Gloop's Escape is a free browser platformer starring a small green slime who wants to leave an alchemist's cellar and see the sunrise. Run, wall-jump, and use power-ups across four levels, then face five heroes who believe they are saving the kingdom from you.
Key Takeaways
- Gloop's Escape is a side-scrolling pixel art platformer told from the monster's side: the "heroes" are the ones hunting you.
- Four levels change mood while you play, from an alchemist's cellar that bursts into alarm halfway through to a storm-lashed cathedral that ends at sunrise.
- Gloop runs, stomps and sticks to walls, and three power-ups (Goo Drop, Ember Berry, Bubble Bloom) change how he moves and fights.
- The finale is a boss fight against five heroes in three waves, each with an attack to learn and a moment where they can be hit.
- Your score counts coins, defeated enemies, cleared levels and every second under par, and any level you have reached can be started again from the title screen.
A free pixel art platformer where you are the monster
Gloop was born in an alchemist's flask. Before he has seen the world outside, the kingdom decides he is a threat. The escape takes him through a village, woods, and a cathedral, with the people who usually play the heroes standing in his way.
So the people you meet are not villains in their own minds. Peasants raise pitchforks because the town crier said so. Fairies smile at you before their eyes turn red. A knight charges because that is what knights do. At the top of the last level, a full adventuring party is waiting on the cathedral ramparts, convinced they are saving the realm from you.
Gloop's movement is easy to read in the pixel art animation: he squashes on landing, stretches during a jump, and blinks when idle. The levels change lighting and weather as you move through them. In the final fight, the music speeds up when the heroes' leader reaches his more aggressive phase.
How to play Gloop's Escape, the slime platformer
The goal of every level is simple: reach the glowing archway at the far end before the kingdom catches you. Here is everything you need to start:
- Run with the Left and Right arrows or A and D. Gloop builds up speed, so a running start carries you further.
- Jump with Space, Z, W or Up. Hold the button longer to jump higher, tap it for a short hop.
- Stomp enemies by landing on them from above. You bounce back up, and holding jump makes the bounce bigger. Touching an enemy from the side hurts you.
- Cling to walls by jumping into one and holding toward it. Gloop slides down slowly, and pressing jump kicks him off the wall the other way. Bounce between two walls to climb a narrow shaft.
- Drop through wooden planks by holding Down and pressing jump.
- Pause with P or Esc, and toggle sound with M.
Blocks hide most of the good stuff. Bump them from below: gold blocks hold coins, red blocks hold a power-up and green blocks hold an extra life. Every 100 coins also gives you a life. You start with three.
Light the lanterns as you pass them. These checkpoints return you to the last lit lantern after losing a life, while collected coins stay collected in that run. They are not a promise that closing the browser saves your exact position.
On a phone, turn it sideways. The on-screen arrows run, and the JUMP and SPIT buttons sit under your right thumb.
Four levels that change while you run
The levels do not stay the same from start to finish. The light, the weather and the mood shift as you push forward, so the second half of a level feels different from the first.
The Alchemist's Cellar starts in near darkness, lit by torches and bubbling green vats, with water dripping from the ceiling. Halfway through, the alarm goes up and the whole cellar pulses red. This is the gentle level, where you learn to stomp, bump blocks and ride moving platforms over holy water to the sewer grate.
Hearthvale Village begins at sunset over rooftops and haystacks. As you run, dusk turns to night, the windows glow warm and rain starts to fall. Haystacks work as springs, and the mob brings torches that it is happy to throw at you.
The Hallowed Woods open with golden light, drifting mist and fireflies. Then the forest darkens and the friendly fairies show their true colors. Giant glowing mushrooms bounce you up into the treetops.
Sunspire Cathedral is the longest climb: a thunderstorm over gothic spires and a glowing rose window, a candle-lit nave under chandeliers, a corridor full of knights and stones that crumble under your weight. It ends on the ramparts just as the storm breaks and the sky turns to dawn.
Power-ups and the kingdom chasing you
Gloop has three power-ups, and each one changes how you play:
- Goo Drop makes Gloop big. He can take one extra hit and smash bricks from below.
- Ember Berry lets him spit bouncing fireballs, two on screen at a time.
- Bubble Bloom turns him into a glossy bubble slime with a double jump and a slow glide while you hold jump.
Taking a hit costs one power step instead of a life, so a powered-up Gloop has some breathing room. A hit while small costs a life.
