metroidvanias are off the table. Better if they have clear objectives/always lead me in the right direction.
Edit: It doesn't matter if it's a 2D or 3D platformer by the way. I have A Hat in Time in my backlog already.
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Rayman Legends
And origins
Origins isn't on Switch, is it?
No. But about 2/3rds of the levels are in Legends, so it's kind of unnecessary to play anyway
The Origins levels in Legends are easier, they changed the artstyle (for the worse imo) and they’re stripped of any sense of story or progression. There’s also a solid 26 Origins levels not in Legends (including the true final level). I don’t really understand this take, Origins is absolutely worth playing before Legends if you have the hardware to play it on.
Sorry you're right, i was ome of the six people to own a Wii u.
Just 100%’d this game and cannot recommend it enough. Some the most creative levels I’ve personally experienced
This is one of the best platformers I’ve played. Both it and origins are amazing
Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a fun game. Often less than $5 on sale.
They might struggle with the overworld.
Rayman Legends
New Super Lucky's Tale.
yes yes yes!!! i just played this and finished it and i loved every second of it!!
Did the difficulty spike dramatically from the first area? My household is very neurodivergent, they loved the first area of Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, but found the water area too difficult to the point of not being fun - but the areas after were fun for them!
They really loved the first part of Super Lucky's Tale, but noticed a spike in difficulty after and got spooked. I don't mind getting past the next bit for them but I worry that the game would just keep getting harder from there.
hmmmm i don't think it got drastically harder. the only harder parts for me were the boss in gilly island and the final boss
The final boss is harder, but I think it was mostly hard because I was trying for the Platinum trophy on PlayStation and you can't take any damage.
Kaze and the Wild Masks is a solid platformer for the price when on sale. I wouldn’t pay the full 20$ for it, but I’ve seen it as low as 1.99$.
Edit:
I wanted to add BatBoy since you mentioned megaman. I had a lot of fun with this one, it’s a sports themed mega man like game, I found it to be unique and somewhat challenging.
Dadish Collection, Grapple Dogs, Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines, Gimmick 2, Rayman Legends are all great 2D Platformers.
And if you liked Celeste, try Bzzzt. It is a great precision platform.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy. The levels of all 3 games are compact enough and designed deliberately so you don't get lost. All three games also have the option to display a map, if you need the extra help.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a good challenging platformer as is the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy and Crash 4!
I second these recommendations! I love DKC and Crash: straightforward, fun , challenging, great music!
What about classics like "Alex kidd in miracle world"?
Penny's Big Breakaway. From the same team that made Sonic Mania.
Try Azure Striker Gunvolt or anything in the Gunvolt series, probably. I believe the whole series is on the switch. It is a little like MegaMan.
I played the first one on the 3ds, but it was a high stress time in my life so I set it down. I've been wanting to play again because looking back it was fun, I was just anxious and not able to enjoy much.
Frogun
Pac-Man World Repac. (1st better than the second one maybe.)
Yooka RePlaylee Maybe?
Shovel Knight Dig. I have it and it's very varied and entertaining and you only go down. The only thing is that is pretty difficult to not get killed eventually and you have to restart from the beginning, as it's a Roguelike with randomized levels.
Spyro Reignited?
BroForce
Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap & Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.
They say the first one, Wonder Boy, it's simpler than the second one.
GunBolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger iX 2
If you're up to challenge yourself, as I see you've done with Celeste, there's Cyber Shadow. It's pretty much linear, not a MetroidVania. It's always straightforward with minimal backtracking.
Kirby's Return to DreamLand.
For two players minimum, Popucom.
Klonoa 1 & 2
Toree
New Super Lucky's Tale
Lil Gator Game
Astrobot
super meat boy might be up your alley
Nuclear Blaze is a short, straightforward and very fun platformer based around being a firefighter responding to a fire at a research facility, and finding out it goes deeper than you thought.
Crash trilogy, crash 4
Stray might be okay for you. It doesn’t actually have a map that you can reference because you are a cat, but I think you would be okay. The play areas are on the smaller side and the storyline pushes you from one area to the next pretty effectively. I’ve played through it maybe 3 times now? It’s one of the few games I have enjoyed revisiting. I bought it for the PlayStation, but I do know that it’s been released for Switch, I just can’t speak for what it’s like specifically on a Switch.
Prince of Persia, The Lost Crown. It's a metroidvania game, but it has a mode specifically for players who struggle with navigation.
That game is just hard sometimes lmao but fun and very fluid!
Not quite a platformer, but curious if you'd be interested in something like Hades. There is a story that plays out, but you can't really get lost because the only way to move is forward, until you have to try again.
