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A 3D action platformer is organized around movement through 3D space—jumping, dodging hazards, navigating courses and often fighting. A collect-a-thon is organized around sustained searching and gathering, with varied collectibles serving as major goals or rewards. The categories overlap: a platformer can contain plenty of collectibles without making collection its defining activity.
What defines each style?
Action platforming tests movement
In a 3D action platformer, platforming is a principal mechanic: the player jumps between points in three-dimensional space and is repeatedly tested on traversal, timing, hazards and movement. Combat may also be central. A 2024 paper by Logan Martin defines a 3D platformer as a game that uses platforming as its main mechanic in 3D space; that is the author’s definition, not an industry-wide standard. Read the paper.
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Collect-a-thons make searching a repeated goal
A collect-a-thon asks players to find and gather a broad range of items over and over. Major collectibles may unlock progress, while smaller ones can provide resources or contribute toward a larger reward. The distinction is qualitative: there is no collectible count that automatically turns a platformer into a collect-a-thon. A design essay on the collect-a-thon likewise treats it as a matter of how collection shapes the game.
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| What to compare | Action-led 3D platformer | Collect-a-thon emphasis |
| Main challenge | Traversal, timing, hazards, combat or mastering movement | Searching, exploring routes and locating varied items |
| Level rhythm | Forward flow or completing a course may dominate | Scanning spaces, optional completion and returning to areas may dominate |
| Role of collectibles | May be optional rewards or resources | Form a major ongoing objective; larger items may gate progress |
| Best classification question | What skill does the game repeatedly test? | How much of the game’s structure asks the player to collect? |
These are tendencies, not strict genre rules. Compact, dense spaces often reward inspecting corners and interacting with the environment, while linear courses can foreground traversal and momentum. But either style can borrow from the other. A game-history essay also notes that abundant collectibles do not necessarily define progression if combat is what governs it. Read the essay.
#1 Best Overall
- Enjoy two Mario adventures solo or with friends
- In Super Mario 3D World, choose a character each with distinct playstyles as you dash and climb through dozens of colorful courses, collecting Green Stars and power-ups along the way
- Cooperate (and compete) with friends locally or online to reach each stage’s goal. A crown is awarded to the highest-scoring player, making for a friendly frenzy
- In addition to added multiplayer options, the Nintendo Switch version of the Super Mario 3D World game has been improved with faster character speeds and more
- Explore a seamless feline world in Lake Lapcat, complete objectives to collect Cat Shines, and defeat a giant Bowser in the new Bowser’s Fury adventure
Why level design and player prompts matter
Look at what the game keeps asking you to do, not just how many objects appear on screen. Is the immediate goal to clear an action course, or does the level invite you to keep searching for different objects and rewards?
Developer Jonas Kaerlev described a preference for smaller spaces that encourage interaction, contrasting them with games he saw as moving players from point A to point B. He discussed Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Super Mario Sunshine in that context, while comparing them with Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. This is one developer’s perspective on the appeal of collectathon-style spaces, not a universal test. Read the interview.
Rank #2
- Tough-as-nails precision platforming action. Brutal, but fair levels designed to break you.
- Boss. Fights. Dark World levels so tough, you'll scream in the rain at a bus stop.
- A soundtrack that was once described by a Guitar Center employee as “hey, either buy the guitars or get out. We’re seriously going to call the cops!”
- n-game text languages: English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish (Spain).
- 3D!
Examples of overlap
Penny’s Big Breakaway: optional collecting in a movement-led game
The developers describe the game as focused on acrobatic actions and continually carving a path forward. Optional Showpieces add a completionist challenge, while its linear level structure keeps players moving through courses. The developers put it this way: “Penny’s Big Breakaway is definitely not like your traditional 3D platforming collectathon; you’re encouraged to make acrobatic actions and continually carve your path through.” Read the interview.
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Speedollama: a collectathon element within a platformer shooter
Its developer describes the game as a platformer shooter with a timed collectathon element. Here, “collectathon” describes part of the experience without necessarily defining the entire game. Read the developer’s description.
Banjo-Kazooie: a prominent collect-a-thon example
The design essay identifies Banjo-Kazooie as a prominent example, discussing its varied items and larger goals. What matters is not simply that it has collectibles, but how those items shape the ongoing play and objectives. Read the essay.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical rule for borderline games
Classify a game by the activity its levels and rewards repeatedly prioritize. If your attention is chiefly on routes, jumps, hazards, combat or keeping momentum, “action platformer” is likely the more useful description. If the game repeatedly sends you to search spaces, gather different kinds of items and accumulate rewards, “collect-a-thon” better describes its structure. A game can reasonably fit both labels when both loops matter.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- A brand new 3D Mario game that plays like a 2D game Explore all-new levels and try out new abilities
- New enemies include Goombas with tails, tall stacks of Goombas and a Piranha Plant that spits ink to obscure a player's view
- Like other games for Nintendo 3DS the game can also be played in 2D, but the 3D visuals make it easier for players to judge the depths and distances in their environments. Discover the joy of 3D gaming as you can more accurately judge the jump to the next platform or how far Mario is from a question block! Compatible with 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS, New 3DS, New 3DS XL and New 2DS XL consoles
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