7 Games Like Doodle Jump for Players Who Love Vertical Jumpers
If you are searching for games like Doodle Jump, you already know the feeling the genre is built on: one thumb, one little character, an endless climb, and the quiet dread of a missed platform. Doodle Jump made that formula famous in 2009, and seventeen years later it still holds up. But it is not the only game that scratches the itch.
This list covers seven vertical jumpers worth playing, from the official sequels to genre classics to an upcoming multiplayer take on the formula. For each one, we note what it does differently, so you can pick based on the part of Doodle Jump you actually love.
What makes a game like Doodle Jump work
Before the list, it helps to name what the genre gets right. The best games like Doodle Jump share a few traits:
- Instant input. Tilt or tap, nothing else. You can play with one thumb on a train.
- An endless page. Procedurally placed platforms mean no two climbs are the same.
- Readable danger. You always know what killed you: a broken platform, a monster, a fall.
- A reason for one more run. A high score, an unlock, or a friend to beat.
Every game below keeps at least three of those four. The interesting differences are in the fourth.
1. Doodle Jump 2
The official sequel from Lima Sky. If you want more of the original with new platform types, environments, and characters, this is the safe pick. It stays faithful to the tilt-and-bounce core, so it feels like coming home rather than learning something new. The trade-off is exactly that: it is more Doodle Jump, not a new idea.
2. Doodle Jump Race
Lima Sky’s racing spinoff turns the climb into a real-time multiplayer race. Instead of climbing as high as you can, you race other players to a finish line. It is the most direct answer to the question “can I play Doodle Jump against people,” and we cover the full story of that question in our post on Doodle Jump multiplayer.
3. Icy Tower
The grandparent of the genre. Icy Tower started as PC freeware in the early 2000s, years before smartphones, and its DNA is in every vertical jumper since. The hook is momentum: running builds speed, speed builds jump height, and chaining big jumps builds combos. If you like mastery and skill ceilings more than casual bouncing, Icy Tower is the deepest climb here.
4. Mega Jump
Get Set Games’ take replaces platforms with chains of coins that boost you upward as you collect them. The result feels less like jumping and more like flying upward through a slot machine. It is faster and more forgiving moment to moment, but demands constant precision to keep the chain alive. Good if Doodle Jump feels too slow for you.
5. PAC’N-JUMP
Namco’s crossover gives the genre a Pac-Man coat of paint, with ghosts as enemies and fruit as power-ups. Mechanically it is close to Doodle Jump with tighter, arcade-style presentation. Availability varies by region and store these days, but it is worth a look if you can find it.
6. The Floor Is Lava: Monster Jump
A more recent entry built around the rising-threat idea: something is coming from below, and standing still is death. That pressure changes how you play. In classic Doodle Jump you fall to lose; here, hesitation loses too. If that constant chase is the part you enjoy, keep reading, because the last game on this list is built entirely around it.
7. Inklets (coming Summer 2026)
Full disclosure: Inklets is our game, so we are biased. Here is what it does differently, stated plainly.
Inklets is a climber where three players climb the same sketchbook page at the same time. Platforms wobble, slide, spike, and snap. Ink smudges and page monsters get in the way. And black ink rises from below until only one climber is left standing. It is last-one-standing rules rather than a high-score chase.
The other difference is the character. Instead of picking from a fixed roster, you describe a small character in a short text prompt and the game turns it into a playable climber in the same sketchy ink style. A cardboard box kid, a sleepy paper bat, whatever you type.
Inklets is planned for iOS and Android in Summer 2026. If the multiplayer angle interests you, the full first look covers how a match actually plays.
Which one should you pick?
It depends on which part of Doodle Jump you love:
| You love | Play |
|---|---|
| The original feel, refined | Doodle Jump 2 |
| Racing friends | Doodle Jump Race |
| Skill and mastery | Icy Tower |
| Speed and flow | Mega Jump |
| Arcade nostalgia | PAC’N-JUMP |
| Pressure from below | The Floor Is Lava: Monster Jump |
| Multiplayer survival and your own character | Inklets |
The genre is small enough that you can try most of these in an afternoon. Start with the one that matches your reason for searching, and if the idea of climbing against real people while the page floods with ink sounds like your kind of chaos, the Inklets waitlist is open at inklets.app.
Related reads.
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