Best PS1 Platform Games: Tried, Tested and Rated in 2024

Best Platform Games on the PS1

The small white box with glistening game-pads was one of the best presents I opened back in the 1990s.

Every kid wanted one and anticipation got the best of us the first Christmas after launch.

Graphics and gameplay we only saw at the arcades, and even better at times, were thrown at us on every commercial or computer mag.

My eyes lit up in amazement after ripping open the wrapping paper, throwing open the box and throwing the first CD into the slot.

It was every bit as good as we had all hoped for.

Platform games on the PS1 came in to their own and I owned a number of them, and in subsequent years after visiting boot sales and second hand game stores.

The blew the competition on other 8-bit and 16-bit machines out of the water. More action, improved graphics, better gameplay. They had the lot.

Having recently dusted off the PS1 and relived those memories of the 90s in school and college playing these awesome games, here is a selection of the very best PS1 platform games tried, tested, and recently rated!

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness for PS1

Heart of Darkness PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

3.9

Being a long-life fan of many consoles over the years such as the Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive and SNES, there was always something special that happened after loading a PS1 cd.

The intro videos were out of this world, and in Heart of Darkness’ case this means literally. The fly-by planet sequence at the start looking incredible vs the offerings the 16-bit consoles gave us.

This though not the premise of the game, although the sequence in what looks to be San Francisco with cable car included a particular nice touch.

The story follows Andy. He is afraid of the dark, and after a rather nasty teacher incident he lost his dog to the darkness following a solar eclipse after school.

The goal of the game is to recover sweet Whisky, and head home.

The first action is to jump from your spaceship and watch it as it explodes as you land on the cliff and cavern terrain. Armed with a electricity gun your job is to fight of the (hundreds) of shadows whilst dodging the cliff edges and canyons.

The gameplay is a little slow at times as so many shadows try and attack at once but blasting them to bits from angles can be fun.

Gameplay is good and the enemy shadow animations are really done well controls are a little awkward at times, but it just takes some getting used to.

There are some puzzles along the way and handy hints are displayed on screen when you get stuck on one, as you probably will.

The Adventures of Lomax

Adventures of Lomax for PS1

Adventures of Lomax PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

4.2

The Adventures of Lomax stars Lomax the lemming, a spinoff of the Lemmings franchise known and loved.

This platformer sees Lomax traverse a number of stages climbing beanstalks, springing on logs, collecting urns full of boosts, and avoiding the usual nasties along the way.

Evil Ed has transformed all the lemmings into monsters, and its Lomax’s job to go and save the day!

The graphics are wonderfully sprightful and full of character, with a delightfully enchanting scrolling background.

It’s one of those easy to pick up and put down type of games. Not a lot of thought is needed, and the stages are relatively easy to muddle the way through.

What I love about The Adventures of Lomax is the control ability.

It reminds me of Aladdin on the Mega Drive, full of intuition.

Look out for the bridges that enable you to cross horizontally, and also keep an eye out for Lorock the wizard who is there to guide you throughout the journey.

Catching the spin and jump combo to catch the urn reward but jump over one of Evil Ed’s henchmen can be a bit tricky, so some practice may be needed to master.

A great game to revisit.

Apocalypse

Apocalypse for PS1

Apocalypse PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

4.6

There hasn’t been an opening sequence in a game that demanded instant play than that of Apocalypse.

It has everything. Explosions, guns, a hero, seductive femme fatale and an immersive storyline – as well as Bruce Willis.

It doesn’t take long to spot the similarities of the main character to Willis.

Players play as Trey, the only person who can stop a madman creating an apocalypse using four created henchmen to ensure his idea comes true.

Trey is the only one who can stop The Reverend in his tracks and prevent the destruction of the world.

A word of caution, the controls take a little getting used to.

Apocalypse isn’t the only game to feature a 3D immersive platform game where firing controls are based on 360 geographical point of reference but aiming requires quick thinking dexterity.

Triangle is to shoot in front of you, circle to shoot to the right, X to shoot behind you and square to shoot in front.

Once the controls are known and dexterity is mastered it allows the player to really get deep into the game.

The camera angle pans and shifts as you play requiring recalibration of the way you interact it certainly mixes things up and keeps gameplay interesting.

The graphics are really top notch, the controls actually work quite well once you get the hang of them, and gameplay is quite addictive.

It was one of the games on the list we really couldn’t put down.

Oddworld: Abe’s Odessy

Oddworld: Abe's Odessy for PS1

Oddworld: Abe’s Odessy PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

3.9

The game’s opening sequence depicts the most unlikely of her, Abe, a Mudokon slave who happens by chance to uncover a play to kill all Mudokon slaves and use them as fillings for the RuptureFarm’s food.

So humble Abe sets off on a rescue mission.

A novel story created in a factory platform world that acts rather cleverly in a kind of horizontal 3D mode.

