Platformers are in a strange place right now. It seems like there are more of them than ever, yet it’s harder than ever for the developers to make money. For the customer, part of it is a matter of price: No one wants to pay top dollar for a game that’s over sooner than expected.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way, as the PC is loaded with interesting platformers that can be yours for less than the price of takeout. So if you’re ever bored at home and want to hop into something that’s a little old-school, try one of these cheap indie platformers on Steam. Bear in mind that the quoted prices are subject to change.
1. Noitu Love 2 Devolution
Developer: Joakim Sandberg
Publisher: Joakim Sandberg
Price: $4.99
Noitu Love 2 has a long, messy history that we won’t dwell on too much. Suffice to say, a lot of time and effort went into allowing people to buy this innovative platformer for the cost of a slice of pizza.
Unusually for a platformer, Noitu Love 2 uses both the keyboard and mouse for controls, allowing the player to move and attack in different directions. Between that, the Genesis throwback graphics, and the quirky arcade-style level design, you have a game that’s hard to forget.
2. Wallachia: Reign of Dracula
Developer: Migami Games
Publisher: Storybird Studio / Pixel Heart
Price: $9.99
There aren’t a lot of media properties based on Vlad III Draculesti – the historical basis for Dracula – so Wallachia is really staking out a new path.
Wallachia follows a young noblewomen on a quest for revenge after her family is wiped out in Dracula’s 1456 purge of the Boyars. Each level is modeled after a historical or mythical event in Dracula’s brief reign, with a mechanical and graphical style that resembles classic arcade platformers such as Magic Sword.
3. Lulu’s Temple
Developer: Agelvik
Publisher: Agelvik
Price: $4.99
As popular as horror games are these days, it’s a bit surprising that we haven’t seen more horror platformers. Lulu’s Temple is a great example of how horror can be done in 2D with limited pixel graphics.
Light is a key mechanic in Lulu’s Temple – the protagonist carries a torch which he must use to solve puzzles, which at times means throwing into the darkness and losing its protection. And if anything, the limitations make the game even more eerie, with little red pixel eyes peering out from the shadows and compressed, slightly atonal music setting the mood.
4. Crypt Stalker
Developer: Sinclair Strange
Publisher: Sinclair Strange
Price: $2.99
There are few people who can capture the feel of a retro game quite like Sinclair Strange, and Crypt Stalker is a great example. Based heavily on the original Castlevania, Crypt Stalker offers an experience that is authentic and challenging, but also fair.
However, the most interesting feature is its secondary game mode based on the Game Boy’s Castlevania: The Adventure. Far from a mere graphical change, this is a complete second game with different levels and subtly different mechanics to reflect the Game Boy’s limitations.
5. Volgarr the Viking
Developer: Crazy Viking Studios
Publisher: Crazy Viking Studios
Price: $9.99
And while we’re on the subject of authenticity, we have Volgarr the Viking, a game that masterfully captures the capabilities and limitations of early platformers.
Volgarr and his enemies move on a fixed grid and Volgarr has a jump with a fixed trajectory that he can only change with his double jump. This makes for a Viking-themed platformer that’s much more technically challenging than most, but for fans of the old-school there’s nothing that recreates the feel of those games quite the same.
6. Super Win the Game
Developer: Minor Key Games
Publisher: Minor Key Games
Price: $7.99
Minor Key Games are best known as pioneers of the ever-popular faux-CRT effect, but let’s not forget that the games themselves are very good.
Super Win the Game, a follow-up to their popular free title You Have to Win the Game, is an open-world exploration-focused platformer. The protagonist’s quest is straightforward, but there are a lot of different paths to victory, with hidden story elements and challenge rooms that will put anyone’s platformer skills to the test.
7. Gunmetal Arcadia
Developer: Minor Key Games
Publisher: Minor Key Games
Price: $9.99
Based heavily on Zelda II, Gunmetal Arcadia is a roguelike sidescroller that sees the player delving into an ever-shifting dungeon to slay a notorious monster.
Gunmetal Arcadia is most notable for its legacy system – the game remembers your last run, and applies modifiers to the character and the dungeon based on how you played and even how you died.
