Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Gambol
Mike Pickering · Published by Mike Pickering
Positive — 88% positive (25 reviews)
Last updated 27 Sept 2026
Gambol is a wall-hopping, ceiling-slapping jaunt of a platformer with straight forward controls, and buttery smooth movement. You control the Gambol Gumball through a gauntlet of levels designed with flow and rhythm in mind to test your platforming grit.
Free to PlayFull Controller Support
Free
Action, Indie · 2018 · More free games
Navigate through rhythmically designed levels as Gambol Gumball in this fast-paced action game by Mike Pickering, where each level demands precise wall-jumping and ceiling-slapping maneuvers.
About this game
Gambol is a wall-hopping, ceiling-slapping jaunt of a platformer with straight forward controls, and buttery smooth movement. You control the Gambol Gumball through a gauntlet of levels designed with flow and rhythm in mind to test your platforming grit. But don't be too nervous, because along with the slick controls you also have a triple jump that's energy is reset upon touching any (non-lethal) surface, including the ceiling. Holy cow, that sounds great. The controls are simple enough that you could play it on a NES controller, with only run, jump, left, right, down-boost, and [REDACTED] to worry about. What's that “[REDACTED]” all about? Hah, don't think too much about it, it's probably nothing.
“Whoa!” you say, “this looks crazy hard, is this one of those games that Poo-Dee-Pah yells at on the YouVideo?” Nah, it's not too bad, the levels appear a bit tougher than they really are since I had to put in more obstacles to make up for all that sweet, juicy, player agency you have. Oh, and when you inevitably meet your demise at the hands of a spike, laser, bomb, floating-shock-ball-of-hurt, or whatever else, you re-spawn within a couple seconds (or just hit the level-restart button if you're fidgety like me), so it's no biggie if you have to re-run a level a few times before you get the hang of it. But for all you hardcore platforming buffs out there, I've made a second, harder difficulty with special levels, and normal mode levels with more hazards added. Oh my!
- super-smooth Modern Platforming Action!
- A triple jump that's energy is reset upon collision with any non-lethal surface. Wowie!
- 130+ Levels, designed to flow in a way so that they can be (fairly) easily speedran once mastered NO AUTOSCROLLERS! !
- Wild hazards to avoid!, and one to use to your advantage if you're gutsy enough to experiment (hint: not the spikes, those just kill you. Don't try using those for anything. Except to die. Which you will do if you touch them. Avoid at all costs).
- No weird gravity mechanics, or things to make you motion sick. Back in my day we liked our colors bright and our gravity linear (only going down, baby!)
- Simple, customizable controls that anyone can master. Cool beans!
- Two difficulties: One for normies like myself, and one for people who, I don't know, like losing? It's super hard, but whatever! Yay!
Q: What Platforms Will the Game Run On?
A: Windows/PC. It is possible (though not promised) that Linux and Mac versions may come in the future, though they will certainly not be available at launch.
Q: How Many People Are Working On This Game?
A: Just this guy!, Mike. Catch me on the Tweeterverse @ACEJester <3 Oh, and Andrew Lippens is the composer. He's super cool, too.
Q: What Inspired Gambol?
A: I love games with wall-jumping, but I haven't found one with the mechanic done how I'd like it done, so I've made my own!
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
Minimum:
- OS *: Microsoft Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10
- Processor: 2.4 GHz or faster
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: Integrated graphics made within last 4 years, or just about any dedicated graphics card within last 10.
- Storage: 400 MB available space
Supported Languages
English*
*languages with full audio support
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
1.8.OWL
I made this update about a year ago, but because of my ISP I have been unable to upload the build without timing out. But it's a new era in bandwidth deliciousness. Seriously, this is life changing for me, but for you, it's just an update. Changes Eh... it's been a while, let me try to remember... - Fixed numerous hitboxes, so players shouldn't fall through the world as often. No more free flights through the bottom of the world (well, maybe a few). - Fixed the auto save system. Still might be broke, let me know if it is. - Fixed numerous large and small bugs reported by CanadianOwl. Thanks, Owl! - Fixed the spelling error in the pause menu. Thanks, Darin! - Moved the game over to a newer runtime, built on the latest architecture for my chosen game engine. Sounds technical, yeah I clicked like, three buttons for it to happen, but that doesn't make me sound as smart. - Oh, there was something else I fixed, but I forgot what it was. If you notice something working that was totally broke before, that might be it. I love you, MikeRead full article on Community Announcements (Upwhen Games)AnnouncementsOfficial
Gambol going FREE on 10/1/20 Whoooa what!?
