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Glite Dictionary
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platformer

platformer

4 3.5
A game where you control a character who jumps between raised places and avoids obstacles
  • noun
  • /ˈplætˌfɔrmər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : plataforma
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of the best platformers ever to grace the Wii.
  • 3D platformers
  • adventure platformer
  • action-platformer

Examples

  • In this exciting platformer, players can jump across floating islands while avoiding dangerous obstacles.

  • Toki Tori - A cute and challenging puzzle platformer that has been excellently adapted to the iPhone.

    Blog text (25)

  • TAG is a first person puzzle platformer all about painting.

  • Both games have long play times and are great platformer-type games.

    Blog text (25)

  • If it's not an 8-bit platformer with chip tunes, it could well be worth another shot.

    Blog text (9)

  • The other thing we played is Beans Quest, which is Beans Quest, the best platformer I played on iOS.

  • It still had this feeling of sort of almost like a side scrolling platformer style feel to it.

    Here Comes a New Challenger (2023)

  • And an excellent puzzle-solving/platformer such as Archibald's Adventure should have made the list.

    Blog text (25)

  • While the series has produced three solid platformers thus far, it's never really recaptured the old spark.

    Blog text (21)

  • Shantae is an action/adventure platformer with RPG-style exploration and freedom of movement.

    Blog text (11)

Surface Forms

platformer singular
platformers plural

Morphology

platformer = platform (semi-transparent) = platform + er

The game genre name is built from 'platform' plus '-er', but the conventional label for this specific type of game is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

The word platformer comes from platform, which meant a 'flat, raised place', and the ending -er meaning 'one that has or does something'. So a platformer is literally 'something made of platforms', which is why it refers to a video game where the player jumps between raised places.