Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

The thread back to Super Mario Galaxy 2 runs through single-player focus and an isometric view. What it adds of its own: racing gameplay and open world exploration.

Games like Super Mario Galaxy 2 · Find similar →
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is hard to replace: few games combine precision platforming and single-player focus in quite the same way. The NextGameLike team compared Super Mario Galaxy 2 against over 6,700 titles across 6 gameplay attributes and found 50 genuine alternatives — not generic genre suggestions. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Adventure 2 lead the list, with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts reaching a 73/100 similarity score. Every game here is ranked by how closely it replicates what makes Super Mario Galaxy 2 special.
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The closest game to Super Mario Galaxy 2 is Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts — scoring 73/100 on our similarity scale. Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Adventure 2 follow close behind.
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Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Super Mario Galaxy 2. Each one has been evaluated across 6 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

The thread back to Super Mario Galaxy 2 runs through single-player focus and an isometric view. What it adds of its own: racing gameplay and open world exploration.

The thread back to Super Mario Galaxy 2 runs through single-player focus and a third-person camera. The distance is in visuals.

With Super Mario Galaxy 2 it shares single-player focus and a third-person camera. The distance is in visuals — its own ground is 3D presentation.
It predates Super Mario Galaxy 2 by 9 years, with what that implies technically.

Held in common with Super Mario Galaxy 2: single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on visuals: this one brings co-op play.
Released 12 years after Super Mario Galaxy 2.

It meets Super Mario Galaxy 2 on single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on visuals: this one brings melee combat and a sci-fi setting.

What carries over from Super Mario Galaxy 2 is single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on visuals: this one brings sandbox freedom and co-op play.
Same studio: Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development.

What carries over from Super Mario Galaxy 2 is single-player focus and a third-person camera. Where they diverge is visuals.

The thread back to Super Mario Galaxy 2 runs through single-player focus and an isometric view. The distance is in game mode — its own ground is offline play.

With Super Mario Galaxy 2 it shares single-player focus and an isometric view. Where the two diverge is game mode: sandbox freedom.
Same studio: Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development.

Shelved next to Super Mario Galaxy 2 for good reason: single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on visuals and game mode: this one brings offline play.

The thread back to Super Mario Galaxy 2 runs through single-player focus and a third-person camera. Where the two diverge is game mode: horror tension and strong narrative focus.
It predates Super Mario Galaxy 2 by 14 years, with what that implies technically.

On paper it is what Super Mario Galaxy 2 is — single-player focus and a third-person camera — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. Where they diverge is game mode and visuals.

Its point of contact with Super Mario Galaxy 2 is single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on visuals: this one brings deep simulation and cozy, relaxing feel.
Released 14 years after Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Same family as Super Mario Galaxy 2: single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on visuals and game mode: this one brings offline play.

Shelved next to Super Mario Galaxy 2 for good reason: single-player focus and a third-person camera. They part company on game mode and visuals: this one brings strong narrative focus and melee combat.
Released 11 years after Super Mario Galaxy 2.
If Super Mario Galaxy 2 left you wanting more, this is where you narrow it down. Was it the adventure or the multiplayer that hooked you? There is a list of just that. And if you play on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and Mobile, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.
Sometimes what you want is not a Super Mario Galaxy 2 look-alike but simply the best 3D Platformer Games there are. That is what these rankings are for: no comparison to anything, just the highest-rated games. And if you feel like widening the net, the Platformer Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.