7 Great Platforming Video Games (That Have Been Forgotten)

Naughty Dog have been one of Sony’s key development partners for almost thirty years at this point. Bought out by them in 2001, they have avoided the fate shared by so many companies in the same position by both maintaining a degree of independence and continuously releasing incredible games.

The company’s original modus operandi was to develop one new franchise per console generation. They created four Crash Bandicoot games for the original Playstation, before ownership complications with Universal saw them abandon their mascot for four Jak & Daxter games on the PS2. They broke their pattern on the PS3 by releasing The Last Of Us alongside the Uncharted trilogy, whilst the PS4 era only saw them release new sequels to each. It remains to be seen what they’ll develop for the PS5.

A return to Jak & Daxter would be delightful, but unlikely. More open-world than Crash, Jak & Daxter was an enjoyable if formulaic platforming adventure before Jak II raised the bar with the addition of guns, vehicles, races, side missions and a host of other GTA-inspired elements. Jak 3 delivered more of the same but across three environments rather than one, whilst Jak X never really took off with players in the same way that Crash Team Racing did before it.

Ratchet & Clank may still be going strong, but their onetime equals are long dead in the water, having not headlined a game since a PSP spinoff in 2009.