What are the best Platformers on Steam?

Most players die a lot in Limbo. fortunately this does not translate to a frustrating experience while playing the game. If you die from a trap, the game immediately reloads and takes the character right before reaching that very same puzzle. This way you can try again immediately and find a solution. See More

Top Pro

Does not become frustrating even if you die a lot

Top Pro

Unique black and white aesthetic

Limbo uses (what was once) a very unique monochromatic color scheme to give an atmospheric feel. See More

Top Pro

Manages to communicate circumstance and casualty in a unique way

Being completely devoid of text, dialogue, and explanation Limbo manages to communicate circumstance and casualty to the player in a simple way not found in other games. Having a game completely devoid of those three things is hard but Limbo manages to pull it off perfectly. See More

Top Pro

Good for people who don't want to waste too much time on a game

Being a relatively short game (five or six hours long), it's perfect for people who love interesting puzzle games that don't overstay their welcome. See More

Top Pro

Quite addictive

Limbo manages to keep your attention all throughout the game by consistently presenting new, interesting things for you to solve. It starts out simple, but increasingly gets more intricate and grows into smart multi-part puzzles. See More

Top Pro

Artistic puzzle

Limbo has very unique environment with highly creative puzzles that offer a great experience with monochrome, b/w and other dim colors. See More

Like every soundtrack is so good. While you're hearing this music you can just relax and play the game. See More

36 Other Games Considered

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition

Top Pro

Great soundtrack

Top Con

Non-combat focused

The game is more about puzzle solving and exploration than combat. Unlike traditional Zelda/Metroidvania games. See More

Top Pro

Awesome graphics

The game looks so fantastic. It's made with so much love. See More

Top Con

Really short

You can finish the game with nearly everything unlocked and most secrets in a little over 5 hours, on a first playthrough. It's not a game that you can sink a lot of time into. See More

Top Pro

Enjoyable gameplay

The controls are intuitive, the difficulty feels just right, the boss encounters are fun, there's a really nice upgrade system, and there are tons of secrets to be found. As a result, Ori and the Blind Forest is an enjoyable experience. See More

Top Con

Extras don't feel like they're part of the game

The Definitive Edition's extras feel like exactly that - extra. They don't feel like they fit in with the rest of the game very well, to the point that you can beat the game without ever realizing that you could or should check out that area. See More

Top Pro

The difficulty is just right

It's not the hardest game ever made, but it also isn't an easy game, where you can just rush trough everything. You'll probably die sometimes, but it's not frustrating. It has the perfect difficulty for the average player. See More

Top Con

Boring combat system

The combat system is kinda boring and repetitive. It's just about mashing buttons. See More

Top Pro

Emotional story

The story will make you cry, if you don't have a heart made out of stone. See More

Top Pro

Amazing art and atmosphere

Top Pro

Great Metroidvania gameplay

Top Pro

Amazing skills

Amazing upgradeable skill set. See More

Shovel Knight has very colorful pixelated graphics, a decent chiptune soundtrack, excellent 8-bit sound effects, and the controls feel really fluid and responsive. So whether you’re just running through a castle, shoveling away at gems in a tunnel, or even jumping on a dragon’s head, Shovel Knight is a blast to play. See More

Shovel Knight

Top Pro

Feels great to play

Top Con

Can be frustrating

While Shovel Knight captures a lot of SNES era’s good parts, it also brings back some of the bad parts. It's mostly the hidden enemies that attack you as soon as you approach their hiding spots, causing you to take needless damage or even die. This adds a really tedious trial and error aspect that forces you to memorize all enemy placements just so you can beat a stage. In addition to dealing with the enemies, the timing of jumps or using special skills at the right moment adds to the frustration. Press the button too early or too late and you'll end up back at the start of a platforming section or worse, dead. See More

Specs

Genre:Action, Platformer

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Combining elements from Mega Man, Mario 3, Duck Tales, Zelda II and Castelvania Shovel Knight excels over the rest of the games trying to cash in on the 2D pixel art revival of recent years. See More

Top Pro

Combination of the best gameplay elements of retro pixel games of the NES era

Top Con

Enemy design is not always great

Some of the more recurring enemies often have just a pallet swap in order to differentiate them, which comes off as a bit lazy and uninspired. See More

