Ditto: Mirror Puzzle Platformer Game

Ditto is a puzzle platformer from Nitrome where players guide a girl and her mirror reflection through 40 levels at the same time. Released on March 26th, 2014, the game built its reputation on one clever idea—every move you make happens twice.

Here’s the hook. The reflection doesn’t just copy your inputs. It matches your position relative to the mirror. So if the girl stands on a block that only exists on her side, the reflection ends up standing on thin air. It works the other way too—a wall in the reflection’s world can stop the girl cold, even though nothing visible blocks her path. Both characters share one fate. If either one dies, the level restarts.

That single rule carries the whole game. Line up with two mirrors at once and you’ll get multiple reflections, which turns a simple walk to the exit door into a genuine brain workout.

Movement and the Glide

The girl controls like a standard platformer character, with one twist. Pressing and holding jump a second time in midair triggers a glide. Her fall slows down while her horizontal speed stays the same, letting her clear wide gaps over water. And water is deadly here—one touch sends you back to the start of the level.

Spikes, snakes, spirits, and red blocks round out the hazards. Gems float throughout the levels as optional pickups, and some can only be grabbed by the reflection, not the girl herself. Collecting all of them boosts your final score.

No Level Select, On Purpose

Ditto was Nitrome’s first game to deliberately ship without a level select screen. The studio said a level menu would break the immersion, and honestly, the choice fits. The game leans hard on atmosphere—a lone girl waking in a dim underground world, soft lighting, and a quiet soundtrack by Dave Cowen.

The trade-off is real, though. Want to replay an earlier level? Your only option is hitting “Reset Saved Data” in the options menu and starting over from level one. The title screen keeps things minimal too. Just Play, Scores, and Credits. There’s no help section; short tutorials appear in-game when you die in the early levels instead.

Scoring works differently than most browser games of its era. Nothing pops up when you finish. Players submit their score manually from the menu, with bonuses awarded for low death counts and a full gem collection.

A Story Told Without Words

Ditto tells its story entirely through animation, and the ending is worth not spoiling in full. The short version: the relationship between the girl and her reflection takes a turn that recontextualizes the entire game. It’s the kind of finish that sends players straight back to the title screen with a new theory.

Developer and Release

The game was developed by Nitrome, the British studio behind dozens of pixel-art browser titles. Markus Heinel handled the art, with additional work from Giuseppe Longo and Helm. John Kennedy programmed the game and designed its sound, Dave Cowen composed the music, and Jon Annal and John Kennedy built the levels. Ditto launched as a Flash game on March 26th, 2014, and was made compatible with Nitrome Touchy—the studio’s mobile controller app—the same day.

Game Controls

• Left and Right Arrow Keys – Move
• Up Arrow Key – Jump
• Press and hold Up a second time in midair – Glide

Game Tags:

As always, remember to have fun!

How to Play:

Use the Arrow and ‘WASD’ keys to move around, jump and glide.

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