The game Icy Tower was developed in 2001 by the Swedish studio Free Lunch Design as a free (freeware) platformer where the goal is an incredibly simple yet addictive challenge: to jump as many floors as possible within an infinite ice tower.
Players take control of the character Harold the Homeboy, using the SPACE key to jump and the arrow keys to move and build momentum – the greater the momentum, the higher the jump. The special magic lies in performing "combos" – sequences of multi-floor jumps in a row, which grant the player additional points squarely proportional to the number of floors.
When Harold reaches the fifth floor, the floors begin to slowly fall — and every 30 seconds the pace accelerates, triggering an alarming message "Hurry up!" The game ends when Harold falls below the screen or is flipped by a floor. At that point, the game saves the highest reach and best combo, with the option to save the replay.
The tower features various types of floors – from stone, ice, wood, metal to clouds and rainbows – which alternate every 100 floors. Players have shared replays through communities, organized tournaments, changed skins, and created mods, which is why Icy Tower has remained popular even 20 years later.
Although simple, Icy Tower attracts both casual and hardcore players with its intense pace, competitive nature, and the possibility of constant improvement. Moreover, in 2012, Icy Tower 2 was released for mobile platforms, and the loyalty to the original is evidenced by numerous ports, including Facebook and Android versions.
Icy Tower represents the perfect balance between simplicity and challenge – ideal for quick fun, but also serious competitions among fans.