Top Pro

Competent loot system that allows for purchasing upgrades

User can upgrade their armor and weapon through earning loot drops from enemies or digging. The earned cash allows one to purchase upgrades that help the player advance in the increasingly difficult game. See More

Top Pro

A unique experience

Shovel Knight has 2D pixel art, a simple gameplay, and a retro feel. It stands out in an era dominated by 3D titles with super detailed graphics and convoluted gameplay because of its influences from classics like Zelda, Castlevania, Duck Tales, and even Super Mario Bros. It’s not just trying to cash in on the nostalgia of older players because it’s a game that can be enjoyed by anyone thanks to its polish. See More

Top Pro

Retains an original feel despite clear influences

The art design, music and writing maintain a very original feel to the game despite its obvious influences, which is what helps the game stand out, which makes it enjoyable in its own right. See More

Top Pro

Risk reward system

Players can risk destroying checkpoints for loot, which means if one does die after destroying their checkpoints they will have to start from the beginning of the stage. Basically this is a gambling system that can pay off or cause a crushing blow. See More

The characters are interesting and expressive and the world they inhabit varies between vibrant forests and villages, foreboding caves, rainy cityscapes, and more. See More

FEZ

Top Pro

Charming graphics and world

Top Con

Needs a teleport feature

Even though all visited sections are mapped, it doesn't show which door leads to which other section so you are left to rely on trial and error and it can take a long time to guess a route if you can't remember it. See More

Specs

Fez has some deviously hard puzzles and mysteries that will require gathering clues from around the world to solve them. See More

Top Pro

Brilliant puzzles

Top Con

Loads of backtracking

The world is an intertwined maze that rely on specific portals to travel between. Since the entire game revolves around locating cubes -- a minimum of 32 cubes are required to reach the game's ending (64 cubes and "anti-cubes" exist in total). A considerable amount of backtracking is needed to locate the needed cubes; which are intentionally difficult to find and acquire. See More

Top Pro

Clever 2D rotation game mechanic

The core mechanic of FEZ is the ability to spin the world around in 3D, and then traverse and interact with the resulting terrain in 2D. See More

Top Con

Slow gameplay

Navigation isn't quick, and each missed jump can make ascending an area feel like a laborious chore. See More

Top Pro

Mysterious world with lots of depth

FEZ goes beyond just being a great puzzle platformer. It also has a very clever storyline and game world with a mysterious bygone civilization that fits perfectly with the mysterious puzzles of the game. See More

Top Con

Pen and paper absolutely required for full completion

There is a lot of backtracking and so, you need to keep a pen and paper near you to take notes, because you might need something very important later on. For some people this might be a fun killer. See More

Top Pro

Great atmospheric soundtrack

Soft synth sounds mixed with chiptunes makes for an enjoyable soundtrack that evokes a feeling of nostalgia while creating a fitting atmosphere that complements the graphics. See More

Top Con

Minimal direction

The lack of clear direction + the mysteries of the foreign writing alphabet and numeric systems may overwhelm players who got in expecting a simple & cute platformer game about a white dude with a red hat (a traditional Ottoman hat, which is called a "fez"). See More

Top Pro

Playable on multiple levels

Part of the genius of this game is that it is playable as a casual platformer, but there is also great challenging depth to the game if you want it. See More

Top Con

Unremarkable Platforming

Although this game is a platformer, there isn't any depth to this mechanic. Though the platforming in itself isn't terrible, the majority of the game relies on it since there aren't many other mechanics in play (e.g. no combat, few upgrades). Since it is in general fairly slow, this will leave some disappointed, bored and feeling less than challenged. While others may find it nice for casual gaming, it can get fairly repetitive over time. See More

Top Con

Confusing Map

While the world map tries to be quirky by using the game's rotating mechanic, it makes the overall orientation very confusing. Furthermore, because the map cannot be freely rotated, many parts overlap, further hindering navigation. See More

Top Con

Guess-and-check instead of intuitive puzzles

Unlike other great puzzle games like Portal or Braid, many of the levels in Fez are unpredictable. You can't just look at the map and predict exactly what to do. You have to guess and check, and not all of the results are intuitive. While guess-and-check puzzles works well for games like The Witness, it's really tedious in a game like Fez. See More

