Vex 4

Nine acts down, nine hard modes to go, and then Vexation shows up to remind you it was never really over. That's the loop in Vex 4: you clear a stage, think you've got it figured out, and the game hands you a harder version of the same trap that killed you the last time.

Your stickman runs, jumps, slides and swims through obstacle courses built to break your rhythm the second you get comfortable. One wrong jump and you're restarting, but that's fine because the levels are short enough to make "just one more try" an easy call. The Challenge Room is where things get properly mean if you've cleared everything else.

It runs straight in your browser on desktop or mobile, free, no download. If stickman platforming is your thing, Kick Lucky Blocks Online and BMG: Ragdoll Car Race are worth a look too, and the wider Jumping games shelf has plenty more where timing is everything.

Get your stickman through each obstacle course alive, clearing all 9 acts before tackling their 9 hard modes, Vexation and the Challenge Room.

Move with WASD or the arrow keys to run, jump, slide and swim past traps and hazards. Press R to restart a level instantly when you mess up, which happens often.

Learn each obstacle by dying to it once. Vex 4 is built on tight timing, so memorizing a jump beats guessing it.