2D Platformer Genre Game Reviews

Sargon shoots a celestial arrow into the sky in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Review

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review – It's About Time! (and Space)

Prince of Persia hasn’t been in the limelight for years, with its last mainline entries barely making a splash (Forgotten Sands, indeed). Thankfully, The Lost Crown brings it back to the forefront…

January 11, 2024 | 12:00 EST

Super Mario Bros. Wonder header image.
Review

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review - Oh, the Places You'll Go

Look, you can probably guess what I'm going to say: Super Mario Bros. Wonder is good. Well, you guessed wrong. It's not good. It's amazing -- wonderful, even. After what could be considered some…

November 3, 2023 | 11:00 EDT

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy looking at a giant Robot
Review

Sonic Superstars Review - Running With What Works

Sonic Superstars has a lot to live up to. Fresh off the well-received reinvention of 3D Sonic with 2022’s Sonic Frontiers, Superstars is the blue blur’s next outing in a strictly 2D adventure. The…

October 13, 2023 | 09:00 EDT

Nina shoots a charged buster shot that forks around the screen in 30XX
Review

30XX Review - Great Xpectations

One of my earliest gaming memories was with Mega Man X4. It had so much style and frantic action that tickled my brain just right, and I had to find out what the rest of this series was like. Outside…

August 8, 2023 | 11:25 EDT

The cover art for Rooftop Renegade, showcasing the main character Svetlana posing in mid-air while being pursued by masked hoodlums.

Rooftop Renegade Review

It’s interesting how speedrunning in video games has become its own sub-genre. Pick any genre to sit alongside it, and suddenly you have a battle of optimization, wits and critical planning, all…

February 28, 2023 | 10:30 EST

Shovel Knight Dig header
Review

Shovel Knight Dig Review

Shovel Knight has starred in old-school platformers, puzzlers, and made guest appearances in plenty of others including multiple platform fighters. No genre is too far or foreign for Shovel Knight,…

September 22, 2022 | 09:00 EDT

Time Loader's starring robot travels into the past in the game's key art.
Review

Time Loader Review

Every video game is someone's first. For people of an older generation, they started alongside the hobby with the first steps of Mario, Link, and Pikachu. While not every game can be an absolute…

March 10, 2022 | 12:00 EST

Dimensional crossroads.
Review

What Lies In The Multiverse Review

I think most of us would revel in the idea of living in the multiverse and recent studies have shown that that may be the case. Of course, that doesn't mean we're anywhere close to visiting parallel…

March 3, 2022 | 10:00 EST

Little Orpheus Main Logo
Review

Little Orpheus Review

If you told me a decade ago that developer The Chinese Room would put their creative efforts towards a 2.5D platformer capturing the tone of old-timey adventure serials I wouldn't believe you.…

March 1, 2022 | 05:46 EST

Key art of Grapple Dog
Review

Grapple Dog Review

When it comes to traditional 2D platformers, I’m someone who’s all thumbs. You know the picture of a bunch of kids and their mom helping them clear a level of Super Mario? That was pretty much my…

February 14, 2022 | 09:30 EST

Hoa promo image
Review

Hoa Review

Can you Be-Leaf It? Hoa is the game equivalent of a children’s bedtime story: a light narrative that serves as a vehicle for a comfortable atmosphere, memorable magical episodes, and an easy moral…

August 23, 2021 | 09:30 EDT

Triple Threat!
Review

Greak: Memories Of Azur Review

Siblings can be a nuisance but they can also be the best part of your family. Many plots involve familial bonds with plenty of games sending you on a quest to save them. This is part of the adventure…

August 13, 2021 | 08:00 EDT

Olija - Key Art
Review

Olija Review

Non-traditional methods of exploring a narrative are becoming pretty common these days. It makes you wonder at what point will these non-traditional methodologies become traditional and come full…

January 28, 2021 | 09:00 EST

A close up image of the ninja hero's face next to the title.
Review

Cyber Shadow Review

When it comes to retro action-platformers like Cyber Shadow, there's a lot going against them. Not only are there plenty of pixelated competition on the market, there are many different expectations…

January 25, 2021 | 09:00 EST

Super Meat Boy Forever logo
Review

Super Meat Boy Forever Review

Team Meat’s hotly-anticipated blood-spattered auto-runner, Super Meat Boy Forever, has landed. It isn’t a bad game but I couldn’t help find it disappointing. As a sequel to 2010’s highly-acclaimed 2D…

January 4, 2021 | 12:00 EST

Bite the Bullet Review
Review

Bite The Bullet Review

Sometimes I feel like video game power fantasies could stand to be a little more realistic. You can keep your unstoppable space marines, your intrepid heroes, and your master tacticians. Give me a…

