10 Best Parkour Games, Ranked

Parkour and free running has been a relatively new addition to the world of video games. It used to be that characters could only jump from platform to platform. But now that the technology has expanded, characters can move fast in between, over, and around obstacles in their way.

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They can even climb on buildings and jump from rooftops as fast as players can move. Video games are meant to be action-packed, high-octane experiences. And the ability to implement characters that can move as fast as the player can think allows for a form of gameplay those early platformers could only dream of. Here’s a list of some of the best parkour games.

10 Crackdown

It might be difficult to think of Crackdown as a parkour and free running game. After all, this game allows agents to gain superpowers and leap long distances. However, before that can happen players do have limited abilities.

They can only jump so far and run so fast. This forces players to think quickly as they move through the streets and the rooftops. Free running is all about moving quickly and thinking just as fast, too. In that regard, Crackdown definitely qualifies.

9 I Am Alive

I Am Alive is a dystopian action game that focuses on climbing and survival. It takes a much more nuanced approach to its parkour as it slows down the gameplay, forcing players to think before they act. There’s a lot of endurance and patience involved in the game’s decision-making.

That doesn’t make it any less suspenseful. Because people see so many successes, they forget just how often people can fail climbing. I Am Alive is a brutal reminder as it is quite difficult.

8 Dying Light

Dying Light is a standout on this list as it takes a very different approach to its tone. Typically, parkour and free running is thought of as a science fiction mechanic. However, Dying Light uses it in a horror setting of survival as the player has to take on zombies.

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Because it’s not done often, this combination might seem strange. But it works perfectly. Since the player can be overwhelmed easily, they have to use parkour maneuverability to outrun those zombies or at least get into a better fighting position.

7 Brink

A lot of first-person shooters are great from an action standpoint, but it becomes more difficult when maneuverability is factored in. Things changed a lot when abilities like sprint were included.

However, Brink takes this to a whole new level as various elements of parkour were included into the game. This made for some very fast-paced and fluid multiplayer battles. Some games like Halo and Call Of Duty still surpass Brink in terms of fighting, but Brink can be a lot of fun and hectic in ways those games can’t be.

6 Watch Dogs

Watch Dogs is a strange game to have parkour granted that it’s like a Grand Theft Auto game all about computer hackers. But parkour is all the rage these days, especially in open-world games, so its inclusion shouldn’t be all that surprising.

And it does kind of fit. Watch Dogs is about corporate espionage, so characters need to sneak in and out of buildings, often tall skyscrapers, unnoticed. So parkour goes hand in hand with that kind of stealth action. It’s also fairly realistic with its parkour as the player has relatively toned-down abilities.

5 Ghostrunner

The concept of free running and being a ninja go together so seamlessly that it’s strange games haven’t combined these two elements more. Ghostrunner does it fairly well and even throws in a cyberpunk tone for flair.

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Making the game first person is a nice touch as it adds a level of fluid dynamics that are lost in third person, especially since time can be manipulated within the game. Also, it helps that the main character can implement a sword when guns are usually the weapon of choice in free running games.

4 Prince Of Persia

Games hadn’t really explored parkour and free running in the early days. It was still hard enough having fluid control over a character. While it’s almost surprising that it took as long as it did, the great Ubisoft game Prince of Persia arguably blew the door wide open in terms of what was possible.

It was such a main and awesome feature of the game that the main character wall running was featured on the cover art. Combined with a very cool time manipulation mechanic, this game was a must-play of its era.

3 Infamous

Infamous took an interesting approach to its parkour and climbing mechanics. Unlike a lot of games, they aren’t as intricate to the gameplay as the main character has super powers which he can use to maneuver and travel very easily.

The real fun comes when players gain such mastery over the controls that they can combine both traditional parkour with the powers for seamless navigation. The combination of the two makes Infamous a very fun experience that very few games can match in terms of free running and fantastical abilities.

2 Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed has a weird relationship with its parkour both in terms of its inclusion and its story. The fact that Assassins and even some crazy villains are able to do parkour and free run is actually an element of the story. It’s a genetic trait their ancestors passed down from the first civilization.

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But it’s still strange to think about given that this is a historical action game. Seeing assassins throughout history is nothing new, but the fact that they can run across rooftops and perform acrobatic stunts makes it a bizarre yet wonderful combination.

1 Mirror’s Edge

It’s hard to think of a game that beats Mirror’s Edge in terms of free running and parkour. This is mainly because that’s what the game was designed to be. A lot of games use free running or parkour to assist the gameplay. Mirror’s Edge took a different approach as that was the highlight.

It also managed to fit the gameplay over a plausible backdrop of a story. Free runners are essentially messengers for people trying to avoid a digital footprint. It was a great premise that added to an already fun game.

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