Best freeware platformers 2010

You had your Marios, your Sonics, your Mega Mans and many more. Independent developers paid homage to classic games, and even some major studios decided it was time to return to their roots with some fantastic platformers of their own. Those games are great, but I wanna focus on the pure experiences. Some of the games higher up on this list are really damn hard. Its unique yarn-based art style, soothing music, and just overall cuteness make this just such a nice game to play.

Another Nintendo platformer featuring a mascot that eats his enemies with a yarn-themed aesthetic? It gives you real incentives to find its cleverly hidden collectibles, like how if you find all the yarn bundles in a level, you unlock an adorable new crocheted Yoshi.

Say what you want about the New Super Mario Bros. And you know what? Some people actually did. But those 0. Not only is Impossible Lair one of the best 2D platformers this generation, but it also does one thing better than any game on this list: it somehow makes its overworld fun.

Great work, kiddo! House of Abandon - This story of a person playing a text adventure takes a sinister turn. Originally standalone, it became the first episode of eerie, atmospheric adventure Stories Untold.

Pressing it in time with certain beats lets you jump, crouch, and dodge out of the way of oncoming attacks. And lots and lots of practice. The Last Tango - Rhythm espionage survival. You play as two spies, dancing through a variety of deadly locations. They'll pirouette past traps, dodge under attacks, and take down enemies with an elegant twirl. And a gun. Expect hyperactive duels in a series of arenas. Cuckoo Curling - A fun four-player game that combines the rules of curling with Connect Four.

An easy game to pick up and play with friends, you can play Cuckoo Curling in local or online multiplayer. First Cut is that but in 2D, essentially, offering feudal Japan-themed duels against some truly beautiful pixel art backdrops. But placement is everything, as every icon has its own set of rules. Brogue, despite staying true to the genre, works hard to feel approachable. The controls make navigating its dungeons a breeze, and the elegant shading makes its symbols atmospheric and readable.

Terra Nil - Terra Nil begins at the ultimate end of civilisation, letting you breathe life back into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In this relaxing, therapeutic anti-builder, you construct devices to cleanse the earth, and to regrow green plants and trees.

Instead of friends, your companions here are loads and loads of birds. Just sit back and explore your apartment, examining every nook and every crevice for your feathered friends. Despite the four-fingered hands and alien aviary, it feels like a real city. A real chill city. Legend of the Mystical Ninja was one of my most favorite games on the Super Nintendo, and I was ecstatic when I first learned that Konami was doing a 3D follow up on the Nintendo Did I mention that the game also has a full blown opening sequence with full Japanese lyrics and subtitles?

A lot of people laugh when I tell them that Daxter is my favorite game in the Jak and Daxter series. Basically, Ready at Dawn did a better job than Naughty Dog which is saying a lot. In this game Jak is tossed aside in favor of his wise cracking side-kick.

The environments are a lot of fun to explore and the mission based structure is tighter here than it was in the main series complete with secondary objectives. It has a ton of personality and is a great release regardless of platform.

This really should have gotten a PS2 port. Sonic Team was really good at creating new video games that could become franchises but just never did. Billy Hatcher is one of these such titles. After Yuji Naka left the company no one could fill his shoes and we entered a dark period for the blue blur. I pretty much lost all hope in the franchise at this point, but Colors was a big surprise for me.

Additionally the new whisp power-ups are inspired and allowed the developers to get creative. I even like the neon aesthetic which was a surprise for me. For a while it was a pretty relevant mascot character for the PlayStation console and was one of the few PlayStation games that featured large expansive environments without pop-in. The engine is solid technically, and the gameplay is just as good. The environments are amazing and a lot of fun to explore. In the Gamecube era Nintendo was super experimental with most of their established franchises.

This is both a good and a bad thing, but it is what gave us Super Mario Sunshine. Are you serious? Donkey Kong 64 was the accumulation of everything everyone hated during the era.

I absolutely love the ultra vibrant settings; they offer a ton of variety and are absolutely beautiful. Even the multiplayer is a blast. Finally, who can forget the game that brought us the DK rap? This one is pretty underrated if you ask me. Rare followed it up with Banjo Tooie which offered more of the same only on a grander level. Everything was bigger and beefier. The platforming is solid, and tracking down every last jiggy is truly addictive. Ape Escape 3 was the second title in the series to be released for the second PlayStation console and features all of the same monkey catching mechanics of the originals but with two playable characters this time.

Unfortunately the developers dialed back on the number of different devices you can use here, but your characters can now morph into other things. When Rayman 2 released everyone went crazy for it. So how do you follow it up?

The power-up mechanics have also been worsened by making their effects temporary, but this is a minor issue. Despite these small problems Rayman 3 is still an amazing game that still has a lot to offer modern audiences. This is the first outing that is fully 3D, and there are surprisingly few hiccups.

As a matter of fact this is the single best installment in the franchise in my opinion. In this game you battle hordes of undead enemies moving from stage to stage running, jumping, crouching and slashing your way to victory. In traditional fashion Maximo loses his armor as he takes damage eventually being reduced to wearing just boxer shorts. In the past all 3D Mario titles were focused on exploration and collecting items. This allowed them to develop stages more akin to obstacle courses making for some really interesting challenges.

The 3D effect used by the handheld is put to great use here and actually enhances the experience. I will always have a soft spot for this game because it brought back the Tanooki suit that we had not seen since the 8-bit generation. The environments are tighter and more concise than in Tooie and in my opinion this works in its favor. I especially love the boss fights and how well hidden many of the jiggies are.

Ape Escape 2 is more of the same; more gadgets, more stages, more obstacles and more monkeys to capture. You run around the large arena like stages capturing as many simians as you can using your handy dandy net.

Some of these apes are tricky though and will require a variety of other creative tools. This second installment is just barely not as memorable as the original because I prefer the locales in the predecessor. The Wii U was a failure of a console. It must be said though that even a bad console from the houes of Mario still has good games.

Nimble Beasts Collective. BlindSight Demo. An addictive, high-intensity platform fighter. Think2wice Studios. World Jumper: Atlas of Wonder. Genie Escape. Vin Botthin. Reconnect with the meaning of the colors, restore the power of the crystals and make the world colorful again!

Cloud Jumpers. A Scholar's Tale. A narrative-driven platforming experience. Oliver Leins. To a Starling. Build your own levels in this miniature puzzle-platformer!

Que Sera Sera Demo Definitive.