2023 Platformers and Adventure Games To Watch

2023 looks to be an amazing year for Adventure games and platformers. here are our top five choices (that happen to be indie)

Cocoon - Adventure/Puzzle

After Somerville didn’t meet the expectations of many, I found myself wondering how will COCOON fare. Many high level members of playdead left after Inside, one of which was the lead gameplay designer of both Limbo and Inside. Jeppe Carlsen founded Geometric Interactive with other developers from playdead and they are calling their first game a cross between Legend of Zelda and Portal. Looking at the trailers, there certainly appear to be some mind bending puzzles that are sure to lead to some aha moments.

COCOON is going to answer whether or not the next playdead game will likely be amazing again because if this many people left the studio and have only delivered good games and not amazing games, then you could assume that most of the elite talent is still at the studio including studio founder Arnt Jensen.

Replaced - Action Platfomer/Adventure

Im going to be honest here, the whole reason I created this list was because I wanted to figure out another way to talk about Replaced. From the first time it was shown at the Xbox/Bethesda Summer Showcase, it instantly caught my attention with its 1980’s retro style that felt like games from my childhood including Flashback and Blackthorn. Sad Cat Studios has created this visually stunning game using pixel art.

Replaced is a 2.5D cinematic retro-futuristic action-thriller set in a dystopian alternative version of the USA in the 80’s. You play as an AI that is trapped in a human body and you need to explore and push your mortal body to the limits. The whole studio was displaced due to the war in Ukraine and you want nothing but good things to happen to this studio.

Gunbrella - Action Adventure/Platformer

Doinksoft, creators of Gato Roboto are back with another retro title. This time they added color, guns, and an umbrella. This side scrolling action platformer sees you on a quest for revenge that lands you in the middle of ghouls, gangsters, cops and cultists.

Gunbrella is also being published by Devolver Digital, which tends to indicate what kind of game you can expect. Gunbrella looks to be loaded with tight controls, tough enemies, epic bosses, and clever puzzles.

Plucky Squire - Adventure

Plucky Squire jumps off the screen with such amazing visuals that feel reminiscent of how Cuphead or Limbo first stole attention. How you interact with the world seems very original from moving the words on the pages to help your squire build a bridge with Lilly pads for example or escaping the pages of the book to become fully 3D and exploring the bedroom the creativity on display in the trailer feels like a fresh and magical experience. The trailer has plenty of vibes from classic Nintendo titles including The Legend of Zelda and Punch Out.

Plucky Squire is being developed by All Possible Futures. The studio was co founded by James Turner who has spent most of his career as an artist and Art Director at Game Freak, working on mainline Pokemon games.

Planet of Lana - Adventure

Planet of Lana is a hand painted 2.5D puzzle platformer that is built around an epic sci-fi story set in a far away galaxy that looks to be very inspired by playdead. The difference here is the tone. Planet of Lana appears to have a much brighter undertone. Clever puzzles, minimalist controls and environmental story telling still appear to be on the forefront.

Planet of Lana sees you partner up with an alien monkey cat that will help you solve puzzles in a game about a beautiful, vibrant planet and the journey to keep it that way according to the studio. The world created seems epic with gorgeous scenery and sense of scale from the sprawling deserts to the giant underwater creatures.

Worldless - Platformer

Worldless is a stylized 2D adventure platformer with Metroidvania elements but is not a Metroidvania. Elements including skill tree’s that you can upgrade which can aid your exploration with new ways to traverse but also add new skills to your combat. The world looks stunning and is full of intricate areas to explore but outside of the visuals, what looks to set Worldless apart is that it features turn based combat that you wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at the trailers.

Don’t let the word turn based combat fool you because it still looks fast and fluid. The combat looks to have some soulsborne influence as it features a “unique defend and combination system that requires patience and timing”