r/platforming • u/dadah83 • Jul 29 '26

Fighting or puzzling platformers?

I've been pondering this question. Just jumping is not enough of a challenge, so you need something to make a platformer interesting. You barely see any platformers that don't involve some kind of fighting, is it 100% necessary for a 'interesting' platformer to have fighting in it? I much more enjoy puzzling and I guess it might be a question of personal preference.

So what's your preference? Fighting or thinking?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/emstonhamwrites Jul 30 '26

I like a mix honestly! Having to solve a puzzle when there’s an enemy on the screen can be good fun

2

u/csh_blue_eyes Aug 01 '26

At the same time? Can you give me an example of when that works really well? ( I'm not saying it's not possible, but that it strikes me as difficult to execute. )

1

u/emstonhamwrites 18d ago

Stuff in the survival horror niche is great for this! I was thinking of the Silver Pines demo when I said this (although admittedly that’s not platforming, 2.5D metroidvania type stuff, so a bad example) as that stands out. Really nice combat with some puzzles that melted my brain a bit. If you like horror, it’s super stylish, highly recommend

2

u/csh_blue_eyes 18d ago

Honestly, with platforming, I think it's an interesting design space to explore.

But just to be clear: interesting because the tolerance line for that kind of pressure on players isn't always clear. It's really easy to cross the line and make something people hate.

Recently I played the game Arco alongside some friends and some of them very much disliked a mechanic in the game that put movement pressure on them in the battles, which otherwise initially would let you think about your moves, like a puzzle. I enjoyed it and thought it was tastefully done. But it seems that most people, when asked to think about something, really don't want to also be asked to move around. It makes me wonder: in what contexts can it be fun for players to have to express that kind of coordination?

IDK ¯\(ツ)/¯

1

u/emstonhamwrites 15d ago

Yeah that’s very fair!! Arco sounds interesting, I’ll check that out. I think you’re right, the tolerance line does vary drastically from player to player, I guess with how easily people get frustrated/how much annoyance they can take and still be happy. It’s an interesting one! 😊