Thirty levels, a single character and an endless number of ways to die — welcome to the world of Jumpman, one of the most packed platformers of the early eight-bit era. This game from Epyx won't let you out of its claws until you conquer every floor full of traps, bombs and treacherous screens.
The principle is simple: as Jumpman you have to collect all the bombs on each level and survive while doing so. But each of the thirty screens has its own rules, its own pitfalls and its own tricks. Somewhere they shoot at you, elsewhere ladders vanish, elsewhere the ground collapses under your feet. This variety is what sets Jumpman apart from the competition — it isn't one game, but thirty little puzzles in one.
The graphics are plain but functional, and the animation of jumping and falling has its own physics that you have to learn. Death comes quickly and often, but the controls are so precise that every failure is your fault, not the game's. It is precisely this fairness that makes Jumpman an addictive "one more time and then I'll stop" kind of experience.
The game was released in the first half of the eighties under the Epyx banner, a studio that later became famous for series like Summer Games. Jumpman was one of its early hits and helped the brand build a reputation as a maker of quality action titles. A lighter version with fewer levels, meant for quicker fun, was also released.
Today Jumpman is seen as one of the forerunners of the platformer genre on home computers and as proof that a simple idea perfected to the last detail can endure for decades. For retro fans, it is a mandatory stop.
Why play: Thirty inventive levels and addictive "one more time" gameplay make this platformer an immortal classic.
Game 21 of 124 for Atari 800 / 8-bit
