Shiftform

Controls

←→ or ADMove ZSpace↑WJump. Tap for a hop, hold for a full jump, let go early to cut it short. Pressing just before landing still counts. With your legs against a wall in mid-air, jump kicks you off it; the next kick must be off the other side. ↑↓ or WSOn a ladder, rope or vine, hold up to grab and climb, down to climb down. Jump leaps off; at the top, step sideways onto the platform. XShiftDash, on levels that allow it FLift a crate, throw it while moving, set it down while still. In mid-air, grab a hook; jump or F lets go. RHMEscBack to your last checkpoint, show the solver's route for this stretch, sound on or off, leave: Esc closes the shop or build mode, and in the climb asks before you lose your progress

Objects

CratesPush by walking into them. Wood is light and floats, steel is heavy to carry, stone only moves when you dash into it and crushes saws. PlatesOpen their shutter or bridge only while something heavy sits on them. HooksSwing across gaps you cannot jump. LaddersLadders, ropes and vines carry you up walls too high to jump. TrampolinesStep on one to be launched far above; steer onto the ledge beside it. MonstersTouching one kills you. Land on top to squash it, or shoot it. Patrollers pace, hoppers leap, flappers circle gaps, spiders drop from platforms on a thread, spitters fire and stop once squashed. Urchins are spiky all round: shoot them or wait for the gap.

The climb

BiomesEvery few screens a spring launches you into a new biome with new rules. FlagsCheckpoints. Falls are real, but never below the biome you are in. LivesFive. Each death costs one, each new biome gives one back. Run out and the climb starts over.

Points and tricks

CombosChain jumps that each land higher than the last without stopping. The first two links are a run-up; from the third, a counter appears over your head and each landing pays its link number in points, with fanfares at milestones. A dashed combo line marks the highest landing that scored: landings at or below it never count, so points only come from new height. CoinsHover above platforms along the climb. One point each. Gate shopEvery gate from the second biome on deals three cards at 300 points each; buy as many as you can afford with 123 or a click, or exit with Enter and keep your points for a harder biome. The deck: jetpack, spring boots, shield, heart, comet, an extra heart, double points for the biome, a plank, a trampoline or a ladder you build anywhere with a click, a flag that plants a checkpoint where you stand, and an eraser that removes any hazard you click. Held tricks wait in the inventory under your hearts. B opens build mode and each further press steps to the next item, closing after the last; Tab or a click on a slot also picks one, a click in the world builds it.

Items

WhereOn risky ledges off the main route. Skipping them is always safe. JetpackOut of jumps? Keep holding jump in mid-air to fly until the fuel runs out. BowFive arrows. V shoots the way you face; an arrow kills any monster it hits. BootsFive extra mid-air jumps. ShieldThe next spike, saw or laser bounces you to safety. HeartRefills your lives. CometRare. Fly up through platforms and bounce on every landing. Tap jump just as you land to bounce higher; miss and it burns out. Flying out of the top takes you to the next biome, where it ends. BarThe bar under the play area lists the biome's controls; new ones glow. TouchOn a phone or tablet, buttons appear over the game: ◀ ▶ ▼ on the left, ▲ to jump or climb, X to dash and F to grab on the right, and R, H, B, ⛶ fullscreen (where the browser allows it) and ✕ at the top. Tap the screen for shop cards and to build. On iPhone, add the game to the Home Screen for fullscreen.