Moving through doors can bring you further away or closer to the screen depending on the perspective of the platform the Abe is on.

Not so much of a shoot em up but more a clever puzzle solving platform as Abe not only conscripts and controls Mudukon’s throughout the rescue mission but by explosives, level controls and other puzzles along the way.

Oddworld: Abe’s Odessy looks like the easy type of pick up and put down game, but it’s incredibly detailed.

In fact, the first few screens have scrolling banners along the top explaining how to control each segment and puzzle, to help players get started and learn the controls.

The game has typical PS1 graphics and a good storyline although the game can be a little slow at times. It is certainly more of a slow and puzzle solving journey than fast action shooting platform game.

That said, Abe’s adorable plight and clever puzzle solving tactics for success will help keep those bored of typical shoot em platforms very occupied.

The controls are relatively simple to master, jumping can be slightly frustrating but practise makes perfect.

We enjoyed the game when we played although it did start to lose its appeal early than we would have liked.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape

Rayman 2: The Great Escape for PS1

Rayman 2: The Great Escape PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

3.9

Some would argue that Rayman 2 isn’t a strict platformer, but I like to call these 3D platformers, so am going to include it.

It doesn’t have the best opening sequence in terms of pull you in immersive graphics, but for this we’ll let the developers off and concentrate on the gameplay.

Rayman is an incredibly successful franchise spanning many different ports now, but its roots trace back to the PS1 (as well as the Atari Jaguar and Sega Saturn) back in 1995.

Rayman 2 is one of those bright sprightful games in which other games have based their foundation such as Zelda and certain Mario games.

The game features Rayman who brakes out of prison, down a water pipe shoot and out into the big wide world. He finds he comrade’s children and promises to help them find their father.

Rayman 2 is targeted at a younger audience of around 7-10 years old, so those big kids amongst us in their late twenties may well have found this game under the Christmas tree one year.

I’ve personally always found 3D world games slightly more cumbersome to navigate, Rayman isn’t an exception but easy to manage than others.

The 3D world is open, but the layout guides the player well as to where they should go, objects to collect and characters to interact with.

When playing this again I found it to be quite a fun little game and pulling off a helicopter manoeuvre whilst jumping from cliff edge to cliff edge is always fun. Overall, the graphics are good, gameplay is fun, and controls are relatively easy. It is still aimed at the younger audience but fans of this back in the day will be happy to reminisce.

Suggested Reading: Best PS1 fighting games, tried and tested!

Jumping Flash

Jumping Flash for PS1

Jumping Flash PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

3.5

The thing least expected with a game title like Jumping Flash is the opening sequence to depict planets, space, and various spacecraft.

To say Jumping Flash is a platform game could be considered a slight breach and cross-genre going on, but this is to a certain degree platform based and hoping from world to world to recover the energy banks gives the impression of a grandeur platform game.

The opening sequence is well designed. Spaceships carrying what look to be Sim City type metropolis in bulk form to slot into a revolving planet.

What’s not to like!

Gameplay begins as you are dropped on to one of the metropolis areas to collect various things such as energy packs. Once all are collected its on to the next world before these mini worlds are loaded into the planet.

With me so far?

Once landed the urban metropolis consists really of sporadic platforms, grassland, and buildings to navigate around whilst avoiding or shooting the giant jumping frogs.

Yep, giant jumping frogs.

The controls though can be frustrating at times.

Trying to circumnavigate the high lofty regions for energy packs whilst the slightest foot wrong can lead you straight back down to ‘terra firma’.

Jumping Flash will more than likely appeal best to those who grew up playing on their PS1 back in the day.

For those of us who didn’t and spot this cheap at a flea market, Facebook Marketplace, eBay or other means, it is certainly worth a play.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night PS1 Review

Reviewed by: Retro Secret

Gameplay
Graphics
Addictiveness

Rating

4.5

Castlevania often tops best game lists, and there’s a good reason why.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s captivating title only goes on to fulfil the expectations of everyone who steps forth to play against the might Dracula and all his henchmen, including Death.

To start a game playing the final boss is confusing at best.

Dracula has taken human form once more and it’s up to is son Alucard to save the day.

It’s a classic platformer that has everything thrown in, including the kitchen sink.

Every screen holds something different as Alucard comes face to face with zombies, bats and all manner of dark things trying to stop him succeeding in his mission.

What I love about Castlevania is how easy Alucard is to control.

Jumping, hopping from platform to platform, in and out of water and also the shield to defend, and attack weapons are all easy to handle using the PS1 gamepad.

The graphics are very well designed, and absolutely love the fast moving clouds and incredibly giant rising moon in the background.

Each single element adds depth into the intuitive and immersive gameplay.

Picking this up and playing again was a real treat, so much so I ended up playing for a whole evening before putting down.

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