WizardWizard

Crateboy

WizardWizard is a platform game in 2D in which you control a mage that has to rescue the princess of the kingdom, who has been turned into stone and kidnapped. Or at least that's what he thinks. The main problem with the protagonist is that he can't do any spell, so you have to beat all the levels exclusively by jumping. In fact, the only button you can use besides moving left and right is the jump button. In WizardWizard there are more than 20 levels, although all of them are pretty short. The good thing is that it follows the line of Super Meat Boy and VVVVVV, which means that it's a really difficult platform game. It would be normal for your character to die at least a hundred times before you beat the game. WizardWizard is a platform game with a really fun gameplay and a really funny story. In short, it's a charming game with excellent retro graphics.

The Lost Vikings

Blizzard Entertainment

The Lost Vikings is a puzzle and platform game in 2D that appeared first in 1992; more than 20 years later, Blizzard Entertainment has decided to distribute it completely for free. In The Lost Vikings you control three different vikings, each of them with their own special abilities. Your mission is to escape the clutches of a mysterious alien race that has kidnapped you and your clan, and then go back home. Thanks to the different skills that the three main characters have, you can face all the challenges in each level. One of your vikings, for instance, can attack with the sword and the bow; while the other can run and jump. It's important to have in mind that you can't control the three characters at the same time, so you have to alternate them, and use them by combining their abilities. The Lost Vikings was an excellent puzzle and platform game when it was first released, and it still is now that it is free. Besides, the emulation through DosBox, which is incorporated in the file, is almost perfect.

Spelunky SD

YellowAfterlife

Spelunky SD is a remake of the classic Spelunky game with some new changes, the most important being the online cooperative mode. When you start a game in Spelunky SD, a window will ask if you want to start a solo game, host a game, or join an existing game. To start the cooperative mode, just create a new game or have your friend do it, and then both join. The gameplay in Spelunky SD is practically identical to the original. This means you have to try to get to the end of dungeons full of spikes, snakes, giant spiders, holes, and much more. And if you die, you have to start over from the beginning no matter where you were. Spelunky SD is excellent news for Spelunky fans. It lets you keep enjoying this game, essentially the same as the original, but now with friends via the Internet.

L'Abbaye des Morts

Locomalito

L'Abbaye des Morts is a 2D platformer developed by Locomalito, inspired by the classics Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy, and heir to Spectrum ZX's visual style. In L'Abbaye des Morts, you play the monk Jean Raymond who, fleeing from crusaders, finds shelter in an old church, not knowing that inside he'll encounter much more terrible dangers than some simple knights in armor. On paper, the gameplay is very simple, since you'll just have to use the direction buttons to move your character one way or the other and to crouch, and another button to jump. That said, the game, honoring its visual style, is as difficult as the classics that came before it. L'Abbaye des Morts is full of all kinds of dangers: bats, skeletons armed with bows and arrows, demons, ghosts, giant spiders, dragons ... even a drop of water could kill you. Luckily, players will also find hearts (which give you more lives) scattered throughout the abbey as well as other important objects that you'll have to pick up in order to advance. l'Abbaye de Morts is an outstanding 2D platformer that, like most Locomalito titles, offers a traditional high-quality playing experience.

Ascent

ASCENT

Ascent is a 2D platform game where you control a small forest spirit whose objective is to climb to the top of a giant tree. But what your hero doesn't know is that the tree is infected with a fungus that's consuming it from the inside out. The game mechanics are very traditional: you can move your character left, right, and jump. You can also use a special button that will let you throw seeds. When you shoot one of the seeds at a green surface, it can grow into a mushroom or a root. The mushrooms help you jump more, while the roots serve as platforms. In Ascent there are only two relatively short levels that you can complete in less than half an hour. Although both levels have very difficult parts, luckily, you'll find 'checkpoints' scattered throughout so the game doesn't get overly frustrating. Ascent is a platform game with very nice graphics (courtesy of Unreal Engine) and a pretty good control system. However, it's better if you play with an Xbox 360 controller.

SDLPoP

Dávid Nagy

SDLPoP is a free and open-source version of the legendary game from Jordan Mechner, Prince of Persia, which is one of the most influential action and platform games of all time. In this version, you can play from the first level, in which your blonde character picks up his sword, to the last level in which he has fight the same evil Jaffar. The gameplay in SDLPoP is exactly the same as the original game. With the cursor, you can move your character from one side of the screen to the other and also jump, while with the 'shift' key, you can walk slowly and lunge when you have your sword drawn. If you're curious, SDLPoP is based on the unmounted DOS version of Prince of Persia. This is because, if you've played Prince of Persia on Snes or Mac, you might remember that the graphics weren't that great. On each platform, the graphics look slightly different. SDLPoP is a great way to enjoy one of the best video games of all time in a convenient way. All you have to do is unzip it, double click, and start playing.