This is the game I thought of too
Neither are platformers but katana zero and hades are both great games that you can’t really get lost in
Here’s a long list of opinions and recommendations:
If you’re looking for games in the vain of Mega Man or shovel knight then I’d recommend games like Panzer Paladin, or Gravity Circuit. Both of these recreate the classic Mega Man feel.
You mentioned Sonic Mania, so I feel like you would also enjoy Freedom Planet. If I remember right it started as a Sonic OC fan game, but then ballooned into its own unique entity. There is a sequel as well, but I haven’t got round to it yet.
Grapple Dog is also a simple and solid platformer. It regularly goes on sale for £0.99, so you can get it cheap. It also has a sequel.
I personally like the game Bomb Chicken as well. It’s a bit of a one-note puzzle platformer, but it’s good.
On another note, The Trine series of games are a good series I recommend. There is a collection on Switch that includes Trine 1-4, and you can buy Trine 5 separately. I really enjoyed Trine 1 and 2 back in the day. I avoided Trine 3 due to poor reviews, but Trine 4 was a return to form. I haven’t played 5, but it appears to follow on from 4. I will say though that they occasionally lean hard on the puzzle aspect, so if you don’t like getting stuck that might be an issue.
If you are open to 3D platformers, I hear that Penny’s Big Breakaway is great. I enjoyed the demo at least, and the levels in the demo seemed quite linear.
All of the games I mentioned above are indie title. Crash Bandicoot (Trilogy and 4) and Rayman (Origins and Legends) are platformers by big publishers that are worth giving a look at also. I highly recommend the two Rayman games.
Edit: Also Thomas Was Alone is amazing. Highly recommended. It’s short so you could finish in an afternoon, but that’s an afternoon well spent.
I recommend The Messenger. One of the few games I couldn't stop until I finished.
I turns into a Metroidvaina at the end But the first 60% is a straight forward platformer.
Oddworld. Old-school puzzle platforming, Munch's Oddysee even adds some Pikmin-esque combat.
Sonic Origins and maybe Sonic Superstars. I believe Origins is far better though.
Penny’s Big Breakaway is difficult to get lost in and is probably my favorite non-tendo 3D platformer.
In terms of 2D, I suggest Pepper Grinder
Downwell. You go down. That is it.
Slime San. Most levels are contained to a single screen.
Splasher, evergate, and super one more jump are great 2d platformers and go on sale for VERY cheap. Like less than $1
Celeste 😈😈
It sounds like you just prefer Platformers to Metroidvanias. Would just recommend avoiding games that lean closer to that genre.
Prince of Persia the Lost Crown…it‘s a beginner friendly metroidvania. I loved it!
Sonic Mania is really straightforward, though there are always more than one way to the end of the level.
I cannot get past Flying Battery Zone, are there any strategies to help me through it?
Tbh that one might be able to get lost in, towards the end. I remember kid me had trouble with it.
Lots of good suggestions here. The Messenger is also a great platformer and has a banger chiptune soundtrack!
I don't play too many platformers, but I really liked Pizza Tower for a fun, but tough platformer that encourages getting a hold of the controls and going for faster times. I also thought Thomas Was Alone was really sweet and short platformer that goes on sale quite often.
I know you said you were out on metroidvanias, but I prefer Animal Well as a first metroidvania experience. It's a lot easier to navigate, fun platforming, and there's not any combat to worry about.
Pizza Tower is one of the GOATs but there is a huge element to the game where you are racing towards an exit in often mazelike stages.
Along with what’s been said, Every Mario 2D game. I found Mario Galaxy pretty straight forward.
Super Meat Boy is easily one of the greatest platformers of all time.
I'm neurotypic and get lost easily lol
two 3D collectathon platformers that keep you moving in one direction:
smushi come home - you are a lil mushroom person who gets swept away from home during a storm. find your way back working through stages one at a time. there's a little bit of backtracking but the progression is very linear so i don't think you would get lost.
misc. a tiny tale - play a tiny robot who's investigating a big explosion that scattered little gears everywhere. each level is like a mini self-contained "open world" where you solve puzzles and do platforming challenges. the stages are small enough its impossible to get lost in them and the story is really charming.
I'd 100% check out Bakeru
Guacamelee 1&2 bundled even better.
My friend Pedro
Cup head
Are three games I strongly suggest.
Maybe Yoku's island express? There's a demo, so you can try it out :)
Love that game. It can be a bit tricky to get from place to place early on soemyomes sometimes, but never really lost. You can always zoom out to the entire map and see where you're destination is.
That game is so so so much fun.
Not a platformer but Eastward is a gorgeous game that you will not get lost in
Cuphead
Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Blows my mind that nobody has recommended that yet.
Because you can get lost in that one very easily