Six Great Indie Platformers You Probably Haven’t Played

From retro throwbacks to experimental puzzlers, these are just the thing for any fan of running and jumping

Andrew Johnston
3 min readJan 17, 2025
Photo by ELLA DON on Unsplash

Platformers aren’t exactly a hot genre these days. It’s one of the essential video game styles, but to many modern types (especially the younger variety), they’re just too old fashioned.

But if you’re reading this, you probably disagree. The platformer has endured for so many decades precisely because of what it is — a versatile, challenging style of video game that appeals to a wide variety of people. When the current trendy subgenre becomes passe, the platformer will still be there, keeping history alive.

So to celebrate this often forgotten genre, here are six indie platformers that haven’t received the respect they deserve.

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Deleveled

For puzzle fans, Deleveled offers a unique core mechanic that is both simple and flexible. It’s a jumpless platformer in which the player controls two linked characters with opposing gravity. The only way to gain altitude is by transferring momentum from one character to the other. It’s a system that allows for a lot of different challenges in varying levels of difficulty.

Bat Boy

Fans of Shovel Knight and its ilk will find a lot to like in Bat Boy, a retro-styled action platformer with sports anime flavor. Compared to its brethren, Bat Boy features more levels built around technical jumping, making it a bit more challenging than most without feeling excessively difficult. If the typical 2D platformer has gotten a little bit too easy for you, this will probably be your speed.

Halver

As the name suggests, Halver is a game built around the player’s ability to slice blocks in half. Combined with some carefully applied physics, and you have a system that allows a savvy player the means to manipulate the movement of objects in many different ways. The system offers more room for creativity than most puzzle platformers, with many levels offering different approaches to reach the goal.

Tiny Thor

Boasting an accurate retro aesthetic with some modern flourishes, Tiny Thor is a meaty puzzle/action platformer hybrid. Most levels are built around the protagonist’s ability to toss and bounce his hammer, a versatile tool used to solve a lot of different puzzles. Between large levels with lots of secrets and the huge number of levels overall, Tiny Thor brings a lot of bang for the buck.

MagiCat

MagiCat is another massive old-school platformer, featuring dozens of levels with a sizable array of mechanics and tons of bosses. One novel feature is the ability for the player to manipulate the overworld in various ways to either shortcut around areas or access bonus levels. This makes it a game that the player can approach in different ways — finish it fast or take time to explore.

Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe

For platformer fans looking for something a little different, Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe combines the usual jumping and dodging with arcade puzzle score attack gameplay. The player is tasked with evading spikes, falling blocks and traps while destroying clusters of like-colored blocks to gain points and power up. It’s a simple concept that grows fast and intense in a hurry.

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Andrew Johnston
Andrew Johnston

Written by Andrew Johnston

Writer of fiction, documentarian, currently stranded in Asia. Learn more at www.findthefabulist.com.

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