Dreadhead Parkour: speed is easy, stopping is the skill
Dreadhead Parkour starts the way a good platformer should: no menu, no story screen, just the runner standing at the edge of a street with the controls drawn in the sky above him. Press Right and he is off, over rolling dirt hills, past brick houses, telegraph poles and chain-link fences. Each new move appears as a small prompt at the moment you first need it — RUN, then a jump, then SLIDE in front of the first low gap.
The levels are short, but there are sixty of them, laid out on an island map you can open from the pause menu. Later stages bring in what the game calls its machinery: crates to knock over, wooden planks that break, water, spikes, saw blades, bombs, fireballs and teleports. Momentum matters. The runner builds speed on a downhill, keeps it over a crest and carries it into the next jump, so many levels are really about where you let go of the arrow key rather than where you press it.
Gold coins line the routes. They are counted at the top of the screen and spent on new characters — there are around twenty runners to unlock, from different outfits to odd little mascots. Stars are handed out at the end of each level, and the game remembers your progress, coins and characters in the browser, so you can stop after any level and come back to it later.
Controls & mechanics
| Action | Control | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Run | Right arrow (Left to go back) | The runner keeps speed on slopes, so a downhill gives you a free boost |
| Jump | Up arrow | Jump from the crest of a hill or the edge of a roof to carry your speed through the air |
| Slide | Down arrow | Ducks under low beams and gaps; the first one is marked SLIDE on screen |
| Pause | Escape or the pause button | Sound, music, the level map and restart |
| Restart | Restart button in the pause menu | Starts the level again from the beginning |
| Touch | On-screen buttons on a phone or tablet | The game shows touch controls when it detects a touch device |
Getting through Dreadhead Parkour levels
- Let the hills do the work: Running downhill builds speed. Hold Right on the way down and jump just before the top of the next rise to fly the furthest.
- Slide early, not late: Press Down a step before a low gap. Sliding into it at the last moment often clips the runner on the edge.
- Stop before you jump into the unknown: If you cannot see where a jump lands, let go of Right and walk to the edge first. The camera shows more once you are there.
- Use the level map: The pause menu opens the island map. Replay an earlier level for its coins if you are short of a character you want.
- Watch moving machinery for one cycle: Saws, bombs and fireballs repeat. Watch them once, then go on the gap you saw.
- Do not chase every coin: A coin over a pit is a trap more often than a reward. Take the coins on your line and keep the run alive.
Key features
- 60 levels: Short stages on an island map, from city streets to traps and machinery.
- Momentum running: Speed builds on slopes and carries through jumps.
- Run, jump, slide: Three moves on the arrow keys; the game teaches each one as it comes up.
- Coins and characters: Collect coins and spend them on around twenty runners.
- Stars per level: Every finished level gives stars to aim for.
- Saves in the browser: Progress, coins and characters stay on this device.
Game info
- Title: Dreadhead Parkour
- Developer: gametornado
- Category: Parkour & Platformers
- Platform: Web browser (HTML5)
- Build: gametornado · Construct 3 HTML5 game served from dreadheadparkour.click
Pro tip: Most deaths in Dreadhead Parkour come from too much speed, not too little. When a level gets busy, let go of the arrow key for half a second and look.
