Vertical Drop Heroes

Vertical Drop Heroes is a vertically oriented platform game. The goal of each level is to drop down a platform environment and reach the exit. The starting character has limited abilities. He can move left or right, and jump. The player guides the character down, avoiding enemies or jumping on top of them to take them out. Treasure chests hold bonuses such as cash, gems, red health flasks or blue mana refills. He regularly encounters cages where one of five available characters is locked inside: archer, barbarian, mage, paladin or thief. When one is freed it replaces the starting character and the abilities tied to that class can be used. When hit, the class is lost and you continue playing with the default character. A level is completed when the exit has been located, a princess is freed or a boss has been defeated.

Levels are selected from a map with icons that each represent a different environment. To win the game all princesses have to be freed, but to access their levels you first need to complete regular ones to recover keys. Each character class offers specific abilities. The archer can shoot arrows, the barbarian can double jump and has a berserk mode using mana that makes him immune to damage, the mage uses mana to shoot fireballs targeting enemies or breaking blocks, the paladin can stomp to break the block he is standing on, and the thief is the most agile: he moves faster, can double jump and pressing the space bar he escapes to a nearby, random location.

By completing levels masks are earned for the default character. A mask can be selected prior to starting a level, but the effect is only aesthetically. In addition you can unlock 30 artifacts that act as perks for each the five character classes. These are also selected before starting a level. Next to the main game mode there is a survival mode where a purple cloud forces the player to move much faster. Each level has a gold target, based on different collectibles, that needs to be achieved before the level can be exited. You also have but a single life. The game supports two-player competitive games. Two players each control a character on the same screen. At the end of each level the character with the most gold earns a medal. The first player to reach five medals wins the game and gets to marry the princess.