15 of the Greatest Online Flash Games
Flash games; they keep us amused and sane during times of extreme boredom. They keep John Smith from ripping his hair out in his 43rd floor cubicle and keep me awake during a five hour bus ride to visit family. Flash games have grown and expanded to such levels that they serve a higher purpose then keeping someone awake; they actually provide genuine enjoyment and some can even become a little addictive, pulling you to your computer when you should be sleeping or doing homework.
I’ve always enjoyed scouring the internet for games that would do just that and throughout the years, I’ve found quite a few. I’ve tried to make a list that would showcase some of the internet’s most enjoyable flash games and I won’t lie…it was hard. Nevertheless, I present to you “15 of the Greatest Online Flash Games” in hopes that you’ll find something new and receive some enjoyment out of it.
Protector
I figured I’d start the list off with one of the largest growing flash game genres on the net. Protector is a “tower defense” game that really just has that extra something that makes it stand out. The player purchases various soldiers (mages, archers, etc.) to defend the winding road, travelled by waves of enemies. Every soldier has the ability to be upgraded with money after a certain number of kills multiple times until they are maxed out, at which point they look pretty epic. As you progress through various levels, additional soldiers and spells can be unlocked to strategically defeat the growing waves of enemies that will either be immune to certain attacks or have a specific weakness to certain attacks.
Crimson Room
Another very popular flash game genre is the “escape the room” genre, for lack of a better title. Many had come and gone before in the genre but Crimson Room was the game that really made the whole idea popular. Basically the game consists of a room, always viewed in first person by the player who has mysteriously woke up with no memory of how he/she got there. It’s a point and click game where you must search every inch of the room to collect items that must be used to eventually make your way out. This game can be pretty tricky and a walkthrough link is always offered for the many players that will need it. It’s an interesting take on an older idea.
Sonny
Sonny is one of my favourite games on the net. It’s a pretty popular title and is basically an RPG based on the main character, Sonny. Everything about this game is pretty well done and it makes a solid experience overall. The combat is turn based and features everything you’d want from a game of the sort: skill trees, a variety of weapons and armours, and a good story. It can get pretty hard towards the end but, all in all, I loved it and its definitely a must try for any RPG lover.
The Fancy Pants Adventure 2
Fancy Pants is a really popular game among players. The first installment was really enjoyable due to it’s very unique gameplay style but the second installment beat it by far. The player goes from level to level of platform jumping, completing relatively easy tasks to reach the end. The neat twist is the overall flow of motion through the character. You can run up a steep slope and gain speed to make large jumps across the level. All the motions were very smooth and seemingly flawless. Even the original is still extremly popular around the net.
Cursor Thief
Being one of the most simple games in existense may seem like a red flag for some but for anyone who has played Cursor Thief, it’s a fun, addicting experience. Cursor Thief is a Japanese game, so don’t bother trying to read anything on it. When it emerged, it became an instant success and was copied several times by mediocre clones as it grew in popularity. The whole point of the game is to keep your cursor away from the on-screen NPC who is doing everything he can to grab it. It’s a really unique aspect if you think about it. The thief has a ton of tricks up his sleeve to sneak up and get that cursor from you. Anything from lightning fast jumps from one side of the screen to the other to launching a homing rocket to follow your cursor. Definitely a crazy addicting (and frustrating) game.
Primary
Primary is a unique game that came out late last year. It features a main character who has the ability to morph into the three primary colours: blue, red, and yellow. Each colour had different abilities that the player must use to make their way through the various rooms of a tower, containing enemies, bosses, and special platforms only accesible by specific colours. I look forward to a sequel for this game to really unleash the potential this sort of game has.
Indestructotank
Indestructotank is a widely popular game that puts the player in a familiar situation, with an interesting twist. The player takes the role of a tank being constantly attacked from above by various aircraft but instead of trying to avoid the bombs being dropped on you, you’re goal is to try and get hit by them to blast your invincible tank up into the air and into the aircrafts themselves. There is a constant fuel meter running as you try to get a certain amount of points by destroying enemies. Points are then used to increase the frequency certain enemies will appear on screen, increasing your chances of keeping a steady increase in points before the multiplier is stopped from you hitting the ground. A couple sequels have been added to the series since the release of the first but, in my opinion, none of them hold a candle to the original.
