Speedrun platformer

So you start each level hitting the ground running -- literally. The game throws you into a stage like "Crystal Caverns" or "Lava Lurch" and you've got to reach the exit flag before time runs out. Your hands are on the arrow keys or controller d-pad, tapping jump to clear gaps and land on enemies. That's the basic loop: run right, avoid pits, squash goblins and those spiky-shelled tortoises that just won't die unless you stomp them twice. Coins are everywhere -- they're not just for score, they unlock alternate paths in later levels if you collect enough. Hidden crystals are tougher. They glow faintly behind fake walls or under breakable floors, and finding one in each stage gives you a permanent speed boost upgrade. Which is huge. The first few worlds are gentle -- short platforms, predictable enemies, generous timers. Then around world three, "The Gearworks," things get nasty. Conveyor belts reverse direction mid-level. Crusher pistons try to pancake you. You'll see a new enemy type: those flying eyeballs that track your position and shoot homing bursts. The game introduces wall jumps here, which changes how you approach vertical sections. By world five, "Obsidian Spire," you're chaining wall jumps off crumbling blocks while dodging falling stalactites. The satisfying moments come when you string together a perfect run -- no hesitation, no missed jumps, just flow. You hit a sequence of enemies like stepping stones, grab a crystal without breaking stride, and slide under a closing gate with milliseconds to spare. The timer doesn't punish you per se, but it shows your best split for each segment. Speedrunners obsess over those splits. Later levels like "Void Rift" add teleport pads that send you to mirrored platforms, which messes with your muscle memory. There's also a combo meter for stomping enemies in quick succession -- keeps you from just hopping past everything. Upgrades aren't permanent across all runs; you earn tokens in each world to buy things like double jump or a stomp shockwave, but only for that world's remaining levels. So you have to decide whether to save tokens for the final boss or spend them early to survive. The bosses themselves are pattern-based -- the first one, a giant golem, just slams its fists. The second boss, a witch in "Spellwood," teleports and summons those eyeballs. The final boss in "Chrono Core" has three phases and punishes you for not using the upgrades you bought. Anyway, the game's loop is tight. You die, you restart, you shave off a second. That's it.