What are 2D Platformer Games?

2D Platformers are platform games that only take place on the X (left and right) and Y (up and down) axes.


The earliest 2D platformers took place on a single static screen at a time. The screen only changed when you entered a new area or level. Scrolling platformers allow the screen to move with the character, either horizontally, vertically, or both. The earliest 2D platformers were arcade games like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., and Bubble Bobble. Super Mario Bros. became the standard for 2D platformers and helped popularize the platforming genre.

All Articles about 2D Platformer Games - Page 1

A creature looking at the camera in Rain World: The Watcher, the game's latest DLC expansion
News

Rain World: The Watcher DLC Expansion Announced

Videocult and Akupara Games have announced a brand new Rain World DLC expansion, and it's promising to take you to places "only ever glimpsed". Rain World: The Watcher is the game's second major…

March 29, 2024 | 11:25 EDT

Header image for Pepper Grinder
Review

Pepper Grinder Review - I Dig It

I love me a good platformer, whether is be a AAA title like the excellent Super Mario Bros. Wonder, or smaller projects like 2022's Shovel Knight Dig. Every good game in the genre needs a hook to it…

March 28, 2024 | 12:00 EDT

Ubisoft + Premium Art
News

Ubisoft Overhauls Subscription Services with Ubisoft+ Premium and Ubisoft+ Classics

Today Ubisoft announced relevant changes to the way its subscription services work, merging Ubisoft+ Multi-Access and PC Access into one. The two services, previously dedicated respectively to Xbox…

January 15, 2024 | 12:33 EST

Prince of Persia Raging Sea Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Raging Sea Collectible Guide

As you're hunting down each constellation to awaken you'll find yourself in the time-frozen Raging Seas (probably my favorite location in the game). The Raging Sea collectibles are also interesting…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Pit of Eternal Sands Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Pit of Eternal Sands Collectible Guide

After collecting a few of the Simurgh's powers Sargon will be ready to unlock the seal and head into the Pit of Eternal Sands. Within there's a variety of collectibles as well as new movement…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Tower of Silence Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Tower of Silence Collectible Guide

The Tower of Silence is the last new area that Sargon reaches along his journey. With every item at his disposal this is a region filled with difficult platforming, but it's also a region that you…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Hidden Village Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Hidden Village Collectible Guide

To the right of the Soma Tree region you can find the small region of the Hidden Village. Not much is going on here except for a path and a lighthouse but it's also the way to obtain additional…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Sacred Archives Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Sacred Archives Collectible Guide

As you continue to make yourself through the world of Mount Qaf and the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown you'll end up finding your way to the Sacred Archives. The Sacred Archives is also home to the…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Upper City Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Upper City Collectible Guide

Continuing through the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown you'll end up making your way to the Upper City. This is another expansive region on the same scale as the Lower City that you'll be put to the…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Soma Tree Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Soma Tree Collectible Guide

The Soma Tree region is the fifth main one that you'll run across after making your way out of the Sunken Harbor. The Soma Tree collectibles are a large mix of Treasures and Lore items and it's home…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Sunken Harbor Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Sunken Harbor Collectible Guide

Heading out of civilization Sargon finds himself in the Sunken Harbor. This location, themed after ports and pirate ships has plenty of collectibles to pick up. In this Prince of Persia: The Lost…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia The Depths Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown The Depths Collectible Guide

Early into Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown you'll be forcibly thrown into The Depths region. With that you'll face a variety of new challenges, but also have a chance to pick up more interesting…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Prince of Persia Lower City Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Lower City Collectible Guide

The first region Sargon will reach on his adventure through Mount Qaf in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the Lower City. Not just an expansive area but the Lower City also is the hub location for…

January 15, 2024 | 09:50 EST

Prince of Persia Hyrcanian Forest Collectibles Preview Image
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Hyrcanian Forest Collectible Guide

After making your way through The Depths the next area you'll reach in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will be the Hyrcanian Forest filled with secluded warriors and weird creatures. In this Prince…

January 15, 2024 | 09:51 EST

Sargon reaching the Old Royal Road in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Old Royal Road Collectible Guide

When first arriving at the citadel on Mount Qad you'll make your way through the Old Royal Road, but it's on its return that it will provide benefit in the form of several collectibles as well as a…

January 15, 2024 | 09:50 EST

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown Collectibles
Guide

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown All Collectibles and Their Locations

