7 best games with incredible movement mechanics to play in 2024
Movement mechanics have come a long way in video gaming. While initially, games used traversal as a resting period between setpieces, they have started implementing traversal systems that encourage players to take risks. Traversal systems can encourage players to make important decisions such as sliding at the perfect time to increase acceleration or finding the fastest route to their destination.
With developers discovering new innovations to incorporate into their titles, the bar for merging gameplay with traversal has been raised. Here are seven incredible video games that do it the best.
Note: This article is purely subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.
Exploring seven best video games with incredible movement mechanics you need to play in 2024
1) Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
The Spider-Man franchise has soared in popularity thanks to the release of three recent hits from Insomniac Games, each receiving both critical and commercial acclaim.
However, before Insomniac perfected the art of Spider-Man games, Shaba Games paved the way with Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, at least in terms of gameplay. The title showcased the hero's agility and mobility in groundbreaking ways, introducing an incredible combat and web-swinging system.
While more recent games have refined the formula, Web of Shadows still delivers an unmatched sense of momentum, making the traversal feel deeply connected to Spider-Man’s identity.
If you’re looking for a game where its movement mechanics are a core part of the experience, Web of Shadows will not disappoint.
2) Ghostrunner
Few games blend movement and combat as seamlessly as Ghostrunner. A unique mix of action and platforming, the game features a fast-paced cyberpunk world where every character, including the player, dies in a single hit. This “one-life” approach turns each level into a puzzle, where you must master the environment and enemy patterns to clear it in one fluid run.
Ghostrunner gives you a large arsenal of abilities and drops you in a sandbox to utilize each one of them — whether it be wall-running, dashing, sliding, grappling, or slowing down time. The game introduces various creative spins on these abilities to keep the campaign fresh. Ghostrunner is a must-play for those who want a challenging first-person action game with razor-sharp movement mechanics.
3) Prototype
The 2000s were an incredible time for gaming. This period was filled with titles that didn't shy away from being flawed, with many games prioritizing fun gameplay over a perfect package. Radical Entertainment's Prototype is one of them. The game focuses on Alex Mercer, an amnesiac superhuman trying to uncover his past amidst a virus outbreak.
The game's narrative was an edgy, and dramatic, reminiscing of its time. But that didn't matter, because Prototype concentrated its efforts on perfecting the gameplay. The game's traversal included Mercer trying various tactics to gain height and speed, whether it be through movement mechanics such as double-dashing, hovering, scaling buildings, and leaping, or using some of his weapons as tools of transit.
4) Gravity Rush
While traversal in games is usually used to aid the gameplay, Gravity Rush's central mechanic is a novelty on its own. The game follows Kat, a young woman with the ability to change her center of gravity. This allows her to walk on walls, and even fly (or as Woody called it, falling with style). This unique traversal concept makes playing this game feel like a psychedelic experience.
If you like single-player games where the entire experience is centered around its movement mechanics, including its combat, then Gravity Rush is the game for you.
5) Sunset Overdrive
Before Insomniac could nail down Spider-Man's web-swinging, it was in the labs cooking other engrossing traversal systems, including its 2014 entry, Sunset Overdrive. The game focuses on the Janitor, a FizzCo employee, after a rushed energy drink launch causes an epidemic, mutating those who drink it.
Sunset Overdrive focuses on traversing through the various rails and wires in your surroundings by grinding on them. The world of Sunset City is designed with traversal in mind.
Every nook and cranny of the region is filled with places to grind on. Players wanting first-person shooters with movement mechanics based on skating and grinding that reward you for constantly moving will thoroughly enjoy Sunset Overdrive.
6) Titanfall 2
While Respawn Entertainment usually includes good traversal elements in its games, one of its best iterations was implemented in its 2016 entry, Titanfall 2. The game followed the story of BT-7274 and Jack Cooper, a pilot with mechanical kits allowing them various parkour abilities such as wall-running, double-jumping, sliding, grappling, etc. Each of these abilities provided intrinsic and extrinsic depth.
The game encourages players to be constantly moving, along with using the parkour abilities for both offensive and defensive tactics. Titanfall 2 is a must-buy for players wanting a game with physics-based movement mechanics, that allows them to travel at the speed of sound.
7) inFAMOUS: Second Son
While the inFAMOUS IP has not seen any movement recently, it once was a juggernaut for the PlayStation medium. The game, initially focusing on Cole MacGrath, captured a grounded and gritty take on superhero media that was fresh at that time. However, when it comes to pure gameplay and traversal, the series' latest mainline installment, Second Son is unbeatable.
Delsin, the new protagonist, can use four unique elements to traverse around the city. Players can acquire smoke to gain verticality and hover, use neon to run at light speed, video to quickly fly across short distances, and concrete to become a walking tank. Players wanting single-player games with movement mechanics tied to distinct and varied elemental sources can go ahead with Infamous: Second Son.