Red Ball 4 — Play Free Online

Red Ball 4 is a side-on platformer where you steer a rolling red ball through a world made of squares. Nothing here is about speed alone: you roll, hop, and work out how to get past spikes, moving platforms, swinging hazards and angry square enemies. Levels are short, so a session fits into a few minutes, and the game is built around clearing one stage at a time.

If you came to Doodle Jump for the endless upward climb, this is a different rhythm. Doodle Jump asks for constant sideways nudging while you bounce on automatically; Red Ball 4 hands you full control of a rolling character and rewards you for slowing down and reading the room before you commit to a jump.

The ball is a simple shape with a lot of momentum. Tight corners, ramps and gaps all depend on how much speed you carry in, and that is the whole skill of the game.

How to play

Use the arrow keys or WASD to move the ball left and right and to jump. The mouse is used to select things in the menus and level screens. On a phone or tablet, tap and swipe to steer and jump instead.

Each level is a route from the left of the screen to an exit. Along the way you will find stars to pick up, switches and boxes that change the layout, and checkpoints so a mistake does not send you back to the very start. Fall onto spikes or get hit and you restart from the last checkpoint.

Tips

• Build up a little speed before a long jump instead of jumping from a standstill; the ball carries momentum through the air.
• Watch a moving hazard for one full cycle before you go. Most of them repeat on a steady beat.
• Do not rush past the stars. Optional pickups often sit off the direct route, so a quick look around is worth a few extra seconds.
• When a jump keeps failing, check whether a box or switch nearby is meant to help you get there.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

Ovo 2 and OvO game are also precise platformers, but there the focus is on fast, fluid running and wall tricks. Fireboy and Watergirl swaps the solo ball for two characters and puzzle rooms that are best shared between two players. Bird Jumper and Hoppenhelm are closer to the jumper genre the site is named for.

Red Ball 4 suits short sessions on a laptop, Chromebook or phone, and it runs in the browser with nothing to install.