Games Like Vex: Precision Platformers with Spikes and Traps
Updated
Games like Vex are precision platformers: you run and jump through courses of spikes and other traps, and one mistake sends you back to the last checkpoint. Vex is a series of stickman platformers, among them Vex 3 and Vex 4, and the games below are separate titles by independent studios that ask for the same timing, mostly with other heroes: a ninja, a cat, a rolling ball, a robot.
How Vex plays
In Vex you guide a stickman through obstacle courses where spikes and other traps decide every jump. When you fail, you start again from a checkpoint, so you learn the course one attempt at a time. What counts is exact timing and a good memory for where the traps are.
| What Vex asks | Games that ask the same |
|---|---|
| Learn traps by running into them | Sneaky Spikes, Hazard Pay, Level Once Again |
| Jump, wall-jump and dash with exact timing | Neon Velocity, Ninja Platformer Rage, Cat City |
| Restart in a second and try again | Hazard Pay, Neon Velocity, Level Once Again |
| A stick figure as the hero | Stickjet Challenge, Stickman run around, Stickman Roof Runner |
Troll platformers where the level fights back
Troll platformers break the rules on purpose: the floor you trusted drops, and a spike appears where you land. You learn each level by failing it.
- Sneaky Spikes is a troll platformer drawn on notebook paper. Floors drop, spikes pop and doors bite, and a sarcastic narrator comments on every death. Finish a page and all your deaths replay at once in the Death Parade. It has 60 levels, stars to collect and a speedrun timer. Move with the arrows or A and D, jump with Space, W or Up, and pause with P. On a phone you get on-screen arrow and jump buttons.
- Hazard Pay is set in a factory where floors vanish, doors run away and spikes pop up where you land. You pick a worker: Cinder wall-jumps, Pip double-jumps, and Rivet hovers and scans for hidden traps. Clear 60 hand-built shifts and spend your pay on hats and trails. Jump with Space, W, Up or Z, hold the key to jump higher, and press R to restart.
- Try Again is a physics platformer where you roll a ball through 70 levels. Floors vanish, traps wait for the right moment and levels behave differently on every attempt. Every 10 levels bring a new zone and a boss level. The arrow keys or A and D roll, and Up, W or Space jumps. On a touch screen you hold the left button to roll and tap the right one to jump.
- Level Once Again has 100 trapped rooms across 4 worlds and 7 bosses. Each room brings a new trick: floors drop, spikes pop up and doors run away. Only the first 3 rooms are easy. Move with the arrows or A and D, jump with Space, W or Up, and restart with R. It also lists gamepad controls.
Precision runs with dashes and wall jumps
- Neon Velocity is a precision platformer in a cyberpunk setting, with 50 handcrafted levels. You run, wall-jump and dash, and a dash through an enemy drone destroys it. You also cross crumbling platforms and survive laser grids, and respawns are instant. Move with A and D or the arrows, jump with W or Up, and double-tap A or D to dash.
- Ninja Platformer Rage asks for precise movement over brutally short challenges. You throw your shadow with Shift, teleport to it with a double Shift, climb walls and double-jump, and race for the fastest time across 50 levels.
- Cat City is a parkour platformer on a city skyline. You play a street cat that runs, jumps and climbs, with a double jump and a dash on a double-tap of A or D. It has dozens of handcrafted levels and quick restarts.
- Pink Rush Speedrun Platformer has 60 levels with their own obstacles and traps, and the goal is the fastest time. Move with the arrows or by touch, and jump with the up arrow.
- RedRunner is a 2D side-scrolling platformer. Run, jump and roll through levels of traps, enemies and secrets, with exact timing. W jumps, A and D move, and S rolls or dodges.
Stick figures that jump and dodge
Vex is built on a stickman. These four use a stick figure as the hero.
- Stickjet Challenge is simple: dodge the obstacles and collect every star. Touch and hold to fly, and release to run.
- Stickman run around sends a stickman running around a circle. Time your jumps so you do not get squashed, and finish the loop to pass the level.
- Stickman Roof Runner runs you over deadly rooftops and past urban canyons, and every jump has to be timed.
- Stickman Climber needs two buttons: Up jumps the stickman from side to side, and Turn flips him to avoid the bombs. The aim is a high score.
More stick figures, from fighters to swingers, are in stickman games and in the stickman games guide.
Habits for precision platformers
- Treat a death as information. Sneaky Spikes puts it in one line: watch for traps, learn from each death and try again.
- Restart at once. Hazard Pay and Level Once Again restart on R, and Neon Velocity respawns you instantly, so a retry costs almost nothing.
- Learn your hero first. The three workers in Hazard Pay move differently: Cinder wall-jumps, Pip double-jumps and Rivet hovers.
- Hold the jump key for height. In Hazard Pay a longer press jumps higher.
- Keep the special move for when you need it. In Neon Velocity a double-tap on A or D dashes, and in Ninja Platformer Rage a double Shift teleports you to your thrown shadow.
Games like Vex FAQ
What is Vex?
Vex is a series of stickman platformers, among them Vex 3 and Vex 4. You run and jump through obstacle courses full of spikes and other traps, and a failed jump sends you back to a checkpoint.
Are there games like Vex with stickmen?
Yes. Stickjet Challenge, Stickman run around, Stickman Roof Runner and Stickman Climber use a stick figure as the hero. The others use different characters but ask for the same timing.
Can I play these on a phone?
Several of them, yes. Sneaky Spikes has on-screen arrow and jump buttons, Cat City uses on-screen touch buttons, Pink Rush Speedrun Platformer takes touch controls, and Stickjet Challenge is touch and hold. The site works in the browser of a phone, a tablet and a computer.
Are these games free?
Yes. They play free in the browser, with no install and no registration.
More jumping games are in platformer games, and the platformer games guide explains double jumps, wall jumps and dashes.