Five kinds of enemies stand in the way. Peasants patrol with pitchforks and jab when you get close. Torchbearers lob burning torches in an arc. Holy fairies drift on lazy loops until they turn red and swoop. Knights wear spiked helmets, so a stomp only stuns them, and their shields block fireballs from the front. Acolytes mark the ground under you and call down a pillar of holy light a moment later, so keep moving when you see the warning.
The boss fight: five heroes on the cathedral ramparts
At the end of the cathedral the gate slams shut behind you and the party steps out. They fight in three waves:
- Brakk the Warrior charges across the ramparts with a greatsword, while Elowen the Archer fires volleys of arrows from a ledge. When Brakk crashes into the wall, he is dazed and open.
- Mirelle the Mage teleports around the arena and sends glowing orbs after you, while Sister Cassia heals her and wraps her in a holy shield. Cassia is only open while she prays.
- Sir Aurel the Radiant, the paladin who leads them, slams his hammer to send shockwaves along the floor and lunges across the arena. At half health he gets faster and the music speeds up with him.
No hero can be hurt all the time. Each one has a window where a stomp or a fireball lands, and the rest of the time your hits just clang off armor. Learning those windows is the whole fight. And because this is Gloop's story, nobody dies: beaten heroes say their piece and run away. Some of them start to wonder whether they were on the right side.
Scoring, par times and picking up where you left off
Your score is built from everything you do in a run:
- 10 points per coin and 100 per defeated enemy
- 1,000 for every level you clear
- 10 points for every second you finish under a level's par time
- 1,000 for each hero in the final fight, and 3,000 for the paladin
- 2,000 for every life you have left when Gloop reaches the sunrise
The par times get longer as the levels grow: 90 seconds for the cellar, 120 for the village, 130 for the woods and 210 for the cathedral and its boss fight. Speed matters, but so does exploring for coins, so the best runs balance the two. Your best score appears on the title screen. Sign in for supported submissions to the PixelDen leaderboard.
Reached levels unlock on the title screen. Select one with Left and Right or the touch arrows to practice a later section. A run started later earns points only in the levels you play; starting from the cellar gives you more scoring opportunities, but the final total still depends on your performance.
Also new: Ion Rush gets ion cells, hazards and Time Attack
This update also changes how you score in Ion Rush, our neon hover racer. Look beyond the racing line when planning your score:
- Ion cells float in the lanes. Every five you grab in a row without a crash raise your chain multiplier, up to three times the points.
- Barriers and mines now sit on the road, and some mines sway from side to side. A hit costs most of your speed and breaks your chain. Rows of cells usually point the way through the safe lane.
- Time Attack is a new ranked mode with no rivals, where the clock counts for more.
- Every circuit now has its own par time, so the time bonus fits the track you are racing on.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play Gloop's Escape?
Open Gloop's Escape and press Space or tap the screen. Run with the arrow keys, jump with Space and reach the archway at the end of each level. Stomp enemies from above, bump blocks for coins and power-ups, and light checkpoint lanterns for retries within the run.
Is Gloop's Escape free?
Yes. Gloop's Escape is completely free to play in your browser, with no download and no account needed. Signing in only matters if you want your score on the leaderboard.
Can I play Gloop's Escape on my phone?
Yes. Turn your phone sideways and use the on-screen arrows plus the JUMP and SPIT buttons. Tablets work the same way, and the game is also available in Spanish and German.
How do I beat the five heroes?
Watch for each hero's opening. Stomp Brakk after he crashes into the wall, hit Cassia while she prays, and jump over Sir Aurel's shockwaves before you strike back. An Ember Berry helps a lot, because fireballs reach heroes you cannot safely jump on.
Do I have to start from the first level every time?
No. Every level you reach unlocks on the title screen, so you can jump straight back to the woods or the cathedral. A run started later only counts points from the levels it plays, so starting earlier offers more opportunities to score.
What other platformers can I play on PixelDen?
Try Relic Rush, an endless temple runner with a dash and a double jump, or browse the full catalog of free browser games. Our guide to the best free pixel art browser games has more picks.
Help Gloop see the sunrise
Play Gloop's Escape from the cellar to learn the jump and wall-cling controls. Once you reach the cathedral, use the unlocked level to practice the heroes' attack patterns. For a change of pace afterward, try collecting ion cells in Ion Rush.