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is filled with hundreds of collectibles in the form of treasures, Spirited Sand-Jars, Coins, and Collectibles. With over two hundred collectibles on the map you'll be…

January 15, 2024 | 09:50 EST

Characters from the indie platformer VVVVVV, three of whom are upside down and three of whom are the right way up, in artwork by the artist Cheep
News

(Updated) Classic Platformer VVVVVV Gets First Update in Two Years on Its Fourteenth Anniversary

Quick update: The original version of this article contained an error regarding the VVVVVV update's availability on other platforms. That error has been fixed. Story follows below. The indie…

January 11, 2024 | 10:47 EST

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

A close-up of Sargon's face in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
News

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown PC Specs Revealed, Console Performance Detailed

Ubisoft has revealed the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown PC specs list, so you can see whether your machine measures up to the requirements (spoiler: it probably does). The game is launching on…

January 4, 2024 | 09:18 EST

Sargon kicks a boss off his horse in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Preview

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Final Preview - Is This Anime?

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the most excited I’ve been for a Ubisoft game in a long while. Pitched as a modern take on the franchise, it blends the old sidescrollers with the Sands of Time…

December 13, 2023 | 12:00 EST

Sargon looking bewildered in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
News

Leaked Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Trailer Points to Mid-January Demo

An upcoming trailer from tonight's Game Awards ceremony appears to have leaked, and this one's all about Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The game is currently set for release in January, and it…

December 7, 2023 | 10:19 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

Four Kirbys posing next to a defeated tree boss in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, the new Nintendo Switch Online game
News

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror Is Coming To Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo has announced that another Kirby game is making its way to Nintendo Switch Online in the form of Kirby & the Amazing Mirror next week. The Game Boy Advance platformer will arrive for…

September 22, 2023 | 03:40 EDT

The player character approaches a dog in Animal Well
Preview

Animal Well Preview - It's Feeling Magical

One thing to know about PAX demo stations is that these games are (usually) all running on some sort of PC configuration. What stood out to me when approaching the Animal Well booth at PAX West, then…

September 5, 2023 | 10:30 EDT

Mario in elephant form running to collect coins.
Preview

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Preview - Mario is Getting Weird With It

One of the few 10/10 reviewed games on TechRaptor is Super Mario Odyssey, the last mainline Mario game, which released about six years ago (and the last 2D Mario a decade ago). After just a brief…

September 3, 2023 | 10:00 EDT

Pepper Grinder header
Preview

Pepper Grinder Preview - It's Drillin' Time

I don't know how Devolver does it, but the publisher is an expert when it comes to scooping up simple but absurdly fun indie titles. As it so happens, one of Devolver's latest published titles,…

August 24, 2023 | 11:00 EDT

A masked character in D-Pad Studio's Savant - Ascent looking down at another theatrical mask
News

Upcoming Savant - Ascent Remaster Is Now "Full-On Sequel", Owlboy Dev Reveals

Owlboy developer D-Pad Studio has revealed that an upcoming remaster of one of its earliest games has grown in scope and is now more of a sequel. Savant - Ascent REMIX, which began life as a simple…

August 11, 2023 | 09:31 EDT

Robert Scarpinito from TechRaptor interviews Chris King, the lead developer of 30XX.
Feature

How FTL’s Developer Inspired 30XX's Fusion Mechanic

Inspired by games like Mega Man X, 30XX features two wildly different characters with interesting sets of powers. One of them, Nina, can fuse different boss powers together to create more than 60…

August 8, 2023 | 12:25 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

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown game page header
Game Page

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a 2D Platformer developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft, releasing for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X…

July 5, 2023 | 10:32 EDT

Super Mario Bros Wonder with Mario in Elephant form in the center of the screen, and blocks on the left
News

Nintendo Announces Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Since 2006, 2D Mario has been plagued with a word on all of it, making it difficult to discuss, new. The 'New' Super Mario Bros series began in 2006 as a return to the sidescrolling, two-dimensional…

June 21, 2023 | 10:49 EDT

prince of persia the lost crown key art
Preview

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Preview

I had the opportunity to play Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown at a Ubisoft event as part of Summer Game Fest.  It’s been over a decade since we last saw an entry in the Prince of Persia franchise,…

June 13, 2023 | 10:00 EDT

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown's Sargon looking into the camera
News

