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What are the best games like Mario but darker? The best dark Mario-like games include atmospheric horror platformers like Limbo and Inside, mature-themed adventures like Conker’s Bad Fur Day, psychological journeys like Psychonauts and Celeste, and challenging gore-filled experiences like Super Meat Boy – all featuring Mario’s classic platforming mechanics wrapped in adult themes, disturbing imagery, and complex narratives.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll share everything I’ve learned about dark platformers from over two decades of gaming, including hidden gems that transform Mario’s cheerful formula into something delightfully twisted. Having explored countless classic platformers from gaming history, I can confidently guide you through the most compelling alternatives that maintain Mario’s precise mechanics while venturing into mature territory.
| Dark Platformer Type | Key Examples | Mario Elements Retained |
|---|---|---|
| Psychological Horror | Limbo, Inside, Little Nightmares | Precision platforming, environmental puzzles |
| Mature Comedy | Conker’s Bad Fur Day, South Park games | 3D collect-a-thon, hub worlds |
| Mental Health Themes | Celeste, Psychonauts, Gris | Power-ups, level progression |
| Gore & Violence | Super Meat Boy, Splasher, Slain | Speed runs, precise controls |
After playing hundreds of platformers since the NES days, I’ve noticed that dark platformers transform Mario’s innocent formula through several key elements. These games maintain the satisfying jump mechanics and level progression we love, but layer on mature themes that would make Nintendo’s lawyers sweat.
The darkness in these games manifests in various ways. Some, like Limbo, use monochromatic visuals and disturbing death animations to create unease. Others, like Conker’s Bad Fur Day, take Mario’s colorful world and fill it with profanity, sexual humor, and excessive violence. Then there are psychological dark platformers like Celeste that explore mental health struggles through gameplay mechanics themselves.
What fascinates me most is how these games prove that platforming mechanics are incredibly versatile. The same jump-and-run formula that brings joy in Super Mario Party character selection can equally deliver horror, sadness, or mature comedy. It’s all about context and presentation.
I’ll never forget my first playthrough of Limbo back in 2010. This black-and-white masterpiece from Playdead stripped away every unnecessary element, leaving pure atmospheric dread. You control a young boy searching for his sister in a hostile world where everything wants to kill you – and I mean everything.
The game’s silhouette art style isn’t just aesthetically striking; it serves the horror perfectly. Death comes suddenly and brutally. That first encounter with the giant spider still makes my skin crawl. The boy gets impaled, decapitated, drowned, and crushed in ways that would traumatize Mario. Yet despite the violence, there’s something hauntingly beautiful about Limbo’s presentation.
What makes Limbo brilliant is its restraint. No dialogue, no exposition, just environmental storytelling at its finest. The platforming itself feels weighty and deliberate, much like Mario’s earlier 2D adventures but with physics that emphasize vulnerability rather than power. Every jump matters because failure means watching a child die horribly.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Content Warning: Child endangerment, graphic death sequences, disturbing imagery
My Rating: 9/10 – Essential for dark platformer fans
If Limbo was Playdead dipping their toes into dark waters, Inside is them diving into the abyss. Released in 2016, this spiritual successor takes everything disturbing about Limbo and amplifies it with color, depth, and one of gaming’s most shocking endings.
Playing Inside feels like controlling a character in someone else’s nightmare. The boy you control stumbles through a dystopian world of mind control, human experimentation, and body horror that gets progressively more disturbing. I’ve completed it four times, and that underwater sequence with the long-haired creature still makes me hold my breath.
The platforming here is more complex than Limbo, incorporating 2.5D movement and environmental puzzles that wouldn’t feel out of place in modern Mario games. But where Mario uses these mechanics for joy, Inside weaponizes them for horror. You’re not collecting stars; you’re desperately avoiding capture by faceless adults who will kill you on sight.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS
Content Warning: Body horror, disturbing imagery, psychological themes
My Rating: 10/10 – A masterpiece of atmospheric horror
Little Nightmares and its sequel represent what would happen if Tim Burton directed a Mario game during a particularly dark period. You play as Six, a tiny girl in a yellow raincoat navigating a world of grotesque giants who view you as food.
