Escape an ever-changing underground labyrinth in Nymphiad

Puzzle-platformer Nymphiad takes you into the cursed mazes below an ancient Greek temple, where a little nymph is trying to escape back up to the surface. As they try to find coins to pay the toll, the world around them shifts, opening up new passages and leading to a confusing tangle of paths that pass back and forth over each other. Also, they do a brief wiggle of a victory dance at the end of every level, and it’s adorable.

Crossing certain areas of the game will shift the camera around, which impacts the levels themselves, leading its up-down and left-right wraparound to diverge or reconnect in new ways. At first this means allowing a quick hop down to lead to a higher platform, or a newly accessible area to open up, but quickly becomes a recipe for intricate warrens full of lasers and other dangers.

Luckily, there’s a walkthrough video embedded right there on the itch.io page if you ever get stuck. (I wish more games did this – sometimes my awful directions brain gets stumped and I just want to move onto the next level instead of ending up frustrated.)

It’s also just a nice thing to look at, what with all those colourful mushrooms and crystals sprouting from the ground. Who knew the underworld could be so pretty? And, again, this Bulbasaur-like nymph friend makes for an extremely cute protagonist, with their little bouncy noises and tiny beads of exertion-sweat from pushing crates.

You can play Nymphiad in your browser for free, or download it for pay what you want with no minimum cost, on itch.io.