Reflex Master

NiceRed Games Inc.

Reflex Master is a rhythm-based game that tests the reflections of even the most experienced players. Get through all three levels in Reflex Master, each with its own soundtrack. Difficulty increases, but its your aim to avoid collision with any of the hundreds of obstacles put in our way. Controls are simple. But you'll need a lot of practice in order to truly dominate. Tap once on screen to head upwards, then double tap to go down -- you know the drill. Oddly enough, to stay in the same place you're going to have to tap as fast as you can. With its catchy tunes and frenetic gameplay, Reflex Master ranks among top tier games like Geometry Dash. But it offers a twist on typical gameplay, this time around you have to really get into the groove of the music to actually make it to the end of each level.

Happy Blocks

R-Geo Games

In the Windows platformer Happy Blocks, you'll have to guide a endearing little cube though all kinds of scenes... and try to keep it away from deadly spiked traps! This platformer has super simple controls: just move your block with the arrow keys, while using the spacebar to jump. The challenge is that there's loads of spiked traps throughout the levels, and you simply don't know which blocks hide them! This game is a perfect example of trial and error, as you have to try different paths to figure out which blocks hide razor-sharp spikes, and avoid them later. By figuring out which blocks are actually traps you can continue on the journey and beat levels! Happy Blocks is a simple -but very entertaining- game that actually becomes quite addictive as you play. Help the cute cubic character avoid dangerous traps and beat all the levels!

Coronavirus_Game

Organization198558

The Pedestrian

Skookum Arts

Prince Charmless

OVERBOY

Maintenance

cvk

Antro

Gatera Studio

Cave Story

Daisuke Amaya

Cave Story is an excellent platform game where we control a character called Quote, an small robot girl who will have to survive to lots of dangers. In our way, we'll find dozens of levels full of platforms, puzzles, jump and enemies. Although, luckily, we'll also find friendly characters who will help us. Playability and graphics of the game a re very similar to the ones we can find when playing any Super Nintendo classic, what means we'll enjoy a super 2D adventure with a simple control system and a graphic field deliciously pixelated. Cave Story is one of the classics in videogame history who any gamer should play.

VVVVVV

Terry Cavanagh

VVVVVV is a platform game with a vintage look and innovative playability that will put yourself to the test thanks to one of the most funny and challenging technics we've seen in years. You will not jump, now what you do is to change gravity force to gofrom floor to cell in a snap and viceversa. Using this innovative way, you'll have to go throughout all the level and bypass all dangerous traps on your way to the goal. Yes, VVVVVV is a really difficult game. Sometimes you may quit and resume the match again to think your strategy and that's great. Once you finish the game, you'll view the number of times you've been killed and the number will be really high. In short, VVVVVV is an exceptional platform game you must play. You'll be surprised.

Karoshi

Linux Schools Project

Karoshi is a very different platform because after completing the twenty five phases that compose the game, we will die. Our goal is to find ways to commit suicide in the stage where we are in. We collide with a spike trap, hit ourselves in the head with a block, or fire a gun in order to make a bullet bounce through a series of plates and hit us. Anything is game for killing our character. Some of the levels are quite original and we have to solve complicated puzzles to complete to achieve our mortal objective. For example, on some levels we need to close an electrical circuit and electrocute ourselves. Karoshi, with simple graphics, is a fun and easy to play game, but it is not for everyone.

Tommy Tronic

Oasis Games

Tommy Tronic is a funny platform game in which you have to guide the character throughout many levels while jumping and firing enemies with your special gun. The game offers 12 dfferent and exciting levels set in different places like the forest, snow parades or underground worlds where you'll have to kill lots of enemies: giant tomatoes, carrots and other vegetables. It reminds the classic way you played 2D games: run, jump and fire, that's all. Although Tommy Tronic is not an innovative game, it is really funny and the enemies are extravagant.

Coal Plant Uncaged

N/A

Coal Plant Uncaged is a complicated platform game where you need to escape from a dungeon guarded by dangerous creatures that will shoot you as soon as they see you. The controls are easy to use: use the directional arrows to walk and jump, and the shift key to move stealthily, something you'll need to do quite often, since if you don't stick to the shadows, your enemies will instantly shoot and kill you. The game also includes a level editor that allows you to make the game last even longer, although it's a difficult to master. Coal Plant Uncaged is an entertaining game, but one which may be a little too complicated for many players.

