Bounce Back is a top-down action adventure where your only weapon is a boomerang. You throw it at slimes, hopping beasts and shield bearers, then catch it on the way back before the next wave closes in. The levels are generated fresh, so rocks, bushes and sand land in new places on every run. Frank Force built it for the js13k contest in 2019, where the packed entry had to stay under 13 KB.
How to Play Bounce Back
You start on a small island. Walk into the swirling portal to drop into level 1. Your goal on every level is to defeat all of the enemies. When the last one falls, a portal opens where it died, and stepping into it takes you deeper.
Click to throw your boomerang toward the crosshair. It curves out and returns, and you pick it up by touching it. If it stops on the ground, walk over to grab it, since you cannot throw again without a spare. A throw can also smash bushes and rocks, which sometimes drop coins or hearts.
You begin with three hearts. Every enemy that touches you takes half a heart, and the run ends when your hearts are gone. Press Escape to return to the island. Shops on the island and in later levels sell hearts, extra heart containers and extra boomerangs for coins, and prices change from shop to shop. Level 10 holds a boss, and beating it wins the game.
Bounce Back Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W A S D | — |
| Aim | — | Move the crosshair |
| Throw boomerang | — | Left click |
| Dash (no damage while dashing) | Space or Shift | — |
| Restart after game over or a win | Escape | — |
Tips and Strategies
- Dash through danger. You cannot be hurt during a dash. It recharges after about three seconds.
- Use sand to your advantage. Sand slows both you and the enemies. A dash ignores the slowdown, so you can cross a sandy patch and leave a slime stuck behind you.
- Split slimes carefully. Large slimes break into two smaller ones when defeated. Back away so the pieces cannot surround you.
- Flank the shield carriers. Throws that strike the shield bounce straight back. Circle to the side before you let go.
- Let the yellow boomerang fetch loot. The standard boomerang can grab coins and hearts and carry them back to you. The blue one hits twice as hard but cannot collect pickups.
- Watch for faint outlines. After level 4, some enemies are invisible or extra large, so keep an eye on the minimap and on shadows moving across the grass.
Features
- Ten generated levels plus a starting island and a boss fight on the last level.
- Saved progress: coins, your deepest level and your best speed run time stay in your browser.
- Speed run mode unlocks after your first win and shows a timer at the top of the screen.
- Minimap in the corner that marks the rooms you have visited and your current level number.
- Sound and music made in code, which start after your first click.
Tested and updated:
