While it may be a burial ground of indie animation and gaming today, Newgrounds was once where popular YouTubers like Egoraptor and Jazza and games such asThe Binding of Isaacgot their start. All platforms have their inevitable decline, but Newgrounds' end came swifter than most when Adobe officially ended support for its Flash Player, making most games on the site unplayable.
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That isn’t to say that Newgrounds' admins haven’t attempted to bring the site back to form. In 2019, they introduced their proprietary Newgrounds player. Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of work to be done to resurrect the site, as many of the best Newgrounds Flash games remain unplayable on modern browsers.
10The Company of Myself
Sometimes, there’s beauty in simplicity. Flash games during the Newgrounds era didn’t needmassive open worldsnor an abundance of game mechanics to keep players entertained. Developers — often working solo or with a small number of collaborators — had to stick to making something short and sweet. That, of course, didn’t stop them from making compelling titles.
A three-person team consisting of designer Eli Piilonen, musician David Carney, and artist Luka Marcetic (who played a role in Kate Upton’sGame of Warcommercial), createdThe Company of Myself. Similar to the indie gameBraid, this puzzle platformer utilized time and a bittersweet narrative to create a memorable gaming experience.
9Aether
BeforeThe Binding of IsaacandSuper Meat Boy, producer Edmund McMillen worked with programmer Tyler Glaiel to createAether: aphysics-based gamethat has players controlling a cute squid who travels by swinging on clouds. Despite its seemingly simple controls, however, this game is packed with plenty of depth.
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Traveling through the galaxy, players discover new worlds with an eccentric cast of characters. Will players be able tosolve various puzzlesto restore color and balance? Or will they remain lost in space? Sadly, due to the death of flash, most modern gamers will never get a chance to find out.
8400 Years
Some may recall400 Yearsfrom Markiplier’s Let’s Play, which currently has over 13 million views on YouTube. After playing several of developer Scriptwelder’s games, Markiplier certainly sang the game dev’s praises. Seeing as Scriptwelder’s extensive roster includes everything from point-and-click adventures tocard-based strategygames, it’s really no wonder why.
400 yearshas players control a slow-moving stone golem whose greatest strength is the ability to stand thetest of time. Passing seasons bring changes, and so to solve some puzzles, it’s best to just wait it out.
7I wish I were the Moon
This title can be beaten in a matter of seconds —and that’s without eventrying to speedrunthe game. However, the concept of taking a photo and reinserting the image back into the world is compelling enough to have players replaying it multiple times to explore every way the story can unfold.
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While it’s possible to play a remastered version ofI wish I were the Moonon Newgrounds today, there are a few minor changes to both thegameplay and endings. Luckily, designer danielben (Daniel Benmergui) has plenty of other games that are still playable in their original form via Steam.
6The Majesty of Colors
Partially inspired by the aforementioned I wish I were the Moon, Gregory Avery-Weir’sThe Majesty of Colorsis a take onLovecraftian themesthat focuses on compassion rather than fear. Controlling a curious being from the depths, will players’ choices be seen in the eyes of humanity as the acts of a divine protector or those of a monster?
Gregory and their partner Melissa Avery-Weir started Future Proof Games, which both restores Weir’s Flash roster and focuses on creating new socially conscious projects. Fans should be sure to check out both developers’Twitch channels, where they play both indie and tabletop games alike.
5One Chance
What if the ends of times were to come from a simple mistake? Would it be possible to save humanity with less than a week to spare?One Chanceexplores the life of a cancer researcher whose cure brings about the end of times. It’s up to the player to make the protagonist’s last chance count.
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Developer AwkwardSilenceGames (Dean Moynihan) has no shortage of gut-wrenching games in their roster. With hauntingly beautiful music and an emphasis on social consciousness, it’s best to keep a box of tissues handy when playing any one of these titles.
4Level Up!
Fans ofOblivion’s fun (and often broken) skill system had a free browser alternative. Every action from jumping to taking damage allowed players to level up and unlock more areas of this lightweightMetroidvania game.
Now part of East Side Games, designer titch007uk (Duncan Saunders) works on licensed mobile games of popular TV show IPs includingThe OfficeandDoctor Who. Writer KaynSD (Keith Evans) hasn’t left the game development space either and continues to publish indietitles on Itch.io. Artist GigasDragon’s last post on Newgrounds is from all the way back in 2010, making them tough to track down, but perhaps they continue to work on new games somewhere.
3Acorn Story
Limboinspired many back in 2010 with its eerie monochromatic design. A strong silhouette is often all it takes to create a compelling character. Creators such asAcorn Story’sGeovizz (George Kobyakov) seem to think so at least, using the iconic style in theirpuzzle platformer.
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With only the ability to hop and push boxes, a young boy seeks to uncover the whereabouts of a magical acorn that came to life from his very garden. What he finds at the end of his journey, however, may be far different from what he had originally imagined.
2Colour My World
This hand-drawnpoint-and-click gametakes players through a monochromatic world where their actions can paint the surrounding landscape despite the signs around urging against it. As games such asPortalhave taught players in the past though, it’s sometimes best to ignore rules when disobedience leads to a world of wonder.
Developer SilverStitch (Matthew Lucis) — whose latest project is aNierfan game,Nier:Cognito— created an awe-inspiring world that’s a joy to explore. Conversely, liluxiaorealnew (also known as Coin) created a gorgeous piano soundtrack, although their subsequent internet footprint would require a seasonedWitcherto track down.
1Elephant Quest
One of many titles created by Armor Games CEO John Cooney (under the moniker of jmtb02) and artist James Pearmain (Jimp) wasElephant Quest. Utilizing a cute blue elephant as its protagonist, this was a short and simpleMetroidvania gamethat continued the iconic humor from previous entries such asThis is the Only Level.
Released in 2011,Elephant Questwas one of the latter titles to grace Newgrounds’ roster. With newersites like Itch.ioon the indie gaming scene, it may be too late for Newgrounds to return to its former glory. The next time a platform reaches the end of its life cycle, though, hopefully, the platform’s best games will be better preserved.