The first time I encountered the long-armed Janitor, reaching blindly under furniture to grab me, I actually yelped. These games nail the feeling of being small and vulnerable in ways Mario never explores. The platforming requires patience and stealth rather than speed and precision. You’re not jumping on enemies’ heads; you’re hiding under beds and tiptoeing past sleeping monsters.
Little Nightmares II expanded the formula beautifully, adding a companion character and exploring themes of betrayal and isolation. The school level with the porcelain students remains one of the most unsettling gaming experiences I’ve had in 2025. Both games feature disturbing implications about child abuse and cannibalism that earn their mature ratings.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Stadia
Content Warning: Cannibalism themes, child endangerment, disturbing imagery
My Rating: 9/10 – Perfectly captures childhood nightmare logic
Conker’s Bad Fur Day remains gaming’s greatest bait-and-switch. What started as a cute squirrel platformer transformed into an M-rated carnival of profanity, sexual humor, and movie parodies that somehow released on Nintendo 64.
I remember sneaking this game past my parents in 2001, thinking I was getting another Banjo-Kazooie. Instead, I got a hungover squirrel dealing with singing piles of feces, battling a giant opera-singing boss made of poo, and witnessing teddy bears getting violently dismembered in a beach invasion parody. The game’s humor hasn’t aged perfectly, but its audacity remains impressive.
Mechanically, Conker plays like a traditional 3D collect-a-thon platformer. You’ve got hub worlds, context-sensitive actions, and plenty of collectibles. But instead of Power Stars, you’re collecting money to pay off bar tabs. Instead of Bowser, you’re fighting a xenomorph alien and a caveman’s giant testicles. Yes, really.
Platforms: Xbox (Rare Replay), Nintendo 64 (original)
Content Warning: Strong language, sexual themes, graphic violence, alcohol use
My Rating: 8/10 – Crude but genuinely funny with solid platforming
Psychonauts deserves recognition for tackling mental health topics through 3D platforming before it was cool. Tim Schafer’s masterpiece sends you literally into people’s minds, where psychological issues manifest as level design.
My favorite level remains the Milkman Conspiracy, a paranoid delusion made playable. The twisted suburban streets that curve impossibly, the G-Men spouting nonsense while holding random objects – it’s genius level design that uses 3D platformer mechanics to explore schizophrenia and paranoia with the same precision found in modern indie titles.
Psychonauts 2, released in 2021, somehow improved on the original. The Compton’s Cookoff level, representing anxiety through a cooking show gone wrong, perfectly captures how anxiety warps time perception. These games prove that platformers can tackle serious subjects while remaining fun to play.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation
Content Warning: Mental health themes, psychological trauma, mild violence
My Rating: 9/10 – Thoughtful and creative with excellent platforming
Celeste hit me harder than any game has a right to. On the surface, it’s a challenging 2D platformer about climbing a mountain. Underneath, it’s a profound exploration of anxiety, depression, and self-acceptance that uses its difficulty as metaphor.
The game introduces Madeline’s anxiety as “Part of Me” – a dark reflection that actively sabotages your progress. I’ve struggled with anxiety myself, and seeing it represented as a gameplay mechanic that you must eventually accept rather than defeat was therapeutic. The mountain isn’t just a location; it’s Madeline’s mental state made physical.
The platforming itself is pixel-perfect and demanding, reminiscent of Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels but with modern sensibilities. Every death teaches you something, and the instant respawns keep frustration minimal. The assist options also deserve praise – they let anyone experience the story without compromising the game’s message about perseverance.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Mental health themes, anxiety/depression representation
My Rating: 10/10 – Perfect marriage of mechanics and meaning
Gris doesn’t feature death, enemies, or fail states, yet it’s one of the darkest platformers I’ve played. This gorgeous watercolor journey through grief and depression uses color itself as a gameplay mechanic, with each hue representing a stage of emotional recovery.