Balloon in a Wasteland
Probably one of the more interesting visual styles of all the games I’ve played, Balloon in a Wasteland takes on a very “Noire” style as you play a man who’s air balloon has crashed in a wasteland filled with enemies. Your job is to fend off waves of enemies while constantly upgrading your weapons, building turrets, and taking time to repair your balloon on the side. The game is completed once your balloon is fully repaired. As hard is it sounds, it was actually quite easy but it was a game that made an memorable impression on me.
Merlin’s Revenge
Merlin’s Revenge is a very old-school style game. The player controls Merlin with the arrow keys and fire charged spells at enemies by holding the right mouse button down. Obviously, playing this game on a laptop sucks but it was made long before everyone had one so it’s meant for a mouse and keyboard as many older games are. The game gets pretty hard as you travel from screen to screen, finding potions to upgrade your charge rate, speed, max charge, and health and fend off increasing hoardes of goblins, bats, golems, etc.
Age of War 2
Age of War centers around the idea of constantly buying and sending troops out to attack the constant flow of your enemies troops being produced in a tug-of-war style fight. More powerful infantry can be unocked and purchased at a higher price until you’re men have reached and destroyed the enemy base or enough people have been killed to unlock the next level. Each level brings a new era of war, starting from cave men, and ending in aliens and laser beams. It’s a really fun take on an underappreciated style of gameplay.
Cursed Treasure
Cursed Treasure is another tower defense game with a very fun twist. In this game, the player takes on the role of the enemy, setting up towers and traps to stop the heroes from reaching your gems and bringing them off the map. The towers are deadly, the deaths are cruel, and the gameplay provides easily a solid day’s worth of amusement. I recommend every tower defense lover tries this one out for sure.
The Last Stand 2
The Last Stand 2 sort of follows a different kind of tower defense style. You play a survivor of some sort of zombie uprising. Your goal is to make it to a safe human city before a certain amount of days have passed. Along the way you stop in small towns and pick buildings to search for health, weapons, and recruits for your journey. You then set yourself up for a wave of zombies by placing your men in positions along a wall of sandbags and give them whatever weapons you see fit. Your character can switch between two weapons you assign him and is the only character who can move freely behind the barricade. It’s the perfect zombie apocalypse game if you ask me.
Boxhead: More Rooms
I call this game “stress relief”. You are a very cubic man trapped in a large room of your choosing with tons of very cubic zombies attacking you. There are tons of different weapons you can unlock by increasing your multiplier. As you venture further into the game, the enemies begin to fill the screen and the multiplier goes crazy as you shotgun your way through a wall of zombies, not to mention a red “devil” creatures that appear once in a while and proves to be more then a challenge in the middle of an already out of control hoard.
Road of the Dead
If I had to put a number on these, Road of the Dead would definitely be number one on my list. The graphics may be a little too much for some computers but if you can get it running smoothly, it provides the most rewarding and powerful experience in flash gaming. You play as a survivor of a zombie uprising (yet again) stuck in a city, quarantined by the U.S. government. You are a true badass and take your Mustang look alike on the road to try and get out of the quarantine, making zombies roadkill in the process. The whole game is in first person view from behind the steering wheel. There’s so much to this game it’s incredible. Zombies will leave cracks and blood on your windshield and some will even stay there until you shoot them with a pistol you’re given. After so much damage your windshield can break, the car can overheat (and be cooled by hitting water jugs) and you can eventually break down, ending the level. If you can manage to make it past a group of zombies, you’ll reach government resistance with guns before finally reaching the next level. The car itself can also be upgraded with armour, speed, and control; all of which are physically shown and look amazing. There’s simply too much to say about this game so just…try it out!
Bloons
It would be impossible to make a list like this without Bloons. Ninja Kiwi’s little gem takes the player into the role of a monkey with dart who must pop a certain number of balloons with a certain number of darts to reach the next level. The levels are extremely unique (and challenging at times) and take on several forms, including obstacles and several unique balloons and darts. Bloons requires 100% strategy to make your way through the entire game. The series itself has blown into epic proportions with over ten titles in the it, made of sequels, spin offs, and player created levels. I HIGHLY suggest that if you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what Bloons is, you try it out and see why it’s one of the most popular flash games of all time.
