Unless

Unless is a retro pixel-art platformer by Bellwood Studios, an independent studio in Toronto. It came out on Steam on 10 January 2025 for Windows, macOS and Linux, after a demo in August 2024, and in April 2026 the studio made it free, with no in-game purchases. You play Mari, who runs, jumps and clings to walls through four worlds of the Forest of Worlds, gathering Golden Leaves to save it. The levels are built to be cleared fast: beating them quickly earns Crystal Berries, which unlock bonus levels, and a Speedrun Mode adds an on-screen timer, quicker transitions and skipped dialogue.

The daily part comes after the story. Finishing the base game unlocks Shuffle Mode, which keeps the hand-made levels but randomises the links between every level gate and moves the Golden Leaves and Crystal Berries around inside each level. Any seed can be shared to race friends, and the Daily Challenge hands every player the same seed for the day. You get one attempt at it, and your result goes on that day's leaderboard.

Unlike daily runs in roguelikes such as Spelunky 2 or 30XX, nothing here is generated from scratch: the screens are the same tuned levels you already know, and the day's puzzle is the route through them. That makes it suit players who enjoy learning levels and shaving seconds, while generous checkpoints, a co-op Assist Mode and settings for game speed, jump and wall-cling behaviour make the main game approachable for newer players. Music is by Mark Sparling, the composer of A Short Hike.