Best 2D Side-On Games

Webbed is a running and jumping game with a twist - you play a spider who can make webs, swing, climb and all the while creating music as she goes.

Webbed is a running and jumping game with a twist - you play a spider who can make webs, swing, climb and all the while creating music as she goes. It follows the story of our happy little spider on an adventure to save her boyfriend from a big dumb bowerbird.

Toca Life: World is part of a series of games that comprise what are essentially toys in electronic form.

Florence is a puzzle game that tells the story of a relationship.

Florence is a puzzle game that tells the story of a relationship. It follows the usual stages of loneliness, meeting, dating, falling for and moving in with another person.

New Super Lucky's Tale is a running and jumping game where you play a fox on a quest to recover pages from a magical book that will save his world.

New Super Lucky's Tale is a running and jumping game where you play a fox on a quest to recover pages from a magical book that will save his world. Play is action-oriented but the islands and characters are full of quirky characters and treasures.

Venba is a narrative cooking game where you play an Indian mother who emigrated to Canada in the 1980s.

Venba is a narrative cooking game where you play an Indian mother who emigrated to Canada in the 1980s. You cook various traditional Indian dishes and restore lost recipes which were damaged in the move to Canada.

Terraria looks like a 2D, lesser version of Minecraft.

Terraria looks like a 2D, lesser version of Minecraft. However, this is a game every bit as complex and creative as the better-known block-building game.

TowerFall Ascension is a running, jumping and archery game where each player selects a pixelated knight and fights to eliminate opponents by shooting them with arrows or jumping on their heads.

TowerFall Ascension is a running, jumping and archery game where each player selects a pixelated knight and fights to eliminate opponents by shooting them with arrows or jumping on their heads. Play is about quick reactions and second-guessing what your human or computer opponents will do.

Osu! is a rhythm action game where you tap the screen in time to the music similar to the Elite Beat Agents games.

Osu! is a rhythm action game where you tap the screen in time to the music similar to the Elite Beat Agents games. This starts as a simple challenge but develops in speed and complexity.

Night in the Woods is a narrative adventure which follows college dropout Mae Borowski returning home to the crumbling former mining town of Possum Springs.

Night in the Woods is a narrative adventure which follows college dropout Mae Borowski returning home to the crumbling former mining town of Possum Springs. Play involves exploring the town, interacting with the locals and working out what has happened now her friends have grown and changed.

Storyteller is a puzzle game about building stories.

Storyteller is a puzzle game about building stories. You use a set of icons to match what is happening in each frame of the story.

Cuphead is a running, jumping and shooting game that looks like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon.

Cuphead is a running, jumping and shooting game that looks like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon. You play on your own or with someone else and work across the screen, jumping gaps, shooting enemies and avoiding projectiles.

Hoa is an adventure game where you walk and jump through a hand-painted world as the mysterious main character.

Hoa is an adventure game where you walk and jump through a hand-painted world as the mysterious main character. You solve environmental puzzles and meet magical creatures while trying to find your way back home.

The Alto Collection is a series of games including Alto's Odyssey and Alto's Adventure.

The Alto Collection is a series of games including Alto's Odyssey and Alto's Adventure. Both are action traversal games where you explore beautiful mountains, dunes and canyons on a snowboarding journey full of serenity and secrets.

Planet of Lana is an adventure where you play a young girl Lana and her loyal animal friend Mui, on a rescue mission.

Planet of Lana is an adventure where you play a young girl Lana and her loyal animal friend Mui, on a rescue mission. Set on a planet under siege by old machines and unfamiliar creatures.

Overboard is a murder mystery narrative game played in reverse.

Overboard is a murder mystery narrative game played in reverse. You murder your husband at the start of the game and then try and get away with it.

Celeste is a platform game that requires players to use jumping and climbing moves to ascend an increasingly challenging two-dimensional mountain.

Celeste is a platform game that requires players to use jumping and climbing moves to ascend an increasingly challenging two-dimensional mountain. You play Madeline, who is haunted by self-doubt at the scale of the task at hand.

Kirby's Epic Yarn is a running and jumping game starring Nintendo's Kirby character who can absorb enemies to gain their abilities and powers.

Kirby's Epic Yarn is a running and jumping game starring Nintendo's Kirby character who can absorb enemies to gain their abilities and powers. It's set in Patch Land, a world made completely out of fabric.

Luigi's Mansion is an adventure game where you investigate a haunted mansion to capture the ghosts.

Luigi's Mansion is an adventure game where you investigate a haunted mansion to capture the ghosts. As long-standing Nintendo character Luigi, you play a ghostbuster to capture various mischievous ghouls and rescue Mario.

Bury Me My Love is a narrative adventure game where you play the husband of a Syrian woman, Nour, travelling to Europe.

Bury Me My Love is a narrative adventure game where you play the husband of a Syrian woman, Nour, travelling to Europe. Play involves receiving and sending simple messages where Nout tells you how she is getting on and you influence her choices.

Drink More Glurp is a wacky sports game where you take turns to play athletic challenges.