Fall Over!

Arvi Teikari

Fall Over! is a fun platformer with some references to Super Mario where you play as an English gentleman with a top hat and a monocle who has a hard time keeping his balance. And that's the name of the game: this character is affected by realistic physics, so if he runs into an object, he'll probably lose his balance and fall. If he falls more than three times, you'll have to restart the level. In addition to these physics, across the different levels you'll have to fight enemies who try to knock you over, while overcoming tricky jumps, spikes, boxes, and all kinds of dangerous elements. Fall Over! is a very funny game. If you like platformers, you'll probably enjoy it.

Owlboy

D-Pad Studio

Owlboy is an adventure platformer where you play Otus, a young owl who all of a sudden finds himself involved in an adventure full of action, air pirates, monsters, and a good handful of surprises you'll discover as you move forward in the game. The gameplay combines elements from classic 2D platformers with some new concepts derived mainly from the main character's flying abilities. Additionally, some adventure elements bring depth to a title that aims really high. The game was one of the finalists in the 'Excellence in Visual Art' category at the Independent Game Festival 2010, where it lost out only to the equally gorgeous Limbo. This speaks highly of Owlboy's graphics, which have a pixelated design that's simply charming. Owlboy was one of the great indie titles of 2011, and this demo is the perfect appetizer for what will end up being the final version.

Climb to the Top of the Castle

TwO Bros.

Climb to the Top of the Castle is an independent platform game where you'll play as a noble knight on a mission to rescue a princess locked up high in a castle. So naturally, you'll need to climb the dozens of sections that separate the ground floor from the top, fighting against all sorts of traps and enemies along the way. The game has charming graphics; everything from the characters to the scenery is perfectly drawn by hand. But the best part is still the gameplay itself, which presents a large variety of challenges thanks to the different climbing routes and options you have to choose from. Climb to the Top of the Castle is a fun and attractive game. Don't miss your chance to give it a try.

A Flipping Good Time

DigiPen

A Flipping Good Time is a 2D platform game in which you'll have to guide a kid through a series of levels filled with dangers (prickles, mostly) either by foot or riding a cart. Gameplay follows the classic platform principles: jump and avoid traps which could kill you. The twist is that most of the levels are filled with prickles both on the ground and on the ceiling, so you'll have to use objects to change the direction of gravity. The game has fourteen different levels which, thanks to the difficulty of some of them, will keep you entertained for hours. The hardest part actually won’t be finishing a level, but rather getting all of the hidden gems in the level which you’ll need in order to unlock hidden levels. The game’s graphics, although not too flashy, are still quite good. Both the main character and the levels are perfectly recreated in two dimensions. A Flipping Good Time is a very entertaining game which will keep you glued to the keyboard (or control, as it supports the Xbox 360 controls) for a good number of hours.

Igneous

Igneous Systems, Inc.

Igneous is a frenetic platformer where you play a living tiki idol who's trying to escape the catacombs at the base of a volcano before it erupts. Lucky for you, the little tiki idol moves pretty quickly. Your goal, then, is to guide it as it moves, trying to dodge deadly traps and get out alive – but it won't be easy. The difficulty arises, in part, from the obstacles you encounter along the way, like stairs that will slow you down if you don't jump over them, or streams of lava that will scald you alive, or giant chunks of debris that can crush you. Everything is trying to destroy you before you escape the volcano. Igneous is a fun platformer whose main strength, apart from its spectacular graphics, is the sheer sense of speed that it manages to convey. The sense of vertigo you'll feel in this free game is better than most professional car games, which is no small feat.

A Man's Quest

The Drunk Devs

A Man's Quest is an indie platformer with 8-bit graphics where you play a young man on an epic (though kind of short) adventure in which he has to take revenge on another boy who doesn't let him play on his tree. The gameplay is really simple: you can move the character with the cursors, jump with the up arrow, and talk with the spacebar. That's it. Two elements give the gameplay a little bit more depth: the longer you keep the jump button pressed, the further you jump; you can also pick up gloves near the beginning that let you grab ledges. The game lasts little over 45 minutes, and you can play on different types of scenarios, like woods, cemeteries, and dungeons, where you have to do complicated jumps and dodge spikes that can kill your hero at a touch. A Man's Quest is a game with retro-style graphics and gameplay. It may seem a little short, but it's still really fun. Although the story doesn't seem much of anything in the beginning, it's actually pretty interesting.

