Platformers have the potential to be infuriating. Titles such as Valfaris or Castlevania will most certainly make you want to toss your controller against a nearby wall or yell as loud as you can as you die for the thousandth time.
Not all platforming games cause such frustration, however. Some developers seek to create a more laid-back experience that you will almost certainly complete with the same controller in your hands. Metroidvania games are exceptional and important nonetheless, but sometimes it's nice to flow through the game you purchased without becoming angry that you died too many times.
7 Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer is a heartwarming sidescroller that mixes a beautiful and vibrant art style with a quite morbid theme. You play as Stella, who is tasked with the responsibility of taking spirits to the afterlife. You must sail the waters in search of spirits that have yet to move on from their initial life.
At first glance, it seems like a game full of fetch quests, but unlike most demanding missions in games, Spiritfarer allows you to truly get to know the spirit you are transporting. When doing so, you learn about the life that particular spirit used to live. This gets you to involved with each tale you hear. There are no battles in this game. Spiritfarer focuses on the emotional story it is attempting to tell, giving the player the option to relax.
6 Yoshi's Wooly World
While not the best Yoshi game, it is nonetheless a top-tier title from the series with some of the best animations to date. This is easily the most relaxing Yoshi game due to its easy difficulty and stunning graphics. Some Yoshi games can certainly challenge your skills, but Yoshi's Wooly World instead aims for an easy ride throughout its runtime.
The colors aggressively pop, and the 2D platforms are easily determined. Everything in Yoshi's Wooly World is made of yarn, adding a new and entertaining idea to a partially repetitive series thus far. The enemies are scarce, and the boss fights are obtainable. Yoshi's Wooly World puts fun and comfort first, allowing you to keep your heart rate down while playing.
5 Sackboy: A Big Adventure
You simply cannot go wrong with any of the games in LittleBigPlanet franchise. Each game triumphs in the platforming genre. Sackboy: A Big Adventure is the best choice in the series only as it is the most recent and refined entry in the series thus far.
Progress through creatively designed levels with hardly any trouble. The levels focus more on creativity than they do on difficulty. Without a doubt, there are challenging levels to reach the finish line, but you will very rarely be yelling at your screen while on your tenth attempt at a stage. Sackboy's music is tremendous and only contributes to the great time you will have while playing the game, and the imaginative levels and the score make this game so easy to kick back and load up.
4 Mario Odyssey
Mario Odyssey is the best game on this list. It is not the most relaxing, however. It's unquestionably one of the best Mario games ever made, with crisp and satisfying movement. Mario Odyssey was able to take the redundant style of Mario games and add new things, such as worlds never seen before and amazing level design.
What makes Mario Odyssey so relaxing is the ability to hop onto the game and effortlessly bound through each world. Unlike most Mario games that force you to be on the defense at all times, Mario Odyssey opens up to the closest thing to an open-world game we have seen in the series. This allows you to enjoy and explore without the constant threat of dry bones creeping from behind. Aside from some difficult boss fights, Mario Odyssey is a perfect game to play lazily and casually.
3 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
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Kirby is back again for his best game yet. Similar to Mario Odyssey, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is Kirby's version of an open-world game. Although the story is cliché - your friend goes missing, go and rescue them - the world you roam within is revolutionary for Nintendo. It's worthy of a top three spot right next to Mario Odyssey and Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
You, of course, play as Kirby, the adorable pink ball that has many bizarre abilities. While every Kirby game prior to Kirby and the Forgotten Land has been entirely 2D, this one allows you to travel in a 3D setting. The enemies are fairly painless to handle, and the boss fights are only a step up from the basics. Kirby is placed in such an alluring world with so much to explore that it's easy to get lost and hardly cross paths with enemies for hours. It is the best Kirby game, as well as the easiest to dive into. You will find yourself hardly struggling but progressing and relishing in the ride nonetheless.
2 Astro's Playroom
A game that was made to show the capabilities of the Dualsense ended up being one of the best PlayStation 5 games to release with the system. Astro's Playroom contains a bevy of portals that allow you to experience uniquely designed locations. Each of these is platformed-based and designed to show off the Dualsense's feedback.
Although it is essentially a tech demo for the new console, the game manages to create levels worth playing over and over again. Whether attempting to beat your friend's high score or even just experience the advanced technology that Sony has brought to the table, Astro's Playroom is the perfect choice when you don't feel like getting into an intense, fast-paced game.
1 LocoRoco
LocoRoco is an absolutely amazing platformer. It is also the most on-the-nose title of any game in regards to relaxing while you play - LocoRoco requires the use of only three buttons as you control a yellow ball and try to reach the end of the level with it completely intact. The once complete yellow ball can separate into much smaller ones in order to fit through the level's tightest cracks.
The LocoRocos can also be found providing the bulk of the musical notes you hear while rolling your way to the finish line. The adorable yellow balls sing with happiness as they roll their way to safety. LocoRoco is a game that practically any gamer can play and prevail in with little to no effort at all. The game asks that you simply sit back, turn the fantastic music up and flow with the tune effortlessly.