Buck Games today unveiled Ladder Lad, a new 2D platformer headed to Nintendo Switch with a planned launch in 2027.
The project is a collaboration between indie studio Buck Games and global creative firm Buck, and features audio design from Antfood.
Buck has previously worked with major brands such as Nike, Apple, Netflix, IBM and Airbnb, and contributed to projects including Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots and Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse.
Game concept and mechanics
Ladder Lad is built around a singular core idea: ladders as the primary tool for movement and traversal.
Set in a ladder-shaped world that has forgotten how to jump, players take on the role of the titular Lad and use a personal ladder to climb a whimsical vertical tower.
Standard platforming concepts are reinterpreted through ladder-centric gameplay: the ladder can bridge gaps, act as a pole-vault, function like a pogo stick, serve as a sled and more.
The game emphasizes physics-based interactions and an intuitive tilting control scheme for precise balancing and movement.
Augments, enemies and tone
Throughout the ascent, players will discover augmentations that expand the ladder’s capabilities.
Announced examples include an inflatable hot air balloon attachment, a non-Euclidean Warped Ladder and a large-scale propelled ladder dubbed the Big Flying Ladder.
Encounters along the way include oversized Rungmasters who preside over themed rungs, sentient ooze and an ancient, poetry-reciting eldritch frog.
The title mixes slapstick comedy with moments of precise platforming challenges.
Audio and team
Music and sound design are handled by Antfood, marking their third collaboration with Buck Games.
Antfood is credited as an award-winning audio studio and contributes an eclectic score intended to complement the game’s vertical, whimsical setting.
Developer comments and next steps
Production director Marla Anyomi described Ladder Lad as a balance of absurdist comedy and exacting ladder-based platforming, and portrayed the Lad as a charming and determined protagonist ready to face the trials above.
Buck Games released an initial trailer alongside the announcement and has confirmed the game will arrive on Nintendo Switch in 2027.
Further release details and storefront information will be published by Buck Games and on the Nintendo eShop as they become available.
For now, Nintendo Switch owners and platforming fans can watch the official trailer on Buck Games’ channels and follow updates for confirmed release dates and storefront listings.
The project is a collaboration between indie studio Buck Games and global creative firm Buck, and features audio design from Antfood.
Buck has previously worked with major brands such as Nike, Apple, Netflix, IBM and Airbnb, and contributed to projects including Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots and Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse.
Game concept and mechanics
Ladder Lad is built around a singular core idea: ladders as the primary tool for movement and traversal.
Set in a ladder-shaped world that has forgotten how to jump, players take on the role of the titular Lad and use a personal ladder to climb a whimsical vertical tower.
Standard platforming concepts are reinterpreted through ladder-centric gameplay: the ladder can bridge gaps, act as a pole-vault, function like a pogo stick, serve as a sled and more.
The game emphasizes physics-based interactions and an intuitive tilting control scheme for precise balancing and movement.
Augments, enemies and tone
Throughout the ascent, players will discover augmentations that expand the ladder’s capabilities.
Announced examples include an inflatable hot air balloon attachment, a non-Euclidean Warped Ladder and a large-scale propelled ladder dubbed the Big Flying Ladder.
Encounters along the way include oversized Rungmasters who preside over themed rungs, sentient ooze and an ancient, poetry-reciting eldritch frog.
The title mixes slapstick comedy with moments of precise platforming challenges.
Audio and team
Music and sound design are handled by Antfood, marking their third collaboration with Buck Games.
Antfood is credited as an award-winning audio studio and contributes an eclectic score intended to complement the game’s vertical, whimsical setting.
Developer comments and next steps
Production director Marla Anyomi described Ladder Lad as a balance of absurdist comedy and exacting ladder-based platforming, and portrayed the Lad as a charming and determined protagonist ready to face the trials above.
Buck Games released an initial trailer alongside the announcement and has confirmed the game will arrive on Nintendo Switch in 2027.
Further release details and storefront information will be published by Buck Games and on the Nintendo eShop as they become available.
For now, Nintendo Switch owners and platforming fans can watch the official trailer on Buck Games’ channels and follow updates for confirmed release dates and storefront listings.