Drink More Glurp is a wacky sports game where you take turns to play athletic challenges. The twist is that you have to control your over-long arms with a separate joystick and your body is a wheel you can roll along on if you lift your arms right up.

LocoRoco is a traversal puzzle game in a world of plants and creatures to investigate.

LocoRoco is a traversal puzzle game in a world of plants and creatures to investigate. The novelty, besides the character’s singing and cute aesthetic, is that you control the game with just two buttons, tilting and bumping your characters through each level.

Lost In Play is a feel-good adventure about a brother and sister exploring their dreams.

Lost In Play is a feel-good adventure about a brother and sister exploring their dreams. Lost in their imagination, Toto and Gal must solve puzzles to journey back home.

Style Boutique / Savvy Style is a role-playing game where you play a fashion shop owner.

Style Boutique / Savvy Style is a role-playing game where you play a fashion shop owner. You work on the style of your fashion collection as well as your own clothes, makeup and so on.

Wilmot's Warehouse is a game for people who like to organise things.

Wilmot's Warehouse is a game for people who like to organise things. You are in charge of a warehouse and must manage 100s of items of stock.

That's You! is a family quiz game played on the PlayStation using Android or iOS phones/tablets as controllers.

That's You! is a family quiz game played on the PlayStation using Android or iOS phones/tablets as controllers. The game displays a challenge on the main TV screen that each player tries to complete on the device in their hand.

Dead Cells is a running, jumping and fighting game where you are escaping a prison.

Dead Cells is a running, jumping and fighting game where you are escaping a prison. In a bright pixelated world you must accurately time attacks and dodges to defeat a wide range of enemies.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is a courtroom murder mystery series where you piece together clues to challenge testimonies and uncover the truth.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is a courtroom murder mystery series where you piece together clues to challenge testimonies and uncover the truth. It’s like a visual novel, although you must interact with characters and evidence to progress.

Super Mario Bros Wonder is a running and jumping game that evolves the classic 2D Mario genre in weird and dream-like directions.

Super Mario Bros Wonder is a running and jumping game that evolves the classic 2D Mario genre in weird and dream-like directions. You play with up to four friends, each picking from Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi and other Nintendo characters.

Kingdom is a retro-look strategy game where you must defend your town from the nightly attack of zombies as you develop your technology and civilisation day by day.

Kingdom is a retro-look strategy game where you must defend your town from the nightly attack of zombies as you develop your technology and civilisation day by day. But unlike other tower-defence games – where you set up defences and fend off waves of attacking forces – there’s no access to any statistics so you must discover the best strategy by trial and error.

Griftlands is an adventure game where you use cards to fight and negotiate your way through a broken-down sci-fi world.

Griftlands is an adventure game where you use cards to fight and negotiate your way through a broken-down sci-fi world. You will die or fail often, but then use your knowledge and growing deck of cards to have a better chance of survival on your next round of the game.

Pico Park is a collaborative puzzle game for up to 10 players where you traverse levels using one another to solve puzzles.

Pico Park is a collaborative puzzle game for up to 10 players where you traverse levels using one another to solve puzzles. It's a game about communication and physics as players work to position themselves to bridge a gap, use ropes to hang off ledges or unlock keys.

Ibb and Obb is a puzzle game where you run, jump, land on enemies and solve momentum puzzles.

Ibb and Obb is a puzzle game where you run, jump, land on enemies and solve momentum puzzles. The novelty is that it's a game designed for cooperation.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a narrative brain game where you play a ghost that can stop time to solve crimes and save lives.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a narrative brain game where you play a ghost that can stop time to solve crimes and save lives. You can inhabit and control objects and possess corpses to alter what happens.

Tricky Towers is a battle puzzle that uses shapes but instead of creating lines, you must balance them in towers that mustn’t fall over.

Tricky Towers is a battle puzzle that uses shapes but instead of creating lines, you must balance them in towers that mustn’t fall over. Real-world physics applies, along with wind and attacks from other players to make your stack topple.

Thomas Was Alone is a jumping and puzzle-solving platform game where you control different-coloured rectangles.

Thomas Was Alone is a jumping and puzzle-solving platform game where you control different-coloured rectangles. It sounds boring and derivative but each of the distinctly coloured shapes comes to life in the game as a character embroiled in this escape story about friendship, curiosity and sacrifice.

Threes is a puzzle game where you slide numbered tiles on a grid.

Goodbye Volcano High is a high school coming-of-age adventure set in a world of anthropomorphic dinosaur characters.

Goodbye Volcano High is a high school coming-of-age adventure set in a world of anthropomorphic dinosaur characters. You play as band members, non-binary Fang and best friend Trish as they navigate the last days of high school.

Baba is You requires some lateral thinking.

Baba is You requires some lateral thinking. Each level is controlled by rules written on the screen, such as ‘Lava is Hot’, ‘Wall is Stop’ and ‘Flag is Move’.

Pilgrims is an adventure game where you collect cards to help the characters you meet.

Pilgrims is an adventure game where you collect cards to help the characters you meet. As you progress you assist them to complete their little stories by offering the right cards to the right people.