Top Con

Very limited depth

The core gameplay loop of "jump until stuck, then rotate" is boring and repetitive within the first hour. Aside from this perspective-shifting mechanic, the game does not have much to offer. See More

Top Con

Frequent crashes on PC

PC version of the game has stability issues. Luckily, FEZ autosaves often so no much progress is lost when the game crashes. See More

Top Con

Limited button mapping support on keyboard

FEZ has a couple of preset control schemes to choose from, but the buttons can't have functions assigned individually. See More

The exclusive content based in platform means that there is no single edition that has every available option. The Switch release seems to come closest, but even it is missing some options available in other releases. See More

Cave Story+

Top Con

No complete version

Top Pro

Tons of fun and unique weapons

In cave story you have access to tons of upgradable weapons with unique properties for different situations. See More

Specs

Getting the best ending requires a few highly counter-intuitive if not nonsensical actions to be taken. See More

Top Con

Getting the best ending is almost impossible without a guide

Top Pro

Incredibly challenging, with hard mode for veterans

Cave Story is hard and the hard mode even harder, which makes this game great for players looking for a new challenge. See More

Top Pro

Multiple versions available

After the initial release in 2004, the game has been ported to other platforms and updated along the way by various fans and indie devs. See More

Top Pro

Great storyline

Cave Story offers a pretty deep storyline, more than one would think by just taking a quick glance at the game. There is a reason this game is still so popular after being around for so many years and it's story is it. See More

Each level features its own environmental hazard, which means players will have to adjust their strategies from time to time. One level is filled with winds that shift, sometimes assisting you across wide gaps and at other times stopping your progression forward or causing you to miss jumps. Another is shrouded in darkness with the area only illuminated when you're in mid-jump. Regardless of the hazard at play, they all add an extra level of challenge to keep players on their toes, even if they're seasoned platforming veterans. See More

Celeste

Top Pro

Great variation in level mechanics to keep players on their toes

Top Con

Secrets may be too well hidden

The crystal heart collectibles are very very hard to find in a first or even a second playthrough. You will likely have to use guides in order to find them. See More

Raghu Ranganathan's Experience

Celeste is the best platformer game of 2018. It combines harsh platforming with one of the most meaningful stories I've seen in a video game, about overcoming anxiety and depression. Beautifully, designed, with the user experience in mind. It's a joy to play, with an excellent OST and over 700 individually crafted rooms. Each room has its own unique challenge where you have to use the jump and dash you have in unexpected ways, along with strawberries that you can collect along the way. Celeste is a victory for platformer games, and is a model game that other people should look upto. Innumerable secret locations and interesting tricks await you. Truly, a masterpiece. See More

Specs

The platforming definitely isn't stale and consistently adds new movement mechanics to keep things feeling fresh throughout your run. Glowing red orbs will send you flying in a certain direction, jump pads will blast you high into the air, and diamonds will give you an extra dash in mid air. Jumping, bouncing, and climbing around the various levels just feels fluid and fun with all these extra goodies that are seemingly endless and continually add flavor into the platforming aspect. There's a lot of "oh, that's cool!" moments when playing and discovering something new for the first time such as using a group of diamonds to chain a jump that's not only fun to watch, but fun to perform. See More

Top Pro

The platforming consistently adds new movement mechanics

Top Con

You'll die a lot

Although dying in this game helps to reinforce the game's overall theme of never giving up in the face of a challenge, this can be a turn off to some players. Missing the same jumps and landing on the same spike traps constantly can only happen so many times before it becomes frustrating more than fun. See More

Top Pro

"B side" collectibles for those who crave a deeper challenge

In each level, there is a single hidden cassette tape, often in a hard to reach area. The platforms in these areas move to the beat of the level's soundtrack, and have to be correctly navigated to reach the tape. Similar to how old school cassettes tapes had two sides, collecting this tape will unlock the "B side" of each level. This presents the player with a much more challenging version of the level, adding new jumps, traps, and dangers. These remixed levels are extremely difficult and will provide a challenge for even the most seasoned platforming veteran. So if you've beaten the base game, and crave even more of a challenge, you will be pleased with this feature. See More