August 13, 2020 | 03:05 EDT

The main heroes of the adventure standing in profile
Review

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 Review

Inti Creates really needs more credit for what they do. Retro-style platformers are just about everywhere, but this studio has the most consistent quality with all of their efforts. They have turned…

July 10, 2020 | 12:00 EDT

Neversong Review
Review

Neversong Review

Each and every one of us has experienced true guilt at some point in our life. Shame because of what we did or didn't do, whether it was our fault or not. Some of you may be able to call to mind a…

May 30, 2020 | 11:00 EDT

Ori And The Will Of The Wisps Review
Review

Ori And The Will Of The Wisps Review

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert once famously opined that video games couldn't be art. Ebert later backtracked on this statement to a certain degree, but the cat had truly been set among the…

March 15, 2020 | 05:44 EDT

Disney Classic Games Aladdin and The Lion King - Title
Review

Disney Classic Games: Aladdin And The Lion King Review

It's sometimes nice to see a piece of your childhood bought back in modern times. It's common enough these days with virtual consoles and numerous remasters or re-releases. Then again, it's sometimes…

November 8, 2019 | 02:00 EST

Insanity's Blade Key Art
Review

Insanity's Blade Review

One of the strangest trends in indie gaming over the past couple of years has been NES-styled platformers. Half banking on nostalgia and half banking on difficulty, most NES-inspired indies are…

December 18, 2014 | 01:00 EST

Never Alone Key Art
Review

Never Alone Review Cold Cold Heart

Very few games celebrate culture in the way that Never Alone does. There aren't many examples of games made to educate the player on the history and traditions of a rarely represented people. This…

November 27, 2014 | 11:00 EST

Magnetic By Nature Key Art
Review
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Magnetic By Nature Review

Magnetic By Nature is the tale of a robot lost deep underground in the remnants of what appears to be a 1920s Art Deco technological utopia. The Art Deco vibe carries throughout the whole game, tying…

November 23, 2014 | 01:00 EST

The Legend of Dark Witch Key Art
Review

The Legend of Dark Witch

The Legend of Dark Witch is a game that combines the frustrating designs in MegaMan and combines it with the infuriating genre of bullet hell. Which, in my opinion, breaks the game in so many aspects…

October 29, 2014 | 01:00 EDT

FEZ Key Art
Review

Fez Review

When people toss around the term "indie game" these days it sometimes refers to really weird "games" that don't resemble the games that most people have come to love and enjoy playing. Fez, however,…

October 12, 2014 | 01:00 EDT

Azure Striker Gunvolt Key Art
Review

Azure Striker Gunvolt Review

Azure Striker Gunvolt is the epitome of fun, in my books. This is definitely a must for any Mega Man fan, as it combines a lot of the core features of the Mega Man franchise while also bringing its…

September 16, 2014 | 09:00 EDT

Vertical Drop Heroes HD Key Art
Review

Vertical Drop Heroes HD Review

Enjoy Rogue-like games such as Hammerwatch? Like platformer-Esque games like Rogue Legacy? Then Vertical Drop Heroes HD will fit right in.   Vertical Drop Heroes HD - Gameplay Vertical Drop…

September 13, 2014 | 11:00 EDT

Shovel Knight Key Art
Review

Shovel Knight Review - Retro Fun

We gamers who enjoy a good retro action game are immensely spoiled in today's age, weirdly enough. Over the course of the last console generation, the rise of platforms such as the Xbox Live Arcade…

June 26, 2014 | 10:00 EDT

Deadlight - Key Art
Review

Deadlight Review

Deadlight was one of the May Games with Gold for the Xbox 360. It's a very frustrating game. That doesn’t mean it's not a good game. It just seems rough. Take a look below and see what I mean.…

May 30, 2014 | 09:00 EDT

SteamWorld Dig Review
Review

SteamWorld Dig Review

SteamWorld Dig is a 2D Platformer that has been out for the PC and Nintendo 3DS for a few months now and has received ratings that definitely well deserved. Putting you in the shoes of Rusty, a robot…

March 25, 2014 | 10:00 EDT

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Key Art
Review

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Review

For the number of times I cursed at the screen during my time playing Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, one would think that I couldn’t stand the thing, and only continued playing for my own…

March 3, 2014 | 10:30 EST

Strider Key Art
Review

Strider Review

Long ago, back in 1989, Capcom released a much-beloved action arcade game known as Strider. It quickly gathered popularity and critical acclaim and still remains talked about today, which brings us…

February 24, 2014 | 09:00 EST