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Gameplay Showcased

After its announcement at the Summer Games Fest, Ubisoft showed off more of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown gameplay and story. The game has you taking on the role of Sargon of the Immortals seeking…

June 12, 2023 | 01:38 EDT

disney illusion island key art
Preview

Disney Illusion Island Preview

While at Summer Game Fest I had the chance to try out Disney Illusion Island, the new cooperative platformer from Dlala games. Starring Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, it’s a wholesome trip down…

June 12, 2023 | 11:30 EDT

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy flying through the air in Sonic Superstars.
Preview

Sonic Superstars Preview

There's a certain thrill that comes from classic 2D Sonic games when you're in the groove. Spin dashing up a ramp, going through loops, effortlessly bouncing between springboards -- Sonic is at his…

June 11, 2023 | 11:00 EDT

An image of the cast from Prince of Persia The Lost Crown
News

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Announced

Summer Game Fest is off to the races, leading off the barrage of summer announcements you can expect to see filling in the old E3 time slot. One of the first large announcements was from Ubisoft who…

June 8, 2023 | 03:17 EDT

A podracer in Star Wars Episode I Racer and a butterfly-slash-moth creature in Hoa, the games in the Xbox Games With Gold May 2023 lineup
News

Xbox Games With Gold May 2023 Lineup Speeds Into View

The Xbox Games with Gold April 2023 lineup has been revealed. As usual, you're getting two games, both of which are playable on either Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S. There's a racing game from a…

April 27, 2023 | 09:27 EDT

A queue of people wearing masks in a twilit Taopunk world in the Red Candle platformer Nine Sols
News

Sekiro-Inspired Platformer Nine Sols Delayed To Q4 2023

Red Candle games has announced that its "Taopunk" Sekiro-inspired platformer Nine Sols has been delayed until Q4 2023. If you backed the crowdfunding campaign for the game and you're waiting for your…

April 21, 2023 | 08:38 EDT

Key art of Trinity Fusion with all three player characters in a void-like backdrop
Preview

PAX East 2023: Trinity Fusion Preview

Trinity Fusion is an upcoming rogue-lite action platformer from Angry Mob Games that I was able to play at PAX East 2023. After a 45-minute session, I felt the hooks of the genre’s live-die-repeat…

April 5, 2023 | 11:00 EDT

Trinity Fusion key art with 3 variants of player protagonist
Game Page

Trinity Fusion

Explore dark, sci-fi worlds and engage in fast-paced and precise combat in Trinity Fusion - a Rogue-Lite action platformer set in a sprawling, doomed multiverse. Each of your parallel selves has…

December 14, 2023 | 09:55 EST

A group of characters standing around in The Library of Babel
News

The Library Of Babel Release Date Sneaks Into April

Tanuki Game Studios and Neon Doctrine have announced a release date for The Library of Babel, their 2D graphic adventure-stealth platformer hybrid. The game will be released on April 7th across PC…

March 7, 2023 | 02:56 EST

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

Grapple Dog game page header.
Game Page

Grapple Dog

Grapple Dog is a 2D platformer developed by Medallion Games and published by Super Rare Originals. As the name suggests, this is a 2D platformer where you play as Pablo, a dog... that can grapple.…

January 6, 2023 | 11:16 EST

What Lies In The Multiverse game page header.
Game Page

What Lies In The Multiverse

What Lies In The Multiverse is a 2D puzzle platformer developed by Studio Voyager and IguanaBee, and published by Untold Tales and Doyoyo Games. Players take control of "Kid", who accidentally…

January 5, 2023 | 02:15 EST

Time Loader game page header.
Game Page

Time Loader

Time Loader is a physics-based puzzle platformer, featuring a small robot that must travel back to the 90s to prevent a tragic accident. Your little robot's basic movement consists of trundling…

January 4, 2023 | 06:48 EST

Mina the Hollower logo.
Game Page

Mina the Hollower

Mina the Hollower is a 2D action-adventure platformer where you are Mina, a Hollower who is trying to rescue a cursed island in a 8-bit visual style that should forcefully remind you of the Gameboy…

December 28, 2022 | 04:47 EST

The starting screen and logo for Shovel Knight Dig
Guide

Shovel Knight Dig Starter Guide

Steel thy shovel fair adventurers! You've decided to check out Yacht Club Games' latest spin-off of the acclaimed retro platformer, Shovel Knight Dig. But this is a notable departure from other…

September 23, 2022 | 12:47 EDT