Top Con

Wind mechanic can be unfair

During one level, there is wind that pushes and blows you around, but it doesn't always work in your favor. It may send you hurtling off a steep drop right into a spike trap or ruin your carefully timed midair dash. It's very random which way it'll decide to move you, and can therefore feel unfair at times. See More

Top Pro

Frequent checkpoints keep the game moving along

Checkpoints are encountered quite often, so when you inevitably die, you won't have to replay a huge portion of the level. This helps to keep the frustration to a minimum when tackling a particularly tricky section of a level, and lets you practice the part that's giving you trouble rather than making you replay the entire level. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful pixel art

Top Pro

Excellent soundtrack

The soundtrack composed by Lena Raine is an excellent companion to the game, and complements it every level, adding to the atmosphere of the level. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive controls that “feel good”

Expressive and responsive controls and the ability to jump a few frames after falling off an edge make the game feel good. Game Maker's Toolkit made a video just about this part of the game. See More

Top Pro

Optional assist mode for players who aren't good with platforming

For those who may not be so good at the platforming aspect of the game, Celeste offers an assist mode which allows players of all skill levels to experience the game in full. During gameplay, there are a few on-demand options available to do things such as become invincible (avoid spike traps and enemies), extend the air dash (jump further), and even slow the whole game down in 10% intervals. This is a great addition that makes the game accessible for all skill levels, and it's completely optional so that players who want the full challenge don't have to use it. See More

Top Pro

The theme of overcoming anxiety and depression is tied into the gameplay

The game reinforces the attitude of never giving up, even in the face of a seemingly impossible challenge or self-doubt, and does this by tying this heartfelt theme into the gameplay itself. As Madeline sets out to scale to the top of the mountain, she will encounter a lot of depression, anxiety and self-doubt along the way, which literally manifests into an alternative version of herself simply called "Part of Me". A part of ourselves many of us are all too familiar with. During the more challenging parts of the game, this other self will appear to taunt, belittle, and even chase Madeline around telling her she's not good enough, and she'll never reach the top. She'll be a constant source of doubt throughout the duration of the game. But, after every player death, failure, and missed jump, the game will gently remind the player to "Keep going. You've got this!" and "You're learning!" along with other inspiring messages that encourage you to push past the doubt, and keep trying until you beat each challenging level. See More

Top Pro

Great for Speedrunning

There are advanced movement techniques in the game that allow you to complete a level in multiple ways and to built up a lot of speed. On top of that there is a speedrun timer built into the game. See More

If you're new to the genre, this may not be the best place to start. The game gives you one life (except with a certain perk), so if you die, then your whole run is over. This would be fine if it wasn't so easy to lose all your health in an instant and fall back to level one. This makes it frustrating if you spend a lot of time on a run only for it to all go down the drain from a small mistake. The punishing difficulty can be pretty overwhelming for newcomers unless you're really looking to push yourself. See More

Dead Cells

Top Pro

Tons of unlockables

Top Con

Frustrating for players new to roguelikes

AdventurousNehmetawy's Experience

I've put a good hundred hours into Dead Cells. The game play is fantastic, the graphics are cool and stylish, the myriad weapons and power provide a ton of variety. The devs actively listen to the community and continue to provide updates and content. The DLC is reasonably priced and provides a lot of content. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Roguelike, Metroidvania, Action, Platformer

The pixel models for your character and the enemies manage to feel modern in the way the animations flow swiftly from movement to movement. The colorful art design is a nice throwback to the retro games that inspired Dead Cells. It goes hand-in-hand with the side-scrolling gameplay, with a cool look to the monster and gadget designs. The reds, blues, and greens especially pop a lot to give the game a distinct look to help it stand apart from others in the same genre. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful pixel art graphics

Top Con

Difficult without a controller

Pretty awkward to play with a keyboard. See More

Top Pro

Satisfying combat with a good amount of depth to it

Dead Cells encourages fast-paced gameplay and requires quick reactions. The hits are impactful, the controls are super-responsive, and it's overall very fluid. The game has a good variety of weapons, skills and enemies that all change how the game plays out. Some weapons work best if the enemy is bleeding, some skills hurl enemies at you, some enemies are immune to attacks from the front. Which items you find and decide to keep will change what approach to combat you need to take. See More

