2D Platformers Making a Comeback or Is It Just a Phase?

At E3 this year, I was surprised that some of the best games on the floor were actually a throwback to 2D platformers. Playing both The Cave by DoubleFine and Hell Yeah!, I was completely amused by the few games that will only cost around $15 on Steam when released, were completely in 2D and had about as much depth as a box of cereal. 

While other booths for games like Metal Gear and Assassin's Creed were completely full, there weren't that many people over with the 'Indie Games' and I felt like they were missing out. Don't get me wrong, the new Assassin's Creed and Metal Gear are both amazing, but killing about thirty minutes with a game where the main character is an undead rabbit, who is the Prince of Hell, that had naked pictures taken of him and put on the internet was time well spent.

It took me back to a time with the 2D games were all the rage, going back to Sonic the Hedgehog, Earthworm Jim, and others. Now and days, reporting on smaller, short games like these is almost considered 'junk news'. That is to say, that this is the sort of news we put up on our websites when none of the major labels have nothing new to report that day. I also fear that some of these games are being overlooked when larger labels also start making micro-games, similar to what Lionhead put on on XBLA with that beanie baby Fable fighter.

As a game writer, I constantly hear complaints that this new generation of gamers want things to be bigger, louder, faster, and easier. However, taking a look at Kickstarter, we can also see that there's still a high-demand for throwback as well. Games like Leisure Suit Larry, Shadowrun, DoubleFine's new game, and the Space Quest series are getting second chances to be put into the main stream spotlight once again. 

There's also an increase of smaller platformer iOS games. Should we consider this as a comeback or perhaps just a phase? Granted, the KickStarter completed games are not published yet, so perhaps we're just getting our hopes by looking back with fonder memories than what these games really deserve? After all, not all of us here were even old enough to legally play most of these titles back then.