Fit check
Is Tanglewood worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Players who prefer compact 2D platforming campaigns with defined chapters
- Retro-game fans seeking 16-bit pixel art and Mega Drive-era presentation
- Completion-focused players who want secrets, achievements, and collectables
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking a large open world rather than 28 structured levels across eight chapters
- Players looking for slow exploration instead of fast platforming and quick reactions
- Players who do not want a retro-styled presentation built around pixel art and Mega Drive-era technology
Our take on Tanglewood
Its defining detail is the deliberate 16-bit construction: Tanglewood was made on 90s development hardware and built in raw 68000 assembly, then presented on PC through a bespoke Mega Drive emulator.
What is Tanglewood?
Tanglewood is a 2D puzzle-platformer about Nymn, a young Djunn separated from his pack and trying to cross a dangerous forest before morning.
The game combines fast movement with puzzles, tricks, surprises, and encounters with strange beasts. Players use special abilities, lateral thinking, and quick reactions to avoid, defeat, and overcome its challenges. The campaign contains 28 levels arranged across eight story chapters. Hand-crafted pixel art and fluid animation support its 16-bit presentation, alongside an original soundtrack created for the YM2612 sound chip. A day/night cycle, secrets, achievements, and collectables add optional objectives. Each digital copy includes a DRM-free Mega Drive ROM for use with another emulator, original hardware through a flash cart, or a Retropie setup.
How Tanglewood plays
- 01Eight Story Chapters
- The campaign contains 28 levels arranged across eight chapters.
- 02Special Abilities
- Nymn uses distinct abilities alongside quick reactions and lateral thinking to handle obstacles and monsters.
- 03Optional Discoveries
- Secrets, achievements, and collectables provide objectives beyond reaching the end of each level.
- 04Day-Night Cycle
- The forest setting changes through a day/night cycle during the adventure.
- 05DRM-Free ROM
- Each digital copy includes a Mega Drive ROM for use with another emulator, original hardware through a flash cart, or a Retropie setup.
Tanglewood compared to similar games
Tanglewood focuses on 2D platforming across 28 levels with puzzles, secrets, and collectables. Jusant centers on climbing a tall tower, stamina management, and choosing routes, while Sundered: Eldritch Edition is a metroidvania with chaotic action rather than Tanglewood's chapter-based platforming structure.
Tanglewood: platforms & release
Is Tanglewood worth it?
It is worth it if: players who prefer compact 2D platforming campaigns with defined chapters. Skip it if: players seeking a large open world rather than 28 structured levels across eight chapters.
Where can I download Tanglewood?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Tanglewood's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Tanglewood on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