Top Pro

Daily Runs & Leaderboards

Top Pro

Brilliant game design that presents a good challenge

All the little details come together to make Dead Cells incredibly rewarding to play. Making one mistake can mean death, which makes the game challenging but also fun as you learn how to take on certain enemies with different sets of weapons and skills. Also, every level is procedurally-generated, so even when you die and have to restart it feels unique and different every time. This keeps the game from ever getting old, even after you finish the game on the highest difficulty level. See More

Top Pro

The developers put a lot of love and care into the game

Throughout its time in Early Access, the creators of Dead Cells consistently updated the game with new features, adding entirely new areas and weapons each time. The game could have honestly been released a while ago and fared decently, but they kept making it better. Even more importantly though, the developers took player feedback into account many times. The devs love the game and the community and it shows through their work. See More

Top Pro

It's hard

If you're a veteran of the genre then this is a must-have. See More

There are a lot of combos to learn and moves to master. See More

Guacamelee

Top Pro

Simple yet challenging

Top Con

Controls on the keyboard don't work that well

The game is clearly designed with a controller in mind. Specifically, a mechanic that allows throwing enemies and various objects uses the analog stick to aim. Aiming using the keyboard is limited to 8 directions and is not sufficiently precise. See More

Specs

Genre:Action / Platformer / Metroidvania

Co-Op:2 Player Couch

Controller Support:Full

Areas in the game are unlocked by performing moves on obstructive blocks, which allows your move complexity to increase proportionally with game progression. See More

Top Pro

Game progression through new moves

Top Pro

Well executed pop-culture references as well as references of other titles

Pop-culture as well as other popular titles within the metroidvania and platformer genres are referenced throughout the game in various situations for comedic effect. And it's done in a very unobtrusive way as to not be annoying. See More

Top Pro

Fun fighting combo system

Attacks in Guacamelee are done with combining lots of different attacks into one devastating and fun to execute combo. See More

Top Pro

Local co-op

Guacamelee has local co-op support. See More

Sonic Mania has 12 levels, each with unique themes, enemies, and gimmicks. This includes a giant sandstone temple filled with water, presenting the danger of drowning, and even a giant chemical plant filled with jelly that can be used as a trampoline. There are also a multitude of secrets and the collectibles are positioned in a way to help you find them. All of this combined makes exploring each level really enjoyable. See More

Sonic Mania

Top Pro

Excellent level design

Top Con

Can be somewhat difficult to beginners

If you're new to platform games or gaming in general, Sonic Mania can feel fairly tricky. Both the levels and the boss fights require accurate jumps and/or split second timing to beat them, which may take more more than a few tries. This is especially the case in the bonus levels where you have to chase a UFO. Fortunately, you can get used to this game after a few play sessions. See More

Specs

Genre:Platformer, Action

While a single playthrough may take you around 5 hours, Sonic Mania has enough content to keep you going for dozens of hours. This is achieved with a combination of addictive gameplay, tons of collectibles, bonus stages, extra modes, and 3 unique characters that make the levels play differently. Even after beating the game multiple times, it stays as fun as the first time. See More

Top Pro

Great replay value

Top Pro

Enjoyable and fast platforming gameplay

Sonic Mania is all about running, jumping, and rolling through levels while avoiding obstacles, bumping robots, and collecting rings along the way. What's even better is that you can move at great speeds while doing it, allowing you to perform exciting feats. This can be launching yourself high into the air from a ramp, or rolling upwards around a pillar without losing traction. It simply gives you an exhilarating sense of speed that will keep you wanting more. See More

The game is short, but it's so difficult that you'll spend hours trying to beat it See More

Cuphead

Top Pro

Challenging

Top Con

Hard as nails

Cuphead mostly consists of multi-phase boss battles that may take you a lot of tries to beat. These involve a fair amount of trial and error, requiring you to gradually and perfectly memorize each boss' patterns, abilities, and timings. This becomes harder because you die in several hits, so even the tiniest mistakes are costly in the long run. It can be really frustrating if you die right before beating a boss since you have to get through the entire fight again. If you're expecting to simply enjoy the old timey visuals and music, you might get severely disappointed. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Co-Op:Shared / Spit screen