Playing Gris after losing my grandmother in 2019 was cathartic. The way the world literally crumbles at the beginning, leaving you in a colorless void, perfectly captures that hollow feeling of loss. As you progress, collecting color abilities that let you swim through red anger or float through green acceptance, the platforming becomes a metaphor for healing.
The game’s commitment to non-verbal storytelling rivals Limbo, but where Limbo uses minimalism for horror, Gris uses it for emotional impact. The singing mechanic that restores life to the world still gives me chills.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Content Warning: Depression themes, emotional content
My Rating: 9/10 – Artistic and emotionally powerful
Super Meat Boy takes Mario’s run-and-jump formula and covers it in blood, creating one of the most influential indie platformers ever made. You play as a skinless boy trying to save his girlfriend (made of bandages) from an evil fetus in a jar. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds.
What sets Super Meat Boy apart is how it uses gore as both aesthetic and mechanic. Meat Boy leaves bloody trails wherever he goes, creating a visual history of your failures. After dozens of attempts at a level, the walls are painted with your attempts, turning frustration into dark art.
The difficulty here makes Dark Souls look forgiving, but the instant respawns and tight controls make it addictive rather than frustrating. I’ve died over 10,000 times across my playthroughs, and each death taught me something. It’s the platforming equivalent of “git gud” – brutal but fair.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Cartoon gore, crude humor
My Rating: 9/10 – Challenging perfection for masochistic platformer fans
Splasher flew under many radars, but this 2017 gem deserves recognition. You play as a janitor at a evil corporation who discovers they’re experimenting on employees. Armed with a paint gun that shoots different colored inks, you must save your coworkers while avoiding horrific death.
The paint mechanics add layers to traditional platforming. Red ink lets you stick to walls and ceilings, yellow makes you bounce, and water washes it all away. Combining these with Super Meat Boy-style precision creates incredibly satisfying gameplay loops. The corporation’s experiments gone wrong provide plenty of dark humor and disturbing imagery.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Cartoon violence, dark humor
My Rating: 8/10 – Underrated gem with innovative mechanics
Hollow Knight proves that cute bug characters can star in genuinely dark narratives. This hand-drawn masterpiece sends you into Hallownest, a fallen kingdom devastated by a mysterious infection that turns bugs into mindless husks.
My first playthrough took 60 hours, and I barely scratched the surface. The environmental storytelling rivals Dark Souls, with the kingdom’s tragic history revealed through cryptic dialogue and hidden lore tablets. The infection that destroyed Hallownest serves as both narrative device and gameplay mechanic, with infected enemies becoming increasingly aggressive and unpredictable.
The platforming here requires patience and precision. Unlike Mario’s power-ups that make you stronger, Hollow Knight’s abilities primarily offer movement options. The double-jump, dash, and wall-climb must be earned through challenging boss fights. Speaking of which, the Nightmare King Grimm remains one of gaming’s toughest platforming bosses – I died to him at least 50 times.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Dark themes, mild violence, death and decay imagery
My Rating: 10/10 – A masterclass in atmospheric world-building
Blasphemous takes Catholic imagery and twists it into something genuinely disturbing. You play as The Penitent One, exploring a world where religious fervor has manifested as body horror and supernatural punishment.
This game doesn’t pull punches with its imagery. Bosses include a giant baby made of corpses and a tree growing from a man’s head. The pixel art is gorgeously grotesque, depicting religious suffering in ways that earned its M rating. The platforming combines Castlevania’s methodical pacing with Dark Souls’ punishing difficulty.
What impressed me most was how the game uses religious guilt as a gameplay mechanic. Your deaths literally increase the world’s suffering, adding weight to every failed jump. It’s dark, disturbing, and absolutely not for everyone, but those who connect with its themes will find something special.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Religious imagery, graphic violence, body horror
My Rating: 8/10 – Unique but extremely niche appeal
Released in early 2024, Nine Souls brings Sekiro’s deflection-based combat to 2D platforming. You play as Yi, a cyber-enhanced warrior seeking revenge in a Taoist-punk world where ancient mysticism meets dystopian technology.
