Top 8 Platform Games iPhone

For most of us, platform games contribute to our very earliest memories of video games. If you consider the fact that most early consoles were anchored by some flagship platformer, you can begin to understand how important the genre has been in not only developing the artform of games but also bringing it to the public. Way back in the day, Nintendo had Mario and SEGA had Sonic and you were either in one camp or the other. Mario fans hated Sonic fans and visa versa. Or at least, those who followed the magazines and the publicity did – I knew very lucky kids with two consoles who were none the wiser! One thing people didn’t point out though was that both series of games were platformers, with Mario’s kid-friendly backdrops compared to Sonic’s fast-paced action and bright colors. Despite video games being developed to a point that most people couldn’t have dreamed of back then, there are still platformers around – here are our Top 8 platform games available for the iPhone from the App Store.

8. Leo’s Fortune ($2.99)

It’s completely understandable that Leo’s Fortune has won the kind of plaudits it has, picking up an Apple Design Award for the way the game was crafted – and thousands of new fans and downloaders in the process! The game is visually stunning, with a fairly simple concept and game engine that is elevated to a higher level by a beautiful game world that has an immense attention to detail. The game may be too tough for some, but that’s okay when the art and the interactive backgrounds are as lush and beautiful as the ones found here. – Download from iTunes

7. Mutant Mudds ($8.99)

So many of these original platformers on the iPhone are developed from scratch, but draw a huge amount from the classic platformers of the early days of consoles. Mutant Mudds is a very addictive little game, and displays clear influences: Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Mega Man, and a whole lot more. It’s a side scrolling platformer in the classical vein, and the graphics really give off a nostalgic feeling. I think that Mutant Mudds should be considered, especially by lovers of retro games, because it plays as a platformer but also introduces shooter elements to combine the genres and offer something a little different. There is also a nice twak to the side scrolling platformer genre in that you can easily jump between different planes at preset points on the level: basically the foreground or the background. This sounds like a gimmick, but it actually adds a whole new level to the game (no pun intended) and makes the game experience a whole lot more varied and interesting. – Download from iTunes

6. Thomas Was Alone ($4.99)

Thomas Was Alone is one of the more original games I’ve come across on the iPhone, where you basically control a small block as it makes its way through a dark world. The idea may sound a little half-baked, but it’s clearly directly inspired by the classic games we’ve mentioned previously and is actually quite nostalgic in that you must let your imagination fill in for where there are no detailed graphics. It says a lot about the world of mobile gaming these days that someone can develop a game as brave as this one is and find success in a crowded market. We can only hope that such indie developers keep on innovating! – Download from iTunes

5. Sonic the Hedgehog ($2.99)

We mentioned it above so should probably mention it here, too. Sonic has seen something of a renaissance on mobile platforms recently, with a bunch of games featuring the blue hedgehod available for purchase from the App Store at present. By far my favorite however – and unless things change drastically it will always be my favorite – is the original Sonic game for the SEGA Genesis. Here it is lovingly created behind a new engine developed specifically for retro games, and really does bring to life the old game. There are also a bunch of different variations included in this package so it’s an absolute must for hardcore SEGA and Sonic fans! – Download from iTunes

4. LIMBO ($4.99)

LIMBO is a particular favorite here at Top 8, but we should stress that the game isn’t really inspired by the classic platformers we’re spoken about previously. I mean, it is a side scrolling platform game in the traditional sense, but it’s a whole lot darker than anything we’re seen in the history of the genre. In fact, it probably has more in common with the Resident Evil games, in that it can really provide a few good frights if played in the right conditions! People have commented that the whole game experience could have done with a few more hours, but to be honest it was draining enough for me – I was glad when it finally ended! A terrific game, and notably original in the fact that there is no narrative framing of note – you simply wake up and start walking, and nothing about your post apocalyptic surroundings is ever explained! – Download from iTunes

3. Waking Mars ($4.99)

With all the destructive action games on consoles and indeed on mobile these days, I find it refreshing that we have access to games like Waking Mars. Rather than destructive, this one is constructive: there are no aliens to blast or buildings to destroy, but you must forge a new environment by planting seeds and then tending to these new lifeforms in such a harsh environment. The first ecological platformer? We think it might be! – Download from iTunes

2. The Silent Age (Free)

I guess the Silent Age could be considered a platformer in that you progress horizontally with your character across the screen, but it could just as easily be defined as a point and click adventure game in the vein of the old Monkey Island series. The game actually takes place in two different eras, which is a nice way of changing things up and keeping the narrative interesting. You play a character in the present day of 1972, and then another in a post-apocalyptic 2012. Sound confusing? Well, it’s really not! The character you control is a janitor in a big corporation who has discovered a time traveller from the future. You are requested by the time traveller to warm him about your meeting, but then he dies and leaves you with a small time travel machine and of course a huge amount of questions that need to be answered! – Download from iTunes

1. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP ($4.99)

Superbrothers is one of those games that doesn’t come along very often, where you can do nothing really but sit back and marvel at that which you’re seeing. Like Waking Mars listed above, this takes the classical idea of a platformer being packed with action and threatening obstacles to overcome, and turns it completely on its head. Rather than being about the race or the killing of enemies, this game is about the journey itself. The progression from one point to another, all beautifully rendered with gorgeous backdrops that recall both the pixel art of old and the exaggerated effects of an animated film. – Download from iTunes