''Leap Day'' is a 2D level-based platform game developed and published by

Nitrome Nitrome Games Limited is a British independent video game developer based in London. The company formerly developed Unity-based games (and previously Flash-based) for Web browsers, but now publishes and develops games across multiple platforms in ...

, first released for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

on May 11, 2016. Players must reach a Gold Cup at top of a procedurally generated level by controlling a character which runs automatically, tapping on the screen to make the character jump in order to collect fruits, dodge enemies and hazards, and progress through the level. A new level is generated every day, with levels from previous days available to play after watching an advertisement. A sequel, titled ''Super Leap Day'', was released for

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

, and tvOS devices on August 6, 2021, as part of the

Apple Arcade Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple Inc. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. The service launched on September 19 ...

subscription service. It features gameplay improvements, horizontal levels, and an updated vector art style, which differs from the pixel art used in the first game.

Gameplay

In ''Leap Day'', each level is generated using pre-made sections, with fifteen checkpoints placed throughout the level. The player must reach the Gold Cup at the end of a level, avoiding hazards such as spikes, blades, and a variety of enemies, while also collecting fruits which can be spent to activate checkpoints. At the end of each level, there is a section called the "End Zone", which does not use any pre-made chunks and is wholly unique to that day's level. Players will earn a cup depending on how far they have progressed through a level, receiving a bronze cup at checkpoint 10, a silver cup at checkpoint 5, and a gold cup for completing the level. The character runs automatically, requiring the player to tap on the screen to correctly time jumps and progress through the level. Each level is assigned one of several different themes which change the aesthetics, enemies, and objects which appear in the level. Themes include a medieval castle, a stormy cavern, a waterfall, a desert, a frozen temple with falling icicles, a sewer with toxic gas, and a casino with pinball flippers and bumpers. Gifts can be earned by progressing through levels, which unlock different characters for the player to use.

Reception

''Leap Day'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator,

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

.{{Cite web, title=Leap Day, url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/leap-day, access-date=2021-08-18, website=Metacritic, language=en TouchArcade praised the game for its simple controls and approach to in-app purchases, writing "''Leap Day'' is the perfect pickup for people who want to find a new platformer to warn them by the fire."

References

2016 video games Android (operating system) games IOS games Platform games Nitrome games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games using procedural generation