14 Best Wii U Platformers

Axiom Verge came to the Wii U in September 2016, more than a year after its PlayStation 4 debut. It is a Metroidvania: you play Trace, a scientist who wakes up on a world called Sudra, and you fight your way toward a voice that turns out to be a massive, mechanical head named Elsenova. From there it is a big map full of locked paths, and every new tool opens up a little more of it. A physical Multiverse Edition was planned for the Wii U as well, with a booklet of developer commentary and a making-of documentary.

Critics were very kind to it. Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann gave it a perfect score, praising its huge variety of weapons, and reviewers also liked its secrets and its soundtrack. It came late in the console's life, but if you want a platformer to get lost in, it is well worth the trip.

Runbow was the debut game of 13AM Games, a small Canadian studio, and it came out in North America on 27 August 2015. The idea started at the 2014 Global Game Jam. It is a multiplayer platformer where everyone races to be the first to reach a trophy at the end of each level. With Wii Remotes plus Nunchuks or Classic Controllers, it supports up to nine players at once, which is about as many people as most living rooms can hold without someone sitting on the dog.

There is more than racing in it. King of the Hill and Arena modes change the goal, and a special mode called Master the Bowhemoth adds a big challenge of its own. The final update in October 2016 even added Shantae. If you want a party game that is also a real platformer, this is the one.

DuckTales: Remastered is a high-definition remake of the 1989 DuckTales game, and it came to the Wii U in August 2013. The gameplay remains identical to the original: you play Scrooge McDuck, you use your cane as a pogo stick, and you hunt for five treasures across the world and beyond. The original game's five levels are all here and have been expanded, and you can still play them in any order. It adds a tutorial level in Scrooge's money bin and a new final level in Mount Vesuvius.

The voice acting is the part fans of the show remember. The cartoon's surviving voice actors came back for full voice acting. Reviewers praised the gameplay and presentation and criticized the overabundance of story content, If you only want the platforming, the five levels hold up very well.

New Super Luigi U started life as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U. Nintendo announced it in a February 2013 Nintendo Direct and then decided to sell it on its own as well, in a green box instead of blue. Mario is left out entirely. Luigi takes the lead, and Nabbit takes Mario's place. Producer Takashi Tezuka was originally against a physical release, because the game was designed for players who had already finished New Super Mario Bros. U.

That tells you who it is for. Critics praised the difficulty and the level design, but criticized Luigi's control scheme as unbalanced with the difficulty change. It sold 3.07 million copies by 2020, which made it the eighth-best-selling Wii U game. Not bad for the brother who is usually player two.

Sonic Lost World came out in October 2013 for the Wii U and the 3DS, made in a partnership between Sega and Nintendo. Work on it began shortly after Sonic Colors in 2010. It slows Sonic down on purpose: simply moving the stick makes him run at a moderate pace, which allows for more precision. Tomoya Ohtani composed and directed the soundtrack, and downloadable content later added extra levels and a new Wisp power.

The reviews were mixed. Critics went after the controls and the Deadly Six, the new group of villains, but they liked the visuals and the audio. It is still a Sonic game that bet on careful platforming, and it still made the top ten here.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse follows the 2005 DS game Kirby: Canvas Curse, and it reached North America on February 20, 2015. The whole thing looks like claymation. The team even used real clay for reference during development, and the result is one of the most handmade-looking games on the console. Each level hides treasure chests, some behind a puzzle or a timed room, and they unlock clay figures and music tracks to look at later.

It split critics more than most Kirby games. The gameplay was a point of debate, and it scored 73 out of 100 on Metacritic. The art style, the soundtrack and its overall charm got praise almost everywhere, though. Some games are worth playing just to look at them, and this is one of those.

Shovel Knight came out in June 2014 on the 3DS, Wii U and Windows after a crowdfunding campaign. Yacht Club Games was founded by former members of WayForward, and the team pulled its ideas from DuckTales and Super Mario Bros. 3, plus checkpoint design borrowed from Dark Souls. Jake Kaufman wrote the chiptune music using FamiTracker, software made for writing songs in the style of NES games, and Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae added two tracks.

