I've been waiting for this to exit greenlight and hit Steam for such a long time. I'm very happy that the game and developer will get the greater attention that each deserve through the new release. It's an amazing but simple platformer that really demonstrates how much there will always be left to do with what seems like an old genre. The game might follow just a few simple rules, but the emergence of complex phenomena from the seemingly simple restraints will be a constant and entertaining challenge.
I remember reading a blog post by the developer where he stated challenging himself to not use the color green for the surfaces of the game. It would be too easy to make the ground green, too obvious. He instead chose to work the color in such a way that green would be implied, giving us dusk views where the blue suggests grass, or strange and outlandish colors that strangely connect themselves to grass in our minds. The same degree of thought went into every aspect of the game, and it certainly shows.
As far as I’m concerned Ian Snyder is right up there with Terry Cavanagh, and this game shows it.

[Edit: beat the game!]

Pros -
Great visuals
Fresh physic mechanics
Beautiful, relaxing soundtrack
Great level designs

Cons -
Erratic fluctuations in difficulty, it'll be smooth sailing then suddenly a random level that makes you die 30 times, then smooth sailing again, repeat random cycle
Wonky keyboard controls, using a controller is better but sometimes the sensitivity still feels off

Got this game from a dear friend before it hit Steam but didn't get around to playing it till now. As the title states, the floor is jelly! So every surface you touch bounces around, which creates chain reactions you utilize in the game. For example you can jump higher and higher if you time it right, because the floor will bounce you up and down. There are different "worlds", each with new mechanics that are very creative and get harder and harder as you progress. It's a platformer, one that's tough from the second half, but it feels quite different from others on the market.

There's a great variety of levels and mechanics, and I never got bored of the art style. However as mentioned in the cons the difficulty curve gets quite random - there will be random very difficult levels between some easy ones, before I really got used to the controls. It took me roughly 6 hours to beat, but I am speaking for one that likes platformers but doesn't play very difficult ones. I've read on forums of people finishing in 2 hours or less so if you've played something like Super Meat Boy that'd be closer to what you would get out of the game.

The art style and music are both amazing, very pleasing to the eyes and ears! Music is relaxing, on the minimalist side.

Do I recommend this? Yes, it's very aesthetically pleasing, with refreshing mechanics that'll give you a good sense of achievement.

Wouldn't it be awesome if the floor was made of wibbly, wobbly, oh so sweet jelly? Disregarding the obvious stickiness it sounds like a rather ridiculous and amazing idea to me, but luckily video games exist so we no longer have to wonder and can see for ourselves what a world made of gelatin might be like. As it turns out, Ian Snyder's The Floor is Jelly is almost entirely as delightful and playful as you could hope for, with so much raw joy and charm oozing out of it that I found it nigh impossible to restrain the enormous smile plastered across my place as I played.

As the extremely literal title lets you know, the floor (and pretty much everything else) is made of bouncy, jiggling jelly that sways and molds as you platform your way through levels. More than just an enjoyable gimmick, Synder constantly finds incredible simple but ingenious ways to use it as a mechanic, from the obvious trampoline effect propelling you higher, to bouncing into the ground to momentarily cause it to sag as you scurry under obstacles. The game never dwells on any one jelly application for more than a few levels, driven by an erratic "need" for variety that keeps every level feeling completely unique from the last, but held together by the constant wobble of the world. The nonlinear structure is incredibly relaxed, never wanting to punish the player and allowing you to explore at your own pace, which is a very welcome change from so many hyper demanding platformers we've seen released as of late.

The one instance where the continual reworking of mechanics works against the game is in the final few levels, which take on a faux-glitch design that involves changing the properties for the jelly you bounce on. The idea is good in theory, but in practice it causes the world more often than not to spazz entirely out of control, leaving it largely up to luck if you can make it to the exit before things go insane. It's really a shame that it ends on a pretty sour note, because up until that point I was absolutely in love with the game and its laid back atmosphere, which the later levels go entirely against. Some unexplainable slowdown and technical issues add to the list of annoyances that should have no place in such a beautiful game.

Take one look at any of the other moments in the game, and it's hard to stay upset about a lackluster ending. The art design is absurdly charming and endearing, with the way the jelly moves being particularly delightful in ways I can't put into words. The color pallet changes with each new level you enter, all of which align with a chill design philosophy akin to laying in a hammock on a lazy summer day; it's impossible to keep from wanting to stay in this world forever. A gorgeous soundtrack by Disasterpeace (who my admiration for seems to grow on a daily basis) perfectly blends into the background, with spurts of sound accompanying your actions, creating a dynamic musical score that feels like a living organism playing along with you.

It's not quite perfect, but The Floor is Jelly enchanted me in ways I haven't felt from a game in a long time. The level of love poured into the game by its developer is palpable, to where you really want to overlook the bad bits because there's so much more to enjoy about the experience. It probably won't charm everyone like it did me, and anyone looking for a challenging or lengthy (you'll likely finish it in about 2 hours) will come away disappointed, but if you can take it for what it is The Floor is Jelly is the sort of game that's more than willing to curl up under a blanket with you and hug you to death with its cuteness.

Maybe that's a little weird to say about a game, but The Floor is Jelly inspires unusual praise and deserves all it receives.

The Floor Is Jelly... If you ever played - and liked -Super Meat Boy then this is for you. It doesn't have any controller support however, so movement is a bit more difficult compared to using a controller but it's easy enough to remember as it's literally only a few keys to take into account.

There are several worlds, all with their own physics and little puzzles (if you can call them that). You drop out of a window and have to enter a window somewhere else in the level. But there are many obstacles in the form of platforms and you have to be quick or need to know how to figure out how the physics work. Fortunately the levels last only a few minutes and they're easy enough to complete...

...Until the end, that is. Near the end the world becomes corrupted and the levels become frustratingly hard and start to rely on luck instead of skill. And this goes on for quite a while. Every time I thought I was finally finished, the game gave me new levels. They kept coming. Until finally, it stopped. In that aspect the developer seemed to try and mimic Fez, which is totally unnecessary because it has enough charm and style to give it its own identity. A little bit disappointed there.

The graphics are colorful and the style reminds me of Ibb & Obb (which I haven't even started playing yet). It looks great, especially the animations and things like flowers popping up from the ground and the music is relaxing, even if it's repetitve.

This isn't a very long game. I think it can be finished within 2-2,5 hours. Which is more than enough for me personally. Platformers usually don't stay fresh long enough to keep them interesting for tens of hours. But that's my opinion, of course.

So, in short; The Floor Is Jelly is a great platformer, but prepare to be annoyed and frustrated near the end. Look past all that and you have an incredibly smart, charming game right here.

[Rating: 78/100]

Short platformer where everything is a jello-like substance, and the physics abuse that implies. Lovely soundtrack! Charming levels, too, and plenty of secrets/optional challenges if you would prefer replay value or the occasional "Look what I did" bragging rights.

I absolutely recommend it! Developer's a lovely chap, too.