The 2D platforming genre serves as sort of a gaming bedrock or ground-zero for many of us who established our foundation with the original Super Mario Bros. The vocabulary of side-scrolling 2D platformers is so familiar to most core gamers that some developers in the last decade or so have been able to comfortably push the template to its limits with their demands for precision, timing, and control over the character. The indie scene has played host to some of the more notable examples of these high-level, demanding 2D platformers, but we've also seen a few mainstream series embrace a more hardcore design approach. We also shouldn't forget about the sub-communities that hack or mod established 2D platformers to make absurdly punishing levels that only the most skilled and dedicated could ever dream of completing (e.g. Kaizo Mario levels).
So I'm curious to hear from those of you who enjoy the more punishing/difficult brand of 2D platformers. Which game best represents the essence of platforming on a 2D plane being pushed to its limits? Another question for discussion would be whether or not a game's difficulty can get to a point where it becomes a detriment to enjoyment and limits its appeal even among lifelong 2D platforming fans. I think that there is definitely a balance that needs to be achieved there, even when it comes to games that pride themselves on appealing to the hardest of the hardcore.
I'll reserve my opinion on the subject for a later post and will instead just let this OP serve as a jumping off point for the discussion. The games pictured here are merely some examples that I think most people will recognize. I look forward to discussing other high-quality challenging platformers in this thread, and maybe I'll even discover some that I hadn't yet heard of.
N++ and Super Meat Boy are two standout examples of this ultra tight/precise and demanding take on 2D platforming from the indie community.
So I'm curious to hear from those of you who enjoy the more punishing/difficult brand of 2D platformers. Which game best represents the essence of platforming on a 2D plane being pushed to its limits? Another question for discussion would be whether or not a game's difficulty can get to a point where it becomes a detriment to enjoyment and limits its appeal even among lifelong 2D platforming fans. I think that there is definitely a balance that needs to be achieved there, even when it comes to games that pride themselves on appealing to the hardest of the hardcore.
DKC: Tropical Freeze and Rayman Origins are not as crushingly difficult as some of the indie examples shown above, but they are both examples of mainstream releases that reflect a design that was clearly targeting more experienced players.
I'll reserve my opinion on the subject for a later post and will instead just let this OP serve as a jumping off point for the discussion. The games pictured here are merely some examples that I think most people will recognize. I look forward to discussing other high-quality challenging platformers in this thread, and maybe I'll even discover some that I hadn't yet heard of.