The deflection system transforms traditional platforming combat. Instead of jumping on enemies or shooting them, you must perfectly time deflections to turn their attacks against them. It’s incredibly satisfying once it clicks, though the learning curve is steep. The story tackles themes of revenge, redemption, and what it means to be human when you’re mostly machine.
I’ve put 40 hours into Nine Souls since its release, and the boss fights remain some of 2025‘s best. Each of the nine souls you must collect tells a tragic story, and the game doesn’t shy away from showing the consequences of revenge.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
Content Warning: Violence, dark themes, body modification
My Rating: 9/10 – Fresh take on souls-like platforming
Don’t let Animal Well’s pixel art animals fool you – this 2024 metroidvania hides genuine darkness beneath its beautiful exterior. You play as a blob exploring a mysterious well filled with creatures that seem cute until you realize what they represent.
The game’s true darkness comes from its implications rather than explicit content. The animals aren’t just animals – they’re manifestations of something ancient and wrong. The deeper you explore, the more unsettling the world becomes. Environmental puzzles require manipulating these creatures in ways that feel increasingly uncomfortable.
What makes Animal Well special is its commitment to mystery. Even after completing it, I’m not sure I understand everything. The community is still discovering secrets months after release, and some findings are genuinely disturbing.
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Unsettling imagery, existential themes
My Rating: 8/10 – Beautifully cryptic with hidden depths
Pizza Tower might look like a Wario Land tribute, but it’s secretly one of gaming’s best representations of anxiety and panic attacks. You play as Peppino, an anxiety-ridden pizza chef whose manic energy and constant panic create darkly comic situations.
The game’s speed and intensity perfectly capture the feeling of a panic attack. Peppino’s animations show him constantly on the verge of breakdown – sweating, screaming, and moving with desperate energy. The timer-based escape sequences, where the entire level collapses behind you, transform Mario’s cheerful time limits into genuine panic.
Despite the manic presentation, Pizza Tower features some of 2025‘s tightest platforming. The movement system rewards mastery, letting skilled players maintain momentum through entire levels. It’s exhausting in the best way possible.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Intense imagery, anxiety themes
My Rating: 9/10 – Controlled chaos perfected
Moonscars uses claymation-inspired visuals to create one of 2024’s most unsettling platformers. You play as Grey Irma, a clayborne warrior searching for her creator in a world where humanity has been replaced by clay sculptures.
The body horror here is visceral. Enemies explode into clay chunks, and your own body constantly reshapes itself. The game explores themes of identity and what makes someone “real” when they’re made of clay. The platforming combines precise combat with challenging navigation, requiring mastery of both to progress.
What stuck with me was the game’s exploration of creation and purpose. Are you following your own will, or are you just clay following your sculptor’s design? Heavy stuff for a platformer.
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Content Warning: Body horror, violence, existential themes
My Rating: 7/10 – Unique aesthetic with solid gameplay
One thing I’ve learned from years of exploring gaming across multiple platforms is that dark platformers have different homes. PC (particularly Steam) remains the primary platform for indie dark platformers, offering the widest selection and best prices during sales.
Nintendo Switch has surprisingly become a haven for dark indie games, despite Nintendo’s family-friendly image. The portability factor works brilliantly for games like Limbo or Gris – there’s something intimate about playing these dark experiences handheld. Plus, many developers appreciate that Mario franchise games on Switch prove the platform can handle both family-friendly and mature content.
PlayStation and Xbox offer solid selections, with PlayStation slightly edging ahead thanks to their indie program. Xbox Game Pass frequently includes dark platformers, making it excellent for trying multiple games without committing to purchases. This approach reminds me of how multiplayer gaming services have changed how we discover new titles.
Mobile ports exist for some titles (Limbo, Inside, Gris), but I’d only recommend them for slower-paced atmospheric games. Precision platformers like Super Meat Boy suffer from touch controls.