Top Pro

Really beautiful old-school art style

Cuphead is a very unique visual spectacle in the gaming world, looking exactly like a cartoon from the 1930s. The environments, characters, and even special effects are very detailed, colorful, and drawn entirely by hand on animation paper, complete with a grainy film effect. The end result is pure eye candy that puts most modern cartoons to shame. See More

Top Con

The platforming sections are not as good as the boss battles

As confirmed by the developers, the platforming sections before some boss battles were added late into the development cycle. As a result, they lack the same amount of polish and detail you get to see in the boss battles. See More

Top Pro

Excellent co-op

While it can be overly frustrating when you're playing alone, Cuphead also has local co-op for two players, making your adventure easier but a lot more enjoyable. The boss fights become shorter because together you deal more damage, you don't take needless hits because you can cover more blind spots, and you can even resurrect the other player by touching their ghost if you die. This way you still get the satisfaction of a challenging fight, but it won't be as disappointing if you fail. Even if you're not into challenging games, co-op can be a way to enjoy Cuphead. See More

The soundtrack's spacious ambient texture coupled with electronic beats and synthetic sounds supplement the game's otherworldly, contrasting setting. The complete soundtrack is available with the purchase of the game. See More

Mirror's Edge

Top Pro

Great soundtrack

Top Con

Some people may experience motion sickness

In order to maintain its immersive nature, Mirrors Edge has virtually no UI, other than a small dot at the center of the screen. This should ward off motion sickness for most people, but be aware that if you're queasy, you might not feel too well after playing. See More

Specs

Genre:Action-Adventure

The game's core mechanic is about traversing levels using wall-jumps, rolls and slides without losing momentum. It does a great job of creating a fluid sense of motion that you have complete control over. See More

Top Pro

Innovative, parkour-inspired, first-person platforming with excellent sense of motion

Top Con

Poor combat sytem

The combat system often feels out of place and definitely interferes with the flow of the gameplay. See More

Top Pro

Keyboard controls work quite well

Surprisingly (for an EA game especially) the keyboard controls are actually designed to work quite well. See More

Top Pro

Unique, minimalistic art-style

Mirror's Edge is set in a world where a totalitarian government runs a city and tries to eliminate anything that stands out, such as the free-running protagonist. The levels are created minimalistic, mostly white with aggressively contrasting primary colors, to represent the oppressive nature and sterility of the world. See More

Top Pro

Time trials

There are time trial bonus levels that are free of platforming sections and combat, just pure timed running missions. See More

For what is a pretty simplistic looking game, Thomas Was Alone offers a truly great story that actually gets the player to care about what are basically squares and rectangles. See More

Thomas Was Alone

Top Pro

Great story

Top Con

Short

The gameplay only lasts about 3 or 4 hours. See More

Specs

Genre:Puzzle, Platformer

Haunting guitar strums mixed with beautiful piano chords and bits of chiptune creates a very fitting soundtrack that allows for an experience of polish not often found. See More

Top Pro

Polished ethereal soundtrack

Top Con

Some puzzles can be difficult

Here an there are a few really tough puzzles in the game which can be frustrating, luckily they are few and far between as the gameplay does not tend to repeat itself too often. See More

Top Pro

Enjoyable professional narration

What really drives the well crafted story home is the wonderful narration done by British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television, Danny Wallace. Not many indie small budget games receive the polish this game has in their voice acting, which really adds to the experience when playing the game. See More

VVVVVV is very reminiscent of a game one would find for the Atari or Commodore 64 in that the graphics are simple, but the gameplay is anything but as it plays like nothing one would have found back then. It is fast paced and very precise, also extremely tough. See More

VVVVVV

Top Pro

Throwback to Atari/C64 games while playing like a modern game

Top Con

Not much of a story

The basic plot is that you are trying to save your crew members, but really it is just a loose story to tie the levels together as there is really not much there to discover. See More

Specs

Genre:Puzzle, Platformer, Metroidvania, Action

The main mechanic in the game is that the player can switch the gravity in any level allowing the character to flip from the bottom of the screen to the top. This is used in an ingenious way in order to solve puzzles and avoid hazards throughout each level. See More