8. Polyroll
Developer: Spicy Gyro, Shiny Dolphin
Publisher: HOF Studios
Price: $5.99
It’s tempting to call Polyroll a Sonic the Hedgehog clone, but that’s an oversimplification. There are a lot of influences in this game, some of them definitely on the obscure side.
Compared to some of those old-school platformers, Polyroll has a heavy focus on exploration, with varying paths and hidden items that can be used to unlock new levels and routes. With over 30 levels and 11 bosses, it’s also a more substantial game than you might expect.
9. MagiCat
Developer: Kucing Rembes
Publisher: Toge Productions, Neon Doctrine
Price: $4.99
Of course, if you’re looking for a content-heavy platformer, MagiCat is an easy choice. This game is simply enormous, with 63 levels that each feature a unique boss. But the most interesting part might be how those levels are accessed.
MagiCat features an overworld in the vein of Mario 3 or Donkey Kong Country, and the player can acquire a range of skills usable on the overworld that can be used to carve alternate routes through the game. This is a game in which sequence breaking is built right into the experience, and clever players need only play the levels they want to play.
10. Inukari – Chase of Deception
Developer: Einzelartig Games
Publisher: Einzelartig Games
Price: $5.99
For anyone looking to refine their speedrunning skills, Inukari offers an experience specifically geared toward that purpose.
Inukari is a fast platformer stripped down to the nuts and bolts – a simple skill set, smooth controls and winding levels with plenty of tricky jumps. It’s certainly a challenging game, but still a lot more forgiving than most precision platformers, so if you’ve been curious about that particular style, this is a good jumping off point.
11. Deleveled
Developer: ToasterFuel
Publisher: The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Price: $9.99
An interesting subgenre among indie platformers is the platformer without a jump button, with the game offering some other mechanic to gain altitude. Deleveled is one such title.
The player controls two squares with opposing gravity (one moves toward the bottom of the screen, one toward the top) that can transfer momentum to each other. The goal is to reach a series of switches, a simple task which requires a combination of intellect and quick reflexes.
12. Out There Somewhere
Developer: MiniBoss
Publisher: Senpai Studios
Price: $0.99
Portal has unquestionably been a major inspiration for developers, and Out There Somewhere is definitely one of its punchier descendants.
Stranded on an alien planet, the protagonist’s goal is to use his “teleport gun” to navigate the planet and find an exit. Complicating things further, the planet is scattered with colored energy beams that alter the way that the gun operates. Out There Somewhere is a very short game, but at a single dollar, you’re certainly getting your money’s worth.
13. My Night Job
Developer: Webcore Games
Publisher: Webcore Games
Price: $3.99
We all take unpleasant jobs to pay the bills, but most of those bad jobs don’t require fighting B-movie monsters with improvised weapons. Such is the fate of the protagonist in My Night Job.
The goal is to rescue survivors inexplicably stranded in a mansion besieged by fiends. But there’s an added complication – let the monsters flood the mansion without dealing with them and they’ll eventually tear the mansion down on top of you. My Night Job is an interesting side scroller / survival horror blend that requires a mix of skills to complete.
14. Squidlit
Developer: Squidlit Ink
Publisher: Squidlit Ink
Price: $1.99
There aren’t a lot of games that capture that nostalgia of the Game Boy out there, and maybe none that capture the feel of the era like Squidlit.
The titular Squidlit is a land squid on a quest to save the world, aided by a cast of (figuratively) colorful characters. Squidlit is gifted with an ink attack that also functions as a double jump, making for a game that’s extremely easy to pick up. Squidlit is a short game that’s perfect for any 90s kid in need of a monochrome nostalgia fix.
15. Super Cyborg
Developer: Artur Games
Publisher: Artur Games
Price: $4.99
We could have completely filled this list with Contra-like run-and-gun games, but Super Cyborg really brings the most bang for the buck.
The seven levels of Super Cyborg are bound to be familiar to fans of the classic Contra games, though with a few enhancements such as chargeable weapons and an aiming mechanic not added until later in the series. Super Cyborg is hard, but it’s fair-hard – anyone who played its forerunners will have the skills to defeat the alien menace.
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