Best Side Scroller Games on Steam
Games where the action moves primarily across the screen from side to side.
Browse all Side Scroller →
1Geometry Dash - Jump and fly your way through danger in this rhythm-based action platformer!
Dec 22, 2014
In this game, you can…
- build full animations, minigames, and even whole games inside the level editor using massive chains of objects and logic-like setups.
- dive into millions of community-made levels and keep finding completely different stages, from quick showcases to absurdly hard challenges.
- get thrown from normal jumping into rocket flight, then into upside-down gravity, without stopping, while squeezing through spike corridors on the beat.
- control a character that runs on its own, and restart the whole level the instant you mess up.
- tap mid-air orbs to launch yourself, hit portals that flip gravity or change speed, and swap into flight or teleport movement mid-run.
- drop and remove checkpoints in practice, drill the nastiest transitions, then go back and clear the entire level in one clean run.
- play levels where the jumps and gravity flips are timed to the soundtrack, so the song effectively tells you when to move.
2Hollow Knight - Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.
Feb 24, 2017
In this game, you can…
- jump into the minds of characters and enemies to hear their thoughts and dig up secrets that aren't told in normal dialogue
- learn boss fights with no health bar, reading their patterns until you can tell you're winning just from how they move
- take on a near-mythic platforming gauntlet of saws and spikes that can take hours, then reach a hidden payoff at the end
- get dropped into a kingdom with no map, then slowly piece together where to go by exploring, backtracking, and unlocking routes
- customize your build with charms that can completely change how you fight and move, then swap setups to make the same boss feel different
- chain movement upgrades into fluid traversal: wall jump, double jump, dash, then dash through danger and bounce off enemies to keep flying forward
- realize you've charted a massive interconnected world when the full map finally clicks into place and you can see how everything connects
3Cuphead - Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings.
Sep 29, 2017
In this game, you can…
- watch a boss go from two battletoads into a slot machine, then keep warping into stranger cartoon forms as you keep landing hits.
- bounce off pink bullets in midair to charge your super meter, then cash it in for weapon specials or a full super.
- run local co-op where one player can parry to revive the other mid-fight, turning near-deaths into sudden comebacks.
- fight bosses that transform mid-battle into new forms, sometimes with no health bar, until the next phase suddenly takes over.
- equip two weapons and swap instantly, changing your plan for a boss—or even a single phase—on the fly.
- thread through tiny safe zones while two or three attacks overlap, with timings that shift enough that you have to react in the moment.
- play brief run-and-gun levels that end fast and restart instantly, turning retries into a rapid-fire loop of experimenting and improving.
4Celeste - Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight platformer from the creators of TowerFall. Brave hundreds of hand-crafted challenges, uncover devious secrets, and piece together the mystery of the mountain.
Jan 25, 2018
In this game, you can…
- welcome your shadow self back and gain a second midair dash.
- build momentum with no speed cap, carrying platform speed into jumps and stacking it into ridiculous velocity.
- turn on assist options like extra jumps or invincibility to push past a wall and keep the story moving.
- battle a physical version of your own self-doubt.
- chain jumps, air-dashes, and wall climbs as your dash refreshes on the ground, new screens, or dash-reset gems.
- read your remaining midair dashes from your hair color mid-jump.
- ride bubbles for a speed burst that refreshes your jump, then dash through wind, ice, and void zones in the same run.
- find secret routes by spotting tiny hints, then take an easier path or a wildly harder one to reach hidden areas.
5BattleBlock Theater® - Welcome to BattleBlock Theater! You’ve got no where to go but up...on stage. Play single player or co-op to free your friends and save Hatty Hattington! Jump, solve and battle your way through a mysterious theater inhabited by highly technological felines.
May 15, 2014
In this game, you can…
- get kidnapped by giant cats and forced to run deadly theater obstacle courses for their amusement.
- slap and shove your co-op buddy, including launching them into hazards as part of the level plan.
- compete in multiplayer modes like Capture the Horse, Basketball, Whale Chasing, and Grab the Gold instead of standard combat.
- escape a level by grabbing just three gems, then come back for every gem and a hidden yarn ball to chase an A++ rank.
- play co-op levels where you hoist a friend up, throw them to high ledges, and blast them forward to reach impossible routes.
- use weapons like top-hat cannons, exploding marching frog dancers, acid bubbles, and grenades to kill or launch friends.
- build your own stages and share them through the level editor and Steam Workshop for others to play.
6Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition - “Ori and the Blind Forest” tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning Action-Platformer crafted by Moon Studios.
