One of my very favorite platformers, Renegade Kid’s Mutant Mudds ($4.99), is currently free on the App Store. Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in January of 2012, Mutant Mudds made its debut on the App Store in December of that same year, and proved to be quite a hit. It’s more of a slow-paced action platformer, as you’ll need to take your time and make precise jumps in order to get past the many enemies in the game. It’s very challenging, but also very satisfying. There’s a hint of Metroidvania in it too, as you’ll slowly unlock and upgrade new weapons and abilities that allow you to revisit previous levels and gain access to new areas. Finally, one of its key elements is the ability to jump in-between three levels of depth in the environment. There’s a normal middle plane, a farther away plane in the background, and even an extreme close-up foreground plane. It’s a neat effect, but it also ties into much of the puzzling and exploring in Mutant Mudds.

Being a game built for a platform like the 3DS, Mutant Mudds often demands precision, but thankfully everything holds up quite well on the touchscreen. As I mentioned, it’s the kind of game where you’ll really want to take your time and think about your actions, though levels are timed so you can speed run them if you feel so inclined. It’s just an all-around great platformer filled with tons of levels to complete and plenty of little secrets to discover. Being that it’s currently free, it shouldn’t take much convincing to get you to download and try it, but you could always consult our full review of Mutant Mudds if you want more insight.