It received critical acclaim, and some critics count it among the greatest video games ever made. The full package later grew into Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, with three more campaigns. Players name it more than twice as often as Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, the game right below it.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker grew out of the small Toad stages in Super Mario 3D World. The developers wanted to turn those concept levels into a full game from the start, and work began at Shigeru Miyamoto's request. It came out in North America on December 5, 2014. Toad cannot jump, so every level is a tiny puzzle box you turn around with the camera until you see the way through. The team designed 100 levels at the start and played through them together.

Critics praised its graphics and its concept, though some wanted better camera control. The Wii U version sold over 1 million copies, making it one of the console's best sellers. One player summed it up: "Captain Toad is a great, charming puzzle game." Just do not expect Toad to clear a gap.

Rayman Legends is the fifth main Rayman game and the sequel to Rayman Origins. It was first planned for the Wii U alone, with a demo on the Wii U eShop in December 2012. Then the release was delayed by six months and the game went multi-platform. Fans were upset, since the developer had said the Wii U version was already finished, and a petition for the original date passed 11,000 signatures. A helper called Murfy can cut through ropes and grab hold of enemies while Rayman runs.

The wait paid off in sheer size. It has over one hundred twenty levels, including forty remastered levels from Rayman Origins. Critics praised its visuals, level design, controls and soundtrack. The Wii U version also got a Mario costume for Rayman and a Luigi costume for Globox.

New Super Mario Bros. U was a Wii U launch title, and it is the first Super Mario game with high-definition graphics. It began as a tech demo at E3 2011, and Shigeru Miyamoto later announced it would become a full game. It is the fourth and final entry in the New Super Mario Bros. series, and the developers used an open world map layout out of nostalgia for Super Mario World.

Critics praised its gameplay, graphics and additions, but some called it unoriginal next to the earlier New games. Players did not seem to mind. As of March 2025, the Wii U and Switch versions combined have sold over 24 million copies. It is the safe pick for anyone who wants Mario the classic way.

Yoshi's Woolly World is the seventh main Yoshi game and the first on a home console since Yoshi's Story in 1997. Like Good-Feel's earlier Kirby's Epic Yarn, it takes place in a world made of yarn and cloth, and it is lovely to look at. At any point you can switch to Mellow Mode, which gives Yoshi a pair of wings so he can fly indefinitely. Special editions came with a knitted Yarn Yoshi amiibo in green, blue or pink.

Critics praised the art style and the gameplay and criticized the easy difficulty. It is gentle, but it also works for two players, and a Yoshi amiibo gives solo players a second Yoshi to throw yarn at.

Super Mario Maker came out in September 2015 as part of the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. It lets you create, play and share courses in the style of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. The funny part is how it started: it was conceived as a tool for Nintendo's own development team to make Mario levels. The GamePad turned that tool into something anyone could use.

Critics praised the user interface and the course editing tools. The online side is gone now. Course uploads ended on March 31, 2021, and the last online services shut down on April 8, 2024. Even so, players still rank it third, and building a level just to watch a friend die in it never stops being fun.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the fifth game in the Donkey Kong Country series and a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii. It came out in February 2014. Dixie Kong is back for the first time since Donkey Kong Country 3 in 1996, and Cranky Kong is a main playable character for the first time in the series. Shigeru Miyamoto influenced the ground pound and offered a few tips, but was otherwise not involved.

Critics praised the level design, gameplay and soundtrack, while the high difficulty got mixed opinions. It is hard. It is also one of the best-made 2D platformers Nintendo has put its name on, and it is the platformer players recommend most on the Wii U after the one below.

Super Mario 3D World is the sixth original 3D platform game in the Super Mario series and the sequel to the 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land. It has a multiplayer mode, and co-director Kenta Motokura explained that different people could pick different characters based on their personality. Rosalina was later added as a playable character. The game was re-released for the Switch as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury in February 2021, and between both versions it has sold 19.36 million units.

It was acclaimed for its level design, presentation, replay value and soundtrack, though some reviewers criticized the unreliable camera in multiplayer. Players name it more than twice as often as any other Wii U platformer, and no other game on the console gets recommended more.