Apr 27, 2016
In this game, you can…
- drop a checkpoint almost anywhere, but only by spending the same energy you need for powers and survival.
- freeze the action, latch onto an enemy or projectile, aim, and launch yourself like a slingshot across the room.
- dash off an enemy, projectile, or lantern to fling yourself forward while kicking that object away in the opposite direction.
- outrun a collapsing disaster in escape chases where every jump and wall-climb has to land or you restart.
- redirect enemy shots into switches, walls, or other hazards to solve obstacles and win fights with their own attacks.
- chain wall jumps, double jumps, stomps, dashes, glides, and bashes into one flowing traversal combo across the map.
- throw a glowing orb to open routes, extend movement, and turn projectile play into both travel and combat options.
- teleport between warp points so you can revisit far-off zones and clean up secrets without trekking the whole world again.
7Blasphemous - Blasphemous is a brutal action-platformer with skilled hack’n slash combat set in the nightmare world of Cvstodia. Explore, upgrade your abilities, and perform savage executions on the hordes of enemies that stand between you and your quest to break eternal damnation.
Sep 10, 2019
In this game, you can…
- unlock fast travel by donating 20,000 Tears of Atonement to a hidden system.
- encounter enemies like shrieking nuns who swing caged captives as weapons, a cursed boy birthing an old man from his chest, and a dead bishop puppeteered by followers.
- bow before towering statues to have your guilt absolved and your death penalty lifted.
- wake up in a field of naked, faceless, masked corpses as the only apparent survivor.
- die, drop your currency, leave a guilt mark on your corpse, then make a tense pilgrimage back to recover it.
- find story clues in item descriptions, cryptic dialogue, corpses, hidden doors, and boss encounters, then piece the plot together yourself.
- learn boss fights by parrying, dodging, and striking only in tiny openings until you beat towering religious monstrosities through timing alone.
- enter New Game+ penances that change your playstyle, then stack on optional challenges that force a completely different approach.
8LIMBO - Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO
Aug 2, 2011
In this game, you can…
- drag a corpse into water so it bloats into a stepping stone.
- tear off a giant spider's leg, then use its body as a movable shield to block spikes and reach a ledge.
- get a brain slug attached that forces you to walk one direction until you hit a light, then it flips you back.
- flip a gravity switch and keep solving puzzles as the whole world turns upside down.
- race rising water by repositioning floating crates and other objects to build a path before you drown.
- escape humans hunting you with spears and darts while you can't fight back.
- work factory machines and navigate gears, hatches, and crushers where the environment is the puzzle.
- unlock a secret level that's almost entirely dark, then navigate by sound, light, and moving objects without any text.
9Broforce - Broforce is an action-packed side-scrolling run ‘n’ gun ode to freedom, putting you in control of an under-funded, overpowered paramilitary organization dealing exclusively in excessive force.
Oct 15, 2015
In this game, you can…
- punch Satan until he explodes.
- push a giant propane tank into an enemy, ride it through a swarm, jump off, and watch it explode behind you.
- shoot one explosive and trigger a chain reaction until there's barely any level left by the time you escape.
- start each life as a random hero, then rescue a captive to gain a life and instantly swap into another random hero.
- use destructible terrain to tunnel under enemies, drop the ground out from under them, and crush them with collapsing debris.
- send propane canisters rocketing through enemies and walls, punching through the map before detonating far away.
- play as parody action heroes with totally different moves, like bullet-reflecting, rocket-punch jetpacks, dynamite tricks, and sword-slam quakes.
- blast through a mission and end it by leaping onto a helicopter while explosions keep going off behind you.
- build and share your own levels with a custom editor and Workshop maps.
10Ori and the Blind Forest - “Ori and the Blind Forest” tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning action-platformer crafted by Moon Studios for PC.
Mar 10, 2015
In this game, you can…
- redirect enemy projectiles in midair to launch yourself in a new direction.
- set your own save point wherever you are, then respawn back to it almost instantly.
- hit a projectile, freeze time for a moment, aim, and slingshot yourself off it to chain jumps and course-correct midflight.
- finish a major area and trigger a timed escape sprint through collapsing terrain that turns the whole level into a moving hazard.
- unlock new movement powers that turn old dead ends into new routes, then loop back to reach secrets you couldn't touch before.
- clear a corrupted region and watch the forest visibly come back to life as you restore it.
- enter a dungeon, learn a new way to move, then use it to survive a set-piece escape where the environment becomes the boss.
- spend upgrade points on things like stronger attacks, better map info, and more efficient use of your self-made checkpoints.