Top Pro

Use gravity to solve puzzles

Top Con

Difficult

VVVVVV is a tough game, one that will cause frustration quite easily. Luckily there are unlimited lives in the game, so areas can be played over and over again with no consequences. See More

When you die, you spawn quickly to try again. Many games draw out the death, and have to reload. Super Meat Boy immediately re-spawns you so you waste no time. See More

Super Meat Boy

Top Pro

Play through iteration is fast

Top Con

Cut-scenes lack polish

Between the games gameplay are cut-scenes that fill the player in on the evolving story, sadly the artwork and polish for these cut-scenes shows quite a bit that this is an indie game made by two people as they are a bit unrefined. See More

Specs

The addition of a "run" button adds a lot of depth to levels, keeping the run-jump-repeat loop more interesting. The characters have acceleration as well, which demands finesse. See More

Top Pro

Forgivingly tight controls

Top Pro

Large number of levels

This is not a game you are going to complete in an afternoon. With 240 levels scattered across 7 worlds there is a lot to play in the game. See More

Top Pro

Unique visual style

As is typical of Ed McMillen's games, it looks like nothing else out there. The art style is 2D based but heavily unique with a vector graphics cartoony look. See More

There is an included level designer so users can design their own levels making for endless playtime through inventing and playing ones own levels. See More

SpeedRunners

Top Pro

Level designer for extended gameplay

Top Con

Buggy

Like most Early Access games, bugs are to be expected. The game may crash to desktop and players may fall through the level, hopefully these get fixed before the full release. See More

Specs

You can get up to speed in just a few minutes as the controls are very simple to learn, but the game still has plenty of depth, as mastering when to use different skills on different levels keeps it fresh. See More

Top Pro

Easy to pick up and play but doesn't get boring

Top Con

Difficult to play without a controller

Using a keyboard to play can be difficult as it is mainly designed around using a controller, so for those without a controller they may be handicapped playing against others that do. See More

Top Pro

Short matches

Matches are quick and only take a few minutes to play, so it's a great game to play on your lunch break, or when you just have a few minutes of free time. This also makes for a good game to play with friends that have limited time to play online. See More

Top Pro

Interesting movement mechanics

The game has a freeing walljump mechanic as well as a grappling hook that can be used to swing across obstacles, pull towards ledges, etc. This makes for movements that are intuitive and fun as well as well controlled. See More

Top Pro

Fun and intense races

SpeedRunners is an intense race around a 2d course. The camera follows the player in the lead, so if you get too far behind you will go off the screen and instantly die. To stay in the lead you will need to dodge obstacles, use a grappling hook to move faster and intelligently use power-ups. See More

Top Pro

Gives everyone a chance to win

The game is balances up in a way where it's naturally harder for the player in front to see upcoming obstacles, giving players behind great opportunities to get back ahead. This makes the game fun to keep playing in a group as you're unlikely to keep losing to the one over-competitive friend that tries too hard. See More

Top Pro

Fun power-ups

The game includes powerups like homing rockets, freeze rays and magma balls that can quickly change the game and add a level of randomness to each match making for a unique experience every time. See More

Top Pro

4 Player simultaneous, combined local and online

There are 4 slots per game, and each slot can be filled with a local player, a bot, a friend over the internet, or a random internet stranger. See More

Being that Spelunky is at its heart a roguelike the gameplay sessions can tend to be quick as the player will die quite often. This makes for something that can be played in quick bursts throughout the day. the convenient saving also lends to this as a game that is still ongoing can be quickly saved in order to be picked up at a later time. See More

Katana Zero

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Spelunky

Top Pro

Roguelike origins allow for quick sessions

Top Con

Co-op is boring and confusing

In co-op this game is very confusing with little instruction on how to play and with little to spice up the game play it gets boring quickly. See More

ReflectiveIdiyanale's Experience

Awesome! See More

Specs

Genre:Platformer / Indie / Roguelike

Co-Op:4 Player Couch

Controller Support:Full

Spelunky is pretty difficult and some could say abusive, but with practice and a desire for masochism the game can be mastered. See More

Top Pro

Infinite replay value

Top Con

Difficult to the point of frustration

Top Pro

Up to 4 player local co-op

Spelunky features 4 player local co-op where players share the same screen, which can get a bit hectic. See More

