Open Surge
Version: 0.5.2.1 Web: https://opensurge2d.org
Are you in the mood for a high-quality sidescrolling game featuring colourful, clear graphics and well-designed levels? Then take a look at Open Surge. This game is inspired by the popular Sonic the Hedgehog games and borrows many elements from them. You play as a speedy fox that runs through the level (it’s called ‘zone’ in Open Surge) and collects coins. Various obstacles and enemies get in its way, which makes it a real challenge to clear the zone.
The story takes place in an imaginary world that looks like a jungle. It contains stones, suspended platforms, ropes, trampolines, moving parts, tunnels and more, which adds variety to the playing experience. Just like Sonic, our foxy character moves at different speeds. It can walk at a regular pace, run, and finally roll like a ball. No weapons are available except for the fox’s ability to jump over enemies. When it does so, they’re smashed and release friendly little animals that appear to have been eaten or somehow caged inside the bad guys. Coins give the fox power, and getting hit by an enemy reduces power.
There are also places where the fox can hit deadly spikes and lose all of its coins. But, generally, it’s almost impossible to die as long as the game’s difficulty is set on an easy level.
What’s more interesting is that Open Surge is a development platform that enables people to create new zones and even customise them during the game (press F12 to enter the editor mode). The official Open Surge forum (https://forum.opensurge2d.org) enables you to download lots of user-made zones and other content. The game’s website contains a wellwritten documentation for SurgeScript, which is the scripting language for programming various parts of Open Surge. The entry barrier is low, and the project encourages everyone to take part.