Summary
Local multiplayer isn’t always a given in a platformer, especially as the genre isn’t quite as popular as it used to be. That said, local co-op is not at all rare, especially in indie games and some Nintendo first-party releases.Local PvP platformers, on the other hand, are almost non-existent, at leastwhen sticking toclassic examples of the genre.
PvP is much more common in action games, especially fighting games and shooters. That’s probably why so many PvP platformers have action elements. While the difference between those titles and proper platformers should be kept in mind, it’s equally important tokeep an open mindabout what this genre can look like.
SpeedRunnersmight be called a modern classic of PvP platformers. But don’t let those colorful cartoon esthetics sell it short:SpeedRunnersis a hard game, especially considering there are players in the community with thousands of hours on record. That said, it also works perfectly well as a party game.
Outside competitive play,SpeedRunnersalmost seems to be built for local PvP. Unlike other racing platformers, there is no need for split-screen, since the objective isn’t to run past everyone else. Instead, players are trying not to be left too far behind. Players who lose their footing for too long are eliminated from the race, like a mix of racing andSuper Smash Bros.
Mount Your Friendsis a weird game and a weird platformer. In a way, it’s only a platformer, for lack of a better word, although one could argue that it is onlyfurthering the perception of what a platformer can be. Either way, it’s a fun and unique local party game that really needs to be experienced to make sense.
InMount Your Friends, players compete to make buff men climb on top of a goat and then on top of each other, reaching new heights with each new recruit. The first player to fail to climb this mountain of men in under a minute is eliminated.
Roundsis a great simple platformer with some action and shooting thrown in for good measure. The objective of this 1v1 party game is to be the last player standing, either beating up the adversary or waiting for them to fall through the level. The twist is that every time a player loses, they get a permanent power-up.
Power-ups inRoundsrange from shooting more bullets, to slowing an adversary’s movement with the press of a button, to making a character way larger and more resistant, but less agile. The game itself is simple: the first player to win five rounds wins. Thanks to thevariety of power-upsand levels though,Roundscan support hours of competitive platforming action.
Even ifDuck Gameis nominally a shooter, most early deaths come from falling down the map. Some of themost fun items and weaponsare based on the idea that pushing an opponent out of bounds is more interesting than just shooting them with a gun.
Duck Gamehas online multiplayer on top of local PvP, but it works much better as a party game than a proper competitive game. This is thanks to all the weird unlockable maps and modifiers that don’t even try to make a match fair but are so much fun to discover with a group of friends.
Don’t be fooled:Stick Fight: The Gameis more of a party platformer than anything else. From levels constructed entirely out of stacked boxes to glass worlds that are constantly shattering, the fastest way to lose in this game is to underestimate the importance of precision platforming.
Stick Fight: The Gameis a pure multiplayer frenzy, with not even a simple AI to fight in single-player. But that’s not too bad: those single-player skirmishes probably wouldn’t have been very fun. Even if the online multiplayer isn’t very popular at this point, local PvP is where the game is at its best.
Ultimate Chicken Horseis a party game platformer about adding obstacles to a level until no one can clear it. It sounds like there should be more to it, but that’s pretty much the whole game. Players edit a level, which at the start is impossible to complete, by adding platforms, traps, and items. Then, they all get one chance at getting to the end.
What makesUltimate Chicken Horsefun is the cycle of level editing and precise, sometimes brutal platforming. Once every player falls to their death during the platforming phase, everyone goesback to the level editor. The closer an adversary gets to winning the level, the stronger the will to make the level impossible.
FurBalls Racingis a racing game that plays like a mix between a marble game and a more traditional platformer. Add a drifting and mini-boost mechanic to the mix, and this game startslooking almost like a kart racer.FurBalls Racinghas two single-player modes, tournament, and single-track arcade, but the focus is squarely on the multiplayer.
Compared to other marble rolling games, movement inFurBalls Racingfeels less like gently influencing the direction of the ball and more like actually imputing commands. That said, the trick to going fast is to keep as much momentum as possible at every turn.