As someone who accidentally traumatized younger cousins with Conker’s Bad Fur Day at a family gathering, I cannot stress enough the importance of checking content warnings. These games might look like Mario, but they’re absolutely not for children.
Games like Limbo and Little Nightmares, despite their T ratings, can genuinely disturb younger players. The child endangerment themes hit differently when you’re a parent. Meanwhile, M-rated titles like Conker or Blasphemous contain content that would shock even adult players.
Mental health-focused games like Celeste and Gris require emotional maturity to appreciate fully. While not inappropriate for teens, the themes might not resonate without life experience. I always recommend parents play these first or alongside their kids for discussion opportunities, much like when choosing co-op gaming experiences for family time.
The dark platformer community has introduced me to countless hidden gems. Games like “The End is Nigh” (Edmund McMillen’s follow-up to Super Meat Boy) and “Katana ZERO” (platforming meets time manipulation) deserve more recognition.
Reddit communities like r/metroidvania and r/platformers regularly surface obscure titles. Recent discoveries include “Ender Lilies” (gorgeous but melancholic), “Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon” (gothic Castlevania tribute), and “Carrion” (play as the monster). These communities often appreciate games that break conventions, similar to how Mario Tennis character tiers reveal unexpected strategic depth.
Steam’s user review system helps identify which dark platformers resonate with players versus critics. Games with “Overwhelmingly Positive” ratings from thousands of users rarely disappoint.
If you’re coming directly from Mario games, I recommend starting with Psychonauts or Celeste. Both maintain the joy of movement while introducing darker themes gradually. Their difficulty curves and assist options make them accessible without sacrificing depth.
For those seeking atmospheric horror, begin with Limbo before tackling Inside or Little Nightmares. Limbo’s simpler mechanics ease you into the genre’s expectations. Its puzzles teach you to think differently about platforming obstacles.
Fans of challenging competitive experiences should start with Super Meat Boy. Its quick respawns and level-based structure provide immediate satisfaction, and the competitive leaderboards add replay value similar to speedrunning multiplayer platformer challenges.
If you appreciate narrative and don’t mind slower pacing, Gris offers a gentler entry point. There’s no failure state, allowing you to absorb the experience without frustration. It’s platforming as emotional journey rather than mechanical challenge.
The dark platformer genre continues evolving in fascinating directions. Upcoming titles like “Hollow Knight: Silksong” and “Replaced” promise to push boundaries further. The success of games like Hades proves audiences hunger for mature themes in traditionally lighter genres.
Indie developers increasingly use platforming mechanics to explore serious topics. Mental health, grief, addiction, and social issues find expression through jump mechanics and level design. It’s therapeutic gaming that wouldn’t have existed during Mario’s early days, though the foundation Nintendo built with precise controls and level design remains essential.
Virtual reality dark platformers remain largely unexplored territory. The few attempts, like “Budget Cuts” and “Lies Beneath,” hint at terrifying possibilities. Imagine experiencing Limbo’s spider in VR – actually, maybe don’t.
Dark platformers prove that gaming’s most established genre can still surprise us. These games transform Mario’s innocent formula into vehicles for horror, mature comedy, and profound emotional experiences. They’re not just “Mario but edgy” – they’re artistic expressions that happen to use platforming as their language.
My journey through dark platformers has provided some of gaming’s most memorable moments. From Limbo’s first spider encounter to Celeste’s mountain summit, from Conker’s great mighty poo to Inside’s shocking finale – these experiences stick with you in ways collecting Power Stars never could.
Whether you’re seeking atmospheric horror, psychological depth, or just want to see Mario’s formula subverted, dark platformers offer something unique. They remind us that darkness and light need each other – Mario’s joy feels brighter knowing these shadows exist.
So boot up Steam, charge your Switch, or fire up Game Pass. Pick a dark platformer that speaks to you and dive in. Just maybe keep the lights on for your first playthrough. Trust me on that one.
