Bramble Knight — Early Version of a Platformer for Kids

Screenshots

The title screen, which is a real level playing itself, with Play and the signposts to the levels, the armoury, your knight, the stats and the grove

The first level in progress: four hearts, the coin count, the bar to the flag, and the knight picking up a coin beside the buttons

The level list, starting with the first world's story and its first level, the rest locked until the one before is cleared

My Knight, where you pick a tunic, a helmet crest and its color, and a tunic mark

About Bramble Knight

Bramble Knight is a side-scrolling platformer built for a child of about six. You run right through a forest and jump the gaps. You swing a sword or shoot a bow at friendly slimes, goblins, orcs, bats and a few others, pick up the coins they leave, and reach a flag at the end. Bumping into a monster costs a heart, and so does falling into a pit. But a fall puts you back on the ground you last stood on instead of ending the level. You can play it in this browser right now.

It is an early version, and it is not in a store yet. The iPhone and iPad build is in testing and the Google Play listing exists with nothing published on it, so there is no download button on this page. It is coming to both. Until it arrives, the browser version is how to play it, and because the game is still being worked on, what you play here will keep changing.

There are fifty levels in five worlds of ten. They run from the first mossy wood through the fens, the windy treetops and some still-warm kilns to the deepest wood of all, where a troll is keeping a crown of gold leaves. Every fifth level ends in a boss fight: a troll, or one of the wardens that guard the later worlds.

Coins buy four stat upgrades — hearts, attack, speed and defense — and a rack of swords, bows and armour in the armoury. The back half of the ladder really needs them. You spend these coins on your knight and never redeem them. Playing is the only way to earn them, they can’t be bought, and they never leave the game. They aren’t the coins in our reward apps, which come out as PayPal cash.

Two things are there purely to be looked after. The knight is yours to dress: a tunic color, a helmet crest and its color, and a mark on the tunic, and none of it is for sale. And there is a grove, where seeds you find on high ledges are planted and grow one stage every time you clear a level. The grove changes nothing in the game; it is just somewhere things grow because you played.

The browser version has no ads and no analytics: the ad network, the analytics and the crash reporting the app will carry do not run in a browser. Your progress is kept in this browser’s storage. The game has a privacy policy of its own.

How it plays

Run right. Hold the arrow buttons, or the arrow keys, or A and D.
Jump the gaps. The big purple button, or Space. Fall in and it costs a heart, and you are put back where you last stood.
Deal with the monsters. Swing your sword, or switch to the bow and shoot from further away. Landing on top of one works too.
Pick up the coins. Monsters drop them and the level is scattered with them, some of them up on ledges off the main path.
Reach the flag. Then spend what you found in the armoury, because the later levels need it.

Features

Fifty levels in five worlds, with a boss on every fifth
A sword and a bow, and a button to switch between them
Coins spent on your knight in an armoury, never on cash
Four stat upgrades, and swords, bows and armour to buy with coins
A knight you dress up, and a grove that grows as you play
Falling costs a heart, not the level
No account and no purchases; no ads in the browser version
Progress kept in this browser

Frequently asked questions

Can I get Bramble Knight on the App Store or Google Play?

Not yet. It is coming to both: the iPhone and iPad build is in testing, and the Google Play listing exists with nothing published on it yet. Until it lands, you can play the early version in this browser, free, with nothing to install.

Does Bramble Knight pay me anything?

No. You earn its coins by playing and spend them in the armoury on hearts, attack, speed, defense, weapons and armour. You can’t buy them, and they’re worth nothing outside the game. Our apps that do pay are listed separately.

Why does it say early version?

Because it is one. The game plays from the first level to the fiftieth, but it is still being worked on, so levels, art and balance may change between visits. It is built from the same code as the versions going to the stores.

Who is it for?

It is built for a child of about six: big buttons, friendly monsters, and a fall that costs a heart rather than the level. Nothing in it is locked behind a purchase or an ad — clearing a level is the only key to the next one. The later levels are properly hard, and that is what the armoury is for.

What will the store ratings be?

Neither store has published one yet, so treat these as pending. The App Store age rating we have declared is 9+ and Google Play’s questionnaire gave it E10+. Both are above the age it is built for, because the store versions will carry advertising and because there is a cartoon sword.

Does the browser version have ads?

No. The ad network has no browser version, so there is nothing to show. The store versions will carry a banner on the menus and optional videos that pay bonus coins, and nothing in the game will be behind one.

Does it save my progress?

Yes, in this browser. Levels cleared, coins, upgrades and your knight live in the browser’s own storage. There’s no account, so another browser or device starts fresh. Clearing your site data, or playing in a private window, wipes them.