Midnight Mansion HD

ActionSoft

Midnight Mansion HD is a platform game where you play Jack Malone, an Indiana Jones-style intrepid adventurer who has to go deep into 11 different mansions to try to get all the treasures hidden inside them. Each of these mansions is a huge challenge in itself, and offers a multitude of difficulties that translate into moving platforms you have to jump over, ropes and ladders you have to climb, enemies of all sorts that you can't kill, and a few puzzles that can drive you crazy. The best thing about the game is that, besides the 11 original mansions, there are many more user-created ones in which you can also play. Not all of them are excellent, but some are good enough to be compared to the original 11. Some of the influences in Midnight Mansion HD are titles like Montezuma's Revenge and Pitfall, two classics that come to life in this modern game with charming graphics. Midnight Mansion HD is a nice platformer that, even if it's not that great in puzzles, has enough difficulty and charm to keep you hooked for a good amount of time.

Bruce Lee II

Bruno R. Marcos

Bruce Lee II is a two-dimensional platform game where you will play as the legendary Bruce Lee. Tao-Bao, an evil Chinese villain, has kidnapped your sister, and of course Bruce is not going to take it lying down. The game is an unofficial sequel to the classic Bruce Lee - a game from 1984 for Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC, which was later released for Windows (and is available for download on Uptodown). During the adventure, you will control Bruce Lee in search of Tao-Bao through a series of levels infested with traps, enemies, and other dangers. Although you will have to face off against enemies, the majority of the adventure is spent running, climbing, and jumping through different scenes. And this game is just as difficult as the original. To the delight of veteran players, Bruce Lee II comes equipped with the traditional CPC and C64 graphics, which you can change from the option menu. Bruce Lee II is a two-dimensional platform game that remains loyal to its predecessor and offers an enjoyable retro experience.

Light Quest

RadikalGames

Light Quest is a 2D platformer where you control a wizard who is able to light up rooms and launch rays of light using his magic staff. During your adventure through the game's dungeons, you won't just run into the difficulties you usually encounter in this type of game, which include spikes to jump over and enemies that want to kill you right away. You will also come face to face with an all-powerful being that is able to 'turn out the lights' in the entire scene. When this happens, you can use your staff to light your way, something that you have to do if you don't want to fall into any of the many traps along the way. One of the goals of the game, in addition to surviving, is getting as many points as possible. In order to do so, you have to start opening hidden chests filled with gems and precious stones. The coins you find along the way will help too, of course. Light Quest is a nice, fun platformer that allows you to experience a really interesting story and somewhat traditional gameplay with a new twist.

Fuaim

N/A

Fuaim is a very particular interactive experience where players control a drop of ... paint? .... through a setting filled with stains and words written all over the place. The game's main goal is completely unknown and you'll have to wander around trying to understand the meaning of it all. The game's controls are fairly simple at first: move with the arrow keys and jump with the space bar. However, you'll find later on that moving is not as easy as you thought, mainly due to the gravitational fields and their effect on the different paint stains in the setting. Fuaim doesn't have levels or phases or anything like that. Instead, it has a single setting where you can move in any way you want, trying to read all the written messages while moving as well as you can from one platform to the other.

Wreck

N/A

Wreck is a 2D platform game where you play the pop singer Miley Cyrus. The objective is to murder her alter ego, the child star Hannah Montana, with a gigantic cannon. The game is made up of about a dozen relatively short levels. To stay alive, you have to make your way past tons of spikes and kill your enemies with your cannon, which doubles as a jetpack that propels you through the levels. Once you destroy all your enemies and make it to the end of the game, you find Hannah Montana, who is the final 'boss.' You have to face her head-on in the final battle using your trusty cannon. Wreck is a platform game with a fun theme and great gameplay. Using your cannon both as a weapon and a way to move around the levels is perfect. Plus, the graphics are pretty decent, making it easy to recognize your heroine, Miley.

Metroid Nexus

N/A

Metroid Nexus is a two-dimensional platform adventure game starring Samus Aran, the popular protagonist of the Metroid franchise, in an unofficial sequel available on your PC. As in other installments of the saga, in Metroid Nexus you have to investigate a complex labyrinth full of dangerous enemies, doors that need opening, and above all, areas that require you to level-up your hero if you want to gain access. At the beginning of the adventure, Samus can only jump normally and use a basic shot from her weapon. However, as you progress through the game, you can improve and expand her abilities. You can convert into a ball to roll through narrow areas, or use a charged shot, just to name a couple examples. Metroid Nexus is a fan-made game with some ambitious goals (various different zones, up to five final bosses). It also includes good graphics and audio, and really wouldn't be out of place next to the Super Metroid games.