Short Life — Play Free Online

Short Life is a gory ragdoll platformer from GameTornado in which the main enemy is the level itself. Your little hero has to walk from one side of each stage to the finish flag while saws, spikes, arrows and explosives do their best to take him apart. It first came out on Android in October 2017, reached browsers in December of that year and was later released on Steam. A sequel, Short Life 2, followed.

The goal of each stage

Reaching the end is only half the job. The game scores you with up to 3 stars, and you keep all of them only if your character arrives in one piece. Any damage taken along the way lowers that score, so a careful, clean crossing beats a rushed one. There are also extra heroes to unlock beyond the starting character.

Controls

• Left and Right arrow keys: walk and run.
• Up arrow: jump, or get back on your feet after a fall.
• Down arrow: crouch under anything swinging at head height.

The hero is a physics ragdoll, so he sways and stumbles rather than stopping dead, and a hit can knock him flat.

Traps you will meet

The campaign has 16 levels, and nearly every one adds something new. The opening stage already throws a rotating arm covered in spikes at you, plus a pipe that fires arrows at head height. Further in, the build includes:

• Spinning circular saws that throw off sparks.
• Spike strips in several lengths.
• Land mines that blow the hero to pieces on contact.
• Rolling barrels and moving rocks.
• Cannons and arrow launchers.
• Lifts that carry you between floors.
• Blades such as a machete, an axe and a knife.

Some stages take place among building-site gear like concrete blocks, fences and containers, while others are set indoors around office printers, chairs and lamps.

Tips

• Stop before each new trap and watch what it does once before you walk into its reach.
• Crouch is easy to forget. If something swings or fires at head height, ducking under it is often safer than jumping.
• Never jump onto a mine. Hop clear of it with room to spare.
• If a trap knocks you over, press the up arrow to stand back up rather than mashing the walk keys.
• Replay early levels once you know their traps, to turn a one-star finish into a full set.