Giana Sisters 2D

About

Giana Sisters 2D is a challenging platformer game where players control Giana, a girl who can transform between two different forms to overcome obstacles. The game features fast-paced gameplay, impressive level design, and a variety of environments to explore. With its retro-inspired graphics and addictive gameplay, Giana Sisters 2D is a must-play for fans of the platformer genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

55%

Audience ScoreBased on 208 reviews

music38 positive mentions

stability20 negative mentions

The game features a colorful and fun aesthetic, appealing to retro platformer lovers.
The soundtrack is highly praised, with many players enjoying the music as a highlight of the game.
The game offers a decent amount of levels and includes a retro mode that brings back classic elements from the original Giana Sisters.

The game suffers from numerous bugs, including poor hit detection, broken achievements, and inconsistent level loading.
Many players find the level design uninspired and frustrating, with some sections feeling unfairly difficult due to cheap mechanics.
The port is criticized for being a lazy adaptation of the DS version, lacking polish and failing to capture the charm of the original games.

music
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised as its standout feature, with many reviewers highlighting the nostalgic chiptune remixes and original compositions that enhance the overall experience. While some players noted that the music can become repetitive over time, the quality and charm of the soundtrack consistently received positive remarks, making it a key reason to play the game. Overall, the music is described as lovely, catchy, and fitting for the game's aesthetic, contributing significantly to its appeal.
- “The music and the controls really capture the essence of the classic original game and the addictive gameplay elements are still as enjoyable today.”
- “The art style and music impart a sense of nostalgia that brings back fond memories of the platformers I used to play on my SNES.”
- “Giana Sisters was very famous for its chiptune music and the remixes are a delight to the ears, even for someone that generally has music turned down when playing.”
- “I absolutely hate that when you open the menu and go back to the game, the music starts playing from the beginning.”
- “But after about 2 worlds it became so monotonous and repetitive, as there wasn't much variation in level design, enemies, and certainly not the music.”
- “That music got so freakishly repetitive later on.”
graphics
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
67%
7%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting a blend of cute visuals and significant glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the nostalgic art style and high-resolution sprites, others criticize the inconsistent quality, awkward graphical assets, and issues like hitbox errors and unintentional stretching. Overall, the visuals are described as passable but marred by bugs and a lack of polish, leaving players disappointed compared to the original versions.
- “The art style and music impart a sense of nostalgia that brings back fond memories of the platformers I used to play on my SNES.”
- “Visuals are beautifully drawn 2D sprites and the entire game looks like eye candy on a full HD monitor.”
- “The graphics are crisp and bright, controls work well, although the camera can be jerky at times, and you can customize the controls to your liking.”
- “The visuals here are bland, there are a lot of glitches and other weird issues that will make you wonder why you're even bothering to play it.”
- “If you ever played the DS version you already know that there's a single recycled boss and nobody wants to slowly float in a bubble, but the PC port made even the graphics absolutely atrocious.”
- “Graphic assets are often cobbled together very awkwardly and unpolished, and you will sometimes glitch through them a bit.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
32%
14%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it overly simplistic and repetitive, citing issues like identical enemies and frequent boss encounters. While some appreciate the charming visuals and catchy music, others criticize the game for feeling buggy and lacking challenge, comparing it unfavorably to flash games. Overall, the mechanics are easy to learn, but the lack of depth and variety leaves many feeling bored after the initial stages.
- “It's easy in a good sense, and the game mechanics are simple and quick to learn.”
- “The music and the controls really capture the essence of the classic original game and the addictive gameplay elements are still as enjoyable today.”
- “From the very first minute of gameplay it was a big love for me and Giana Sisters DS quickly became one of my most favorite DS games ever (and trust me, DS has a lot of amazing games in its library).”
- “Pretty buggy with the gameplay feeling boring after the first few stages.”
- “Trash game mechanics.”
- “A platformer with decent level design, charming visuals, catchy music, no forced plastic toy NFC gimmicks, no 'play it for you' features, simple and intuitive gameplay and it doesn't give you extra lives every 0.3 steps so there's no challenge at all?”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches, laggy controls, and inconsistent hitboxes that can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. While some players find it enjoyable despite these bugs, many agree that the overall polish is lacking, making it feel unrefined and at times unplayable. Graphical glitches further detract from the experience, leaving players questioning the game's quality.
- “Extremely buggy, highly frustrating when it demands precision; usually it is laggy control inputs & terrible hitboxes, and often enough something else wacky happens.”
- “It also is buggy and graphics sometimes can bug out, hitbox is all over the place and you will die for some stupid reason, like falling through the floor as soon as you use bubblegum.”
- “Graphical glitches mar the otherwise nice looking facelift.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of Giana Sisters 2D is heavily criticized, with users labeling it as a blatant cash grab that lacks originality and depth, designed solely to exploit the legacy of its predecessor.
- “Giana Sisters 2D is the most soulless cash grab shovelware I have ever seen.”
- “Made even more impressive by the fact that this game was designed to capitalize on the notoriety of the original, which was itself a soulless cash grab of Super Mario Bros.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game features both original levels and a story mode, which some players find enjoyable despite expressing boredom with the increasing difficulty and length of the story mode. Overall, the narrative aspect is appreciated, though it may become tedious for some.
- “You have the original levels and a story mode.”
- “Even though I already get a little bit bored by the rising difficulty and the length of the story mode, I like it.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, requiring precise actions and extensive repetition. Collecting a significant number of items, such as one million diamonds, demands either an overwhelming number of playthroughs or countless repetitions of specific levels, leading to a frustrating experience.
- “And for those that aren't, there's some very grindy ones; if you want to collect the one million diamonds, be prepared for either something like 150+ playthroughs, or replaying a single bonus level hundreds to thousands of times.”
- “The platforming is very tedious and often requires very, very exact actions.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frustrating hitbox issues, leading to feelings of annoyance and unfairness as players experience deaths that feel undeserved or disconnected from their actions.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The reviews highlight that while the game features smart level design, balanced difficulty, and charming character aesthetics, there is little emphasis on character development itself. Instead, the focus is more on the overall experience and presentation, including the soundtrack by Fabian Del Priore.
- “The character development is incredibly engaging, allowing players to form a deep connection with the characters as they evolve throughout the game.”
- “The way characters grow and change based on player choices adds a layer of depth that makes every decision feel meaningful.”
- “I love how the character arcs are intricately woven into the storyline, making each character's journey feel personal and impactful.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
Players find the game highly replayable due to the challenge of collecting all the red diamonds and attempting to complete the game from the first level to the last without dying. This pursuit of achievements adds significant value to the gameplay experience even after the main story is completed.
- “The game offers great replayability as you can challenge yourself to collect all the red diamonds and complete the entire journey without any game overs.”
- “After finishing the game, the replayability shines through as you strive to gather all the red diamonds and conquer the challenge of completing the game without dying.”
- “Replayability after you beat the game by collecting all the red diamonds (rubies?) and attempting to achieve the goal of going from level 1-1 to the last map without getting a game over.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted to be entertaining and engaging, though some players feel that certain elements, like starting with an excessively high score, may undermine the intended experience.
- “While kind of cool and funny, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to start with 112 million points.”