I play almost everything the same way. In Scrabble I want the board locked up, in chess I want a closed pawn structure and a long maneuvering game, and in League I would rather play a tank into a tank than a carry into five. So I asked: what would a bullet hell, a racing game and a platformer look like if they rewarded that?

Each game below has two honest ways to play. The slow way stabilizes the game state and grinds out small edges; the fast way is the genre’s usual twitch play. Neither is walled off, and the results screen tells you which one you actually played. Bests are kept in this browser for both the fast metric and the clean one.

Keyboard recommended. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Bullet hell

Bulwark

You fly a slow, heavy ship with a directional shield. Bullets you catch on it charge your beam; charge also buys barriers that lock lanes shut for good.

Slow:
face the stream, build a wall, win the attrition war.

Fast:
dash through the bullets, graze for charge, burn the boss down.
Racing

Slipstream

Six drivers, one narrow track, and tires that cook when you push. Sit in the tow and pounce late, or charge early and try to hold on.

Slow:
draft, keep the tires cool, defend the inside line, pass when they fade.

Fast:
push hard, take the lead early, manage the slide.
Platformer

Crux

A tall wall with rests, jugs, crumbling holds, ice, wind and falling rock. Grip and inch your way up on stamina, or wall-jump and dash up in a fraction of the time.

Slow:
grip, plan rests, anchor before the crux, never fall.

Fast:
wall-jump the chimneys, hop and dash up the faces; every fall costs the way back to your last anchor.