Top Pro

Skill based gameplay

Spelunky gives the player everything needed to succeed from the start so it is only when the players skills get better will they advance. See More

Top Pro

Expanded gameplay through mods

Ranging from Mega Man to Metroid, there are a tone of great mods for Spelunky all of which make for a new experience in the game which vastly expands the replayability. See More

The graphics are 3d rendered with vibrant colors and a pleasing cartoon like graphics that give a real sense of the fantasy world they are meant to illustrate. See More

Trine

Top Pro

Looks amazing

Top Con

Co-op not as good as single player

Though there is support for local co-op the game feels as though it works best as a single player title. See More

Specs

Genre:Puzzle / Platformer / Indie

Co-Op:Local / Online

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

It's challenging and fun

Each playable character has their own abilities and features that you must use in order to solve puzzles, platform, and battle to beat each level. See More

Top Pro

Local co-op with up to 3 players and controller support

Trine has support for up to 3 player local co-op. See More

Combat system is simple yet very satisfying. The game isn't easy, but neither is it obscenely difficult. See More

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Hollow Knight

Top Pro

Challenging combat

Top Con

Slow first 2 hours

Game feels slow until you acquire an important upgrade. See More

LikableObrigwabibikwa's Experience

i love the story and game play... it is very hard though See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Co-Op:Single Player

All the visuals are hand drawn, and in your adventures you'll find all kinds of strange bugs. The visuals are a dark and mystifying experience. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful visuals

Top Con

Controller lag is an annoying issue

Deactivating VSync and lowering screen resolution did not resolve the problem. This issue has been widely reported by many players. See More

CommunicativeAsterion's Experience

got plat trophy on ps4. Whatta great game. Lots of great bosses, the most memorable either being grimm troupe or pure radiance See More

Top Pro

Tight and fluid movement

Every movement in the game makes you feel like you are in control. See More

Top Con

Map system

To get a map, you must find an NPC first for each area you visit. Map updates whenever you find a bench. You also get sent to your last-visited bench when you die. It does not update in real-time, but the map will update with wherever you have been when you find a bench. This is all assuming you have bought the base map from the NPC in that particular area. See More

LuckyHorme's Experience

best game i have ever played See More

Top Pro

Fun, challenging boss fights

With a couple exceptions, the boss fights are challenging in a way that does not feel cheap. If you die, it is because you screwed up and not because the game didn't feel like keeping you alive anymore. See More

Top Con

Hidden lore/story

The story and lore are revealed in a similar manner as Dark Souls. There is a lot of lore, but you have to piece it together on your own because they don't tell you much straight-up. See More

Top Pro

Rewarding exploration

The game world is enormous, with a massive amount of secret areas that really reward you for sniffing them out. See More

Top Con

Poor map system

To get a map, you must find an NPC first for each area you visit. Map updates whenever you find a bench. You also get sent to your last-visited bench when you die. It does not update in real-time, but the map will update with wherever you have been when you find a bench. This is all assuming you have bought the base map from the NPC in that particular area. See More

Top Pro

Has free DLC

Two DLCs have been released, adding additional quests for free. See More

Top Con

Choppy on certain hardware

Even on powerful hardware, the game seems to have choppiness issues. Users report that this issue happens more often on Nvidia cards. See More

Top Pro

Amazing story and lore

Top Pro

Amazing art and soundtrack

Has a very dedicated aesthetic that works beautifully See More

Top Pro

Large amount of content

Finding new content after hundreds of hours. See More

Top Pro

Mysterious story/lore

Makes you wanna explore more to find out whats going on and you may find secrets with NPCs that will tell you more or add to the mystery. This keeps things interesting. See More

Top Pro

Difficult

Top Pro

Has character

The visuals, music and sound effects are both quirky and charming. You may stay for the gameplay, but you come in for the lovable world. See More

Top Pro

The game is quirky in a good way

A not-so-automated map system can, for many, make exploration more exciting and unique, and a lot of people find that a story can often be most engaging when it's something to discover and achieve. See More

Top Pro

Forces you to learn attack patterns

You won't get far just going in swinging. Learning enemy behavior is much more important than in any other Metroidvania and that feels very rewarding. See More