Howdy, folks! Gambol is going to become FREE starting on October 1st, 2020. This isn't a trial, this isn't a push to make more money in some other weird way, this is just a free game. There is no time limit, the game will remain free from now on. So, why free? Well, Gambol hasn't sold a ton of copies, and I totally get it. It's yet another platformer in a world flooded with the darn things. The game was a labor of love, and I knew it would never set the world on fire, but I would still like the game to have a chance of getting some more people playing it, and I figure making it free may help with that. Maybe not, who knows. But if even one new player has a good time, and makes their day a bit brighter, then it was totally worth it. If you find any bugs in the game, please hit me up either by email (hyperfunk.games@gmail.com) or on Twitter (@ACEJester). I'm the only dev, and most bug testing has been done by myself, and the poor super lucky souls who first got the game. I'm currently working on my next game, Fart Patrol, and I have no idea when it's coming out. Like Gambol, it's a labor of love, and I have a full time job outside of game development, a wife, and a one year old son that takes most of my free time (and I wouldn't have it any other way). But, when the wife and kid are in bed, and I'm wide awake, I'm either playing Risk of Rain 2, or working on Fart Patrol, so stay tuned. Before I go, I would like to thank my composer Andrew Lippens for his incredible work on Gambol's soundtrack, additional design input, marketing the game IN PERSON at a con, and just being all around excellent to work with. His friendship is one of the best things to come out of this game. Check out his BandCamp at https://andrewlippens.bandcamp.com/ Take care, everyone. I love you.Read full article on Community Announcements (ACEJester)Patch NotesOfficial
Update 1.8.1 Oh my!
Howdy, folks! If you want to skip the rambling, scroll down a bit for the bullet point changes! I know it’s been a long time, but life has been busy in this cowpokes world. In between work changes, the wife and I having a baby, and some untimely family losses, I’ve been working on an update, adding all new levels in addition to some graphical and system changes, as well as some much needed bug fixes. Unfortunately, those shiny new levels aren’t quite ready yet, but I feel as though this update is substantial enough to go ahead and roll out. Oh, and the game is on sale!!! Update 1.8 Changelog Game Many levels have had their start and goal swapped. Difficulty on various levels have been adjusted All new level 5 (hopefully this helps people learn about the turbo button!) Many Hard Mode levels have been tuned to be a bit fairer, some were made tougher. Will keep an eye on these and perhaps tweak ‘em more later. New tilesets and environmental graphics. New “running” animation at near top speed. Some new sound effects have been added! Bug Fixes Fullscreen should now work properly on all resolutions – not just 1080p Fixed a glitch where occasionally the rocket wouldn’t take the player to the next world. Not sure where it was flying to, but if it lands on earth, send me the coordinates. Those ships ain’t cheap! Fixed various graphical and system glitches. I love youRead full article on Community Announcements (ACEJester)Patch NotesOfficial
Patch 1.0.4 Super neat!
After all of the insane fanfare post-release, I didn't take a moment to actually look at the game. Well, when I did, I noticed that our Gambol Gumball was facing the wrong way! Shameful! You see, it has eyes and an adorable little smile, but since release you've been staring at its bottom (tee-hee). Well in this latest patch, I have implemented an incredibly technical algorithm that – I kid you not – has turned the Gambol Gumball around. It's now facing us all. Hooray! Oh, also I added a few more things. Full notes below! Gambol Gumball has a face! (woot!) Added timer for each level, which can be seen in the level select screens after beating a given level. Added an end-game timer that is seen on the final “World”. It totals all time spent playing levels, but does not count menu time! (Very fair!) Tweaked movement physics for the player in the following ways: Acceleration time has been increased slightly, this allows for more subtle movements and adjustments without flying all over the place. The Turbo is now faster and power powerful (you're welcome, speedrunners!) Added a blur trail to the player when near and at maximum turbo speed Added default controls listed to the pause menu (it does not update when you change controls. It's an image... I'm not a dang wizard) Tweaked the difficulty on a few levels that were a bit too rough (though hardmode is harder.) Fixed a few bugs (I'm not perfect! But no one is. I love you just like you are.) As always, if you find any bugs, hit me up on the twitterplace @ACEJester, and I'll gladly look into it! Right now I am busy at work on a new project, but if this game ever picks up in popularity I will consider adding more content in the future. New levels? A Green ball perhaps? Who knows, there are literally dozens of possibilities! Until next time, be excellent to one another. Much love, -MikeRead full article on Community Announcements (ACEJester)Press Coverage
Unknown Pleasures: The five best new games on Steam
Infants. Infants everywhere. Ooh, look at me, I’m like a human but smaller and I’m allowed to scream and climb on stuff if I want to, oooh. End of term holidays are when you’re supposed to be indoors playing games, not studying or going outside like some sort of peon. Bah. Wake me up when they’re all back in school juggling cats or bouncer baiting, or whatever this week’s Fear The Yoof thing is. Why, I bet they don’t even know what Unknown Pleasures is named after. Pointing out what used to be grass this week: naive snipers, murine nomads, and a little blobby blob that boings. (more…)Read full article on Rock, Paper, Shotgun
