Flipping Is Hard

Flipping Is Hard / World & cast

The Trashlands

Everything the 90s and 2000s threw away landed here, stacked ten areas high. Somebody has to climb it. Here is the whole world and the cast Flippy meets on the way up.

The Trashlands

A land of lost things, stacked straight up

Every area is built from stuff a kid in the 2000s would recognise, blown up to giant size. Colourful, chunky, readable at a glance, and not remotely safe.

  1. 01The Storm DrainWhere Flippy wakes up. Pipes, trash and your first lessons in flipping.
  2. 02Cardboard FortA military camp of boxes, tape and plastic army men. The drill sergeant is waiting.
  3. 03The PlaygroundWooden towers, slides and planks. The difficulty takes its first big step up.
  4. 04CandylandSugar-coated terrain, chocolate rivers and a gingerbread rave.
  5. 05The Toy ChestAn oversized box of childhood toys, warm and cluttered.
  6. 06The GridA neon, chip-patterned space straight out of an 80s sci-fi film.
  7. 07The FridgeIce, snow and slippery shelves inside a giant refrigerator.
  8. 08Blanket Fort KingdomA pillow-and-blanket kingdom ruled by a very haughty plushie.
  9. 09The Recycling CoreThe industrial heart of the Trashlands and the hardest climb in the game.
  10. 10???No spoilers. You will have to flip there yourself.
Flippy looking up at a tower of scaffolding in the Storm Drain Flippy riding a candy kart through pink Candyland A retro flying-bird mini-game playing on Flippy's green phone screen The Toy Soldier NPC greeting Flippy in Cardboard Fort Flippy climbing icy shelves inside The Fridge Flippy launched upward by a glowing Help Beam between wooden platforms Flippy balancing on top of a wooden post above a long drop Flippy inside a tall wooden climbing cage with coloured holds Several players swinging from candy ropes in co-op
Characters

Meet the forgotten

The Trashlands are full of discarded toys and gadgets with opinions. Most of them have a challenge for you. Some of them have a grudge.

The hero

Flippy

An indestructible 2000s brick phone of the Flippia brand, with endless battery and a lot of determination. Not a flip phone: the flipping is how he moves. His whole world is getting back to Jeff.

The reason

Jeff

Flippy's owner, a boy of about twelve. You never see him while you climb. You only hear him calling from somewhere far above.

The voice

The Narrator

An old computer that has watched the Trashlands for a very long time. Warm, theatrical and funny, and oddly keen for you to stay. Voiced by Sir Captain.

  • Toy Soldier, a green plastic army man in the Cardboard FortToy SoldierCardboard FortA drill sergeant guarding a hard challenge. Sir, yes, Sir!
  • Muddy, a pink virtual-pet toy with an angry face, sitting on a stumpMuddyThe PlaygroundA rude, slightly broken virtual pet sulking in a mud pile. Calls you "Brick".
  • Beamer, a phone frozen mid Help Beam, its beam glowing across the playgroundBeamerThe PlaygroundA former climber permanently stuck in the Help Beam pose. Upbeat about it.
  • Microwaver, a phone fused inside a microwaveMicrowaverThe PlaygroundFused inside a teleporting microwave. Explains the elevator. Calls you "Kid".
  • Plonk, a wooden plank with a face, alone in a cavePlonkSecretThe game's original hero, replaced by a phone. Hidden somewhere, feeling sorry for himself.
  • Gingerbread Fred, a gingerbread man in sunglasses behind a candy DJ deskGingerbread FredCandylandA rave DJ whose party needs the power back on. Calls you "superstar".
  • Glob, a green gummy bear on the Candyland shoreGlobCandylandAn energy-drink-wired gummy bear leading a very small revolution.
  • Game Dude, a teal handheld console propped up in the Toy ChestGame DudeThe Toy ChestA cocky, washed-up handheld console with a very hard challenge and a big ego.
  • Plix, a glowing cyan cube head on a pink cone body in The GridPlixThe GridAn excitable low-poly builder who makes constructs to test rare visitors.
  • Carl the Alien, a green alien standing on a neon gridCarl the AlienThe GridFinal boss of a scrapped game nobody ever beat. Stern, proud, secretly a mentor.
  • Cube, a blue ice creature covered in crystal spikes, outside The FridgeCubeThe FridgeA hyperactive ice creature who loves danger and cheers for the scary bits.
  • Eggo, a sleepy egg dozing in a cracked shell on the iceEggoThe FridgeA very chill egg, separated from his carton and completely unbothered.
  • Princess, a blonde plush doll in a pink dress in her fortPrincessBlanket Fort KingdomThe cold, haughty plushie ruler of the fort. She calls you "gadget".
  • Sir Duck, a purple wind-up toy in a top hatSir DuckBlanket Fort KingdomA grand, knightly wind-up toy who is absolutely hiding from the Princess.
  • Miss Elephant, a torn purple plush elephant with a heart on her chestMiss ElephantBlanket Fort KingdomA gentle, torn plushie thrown out of the fort. She has a story to tell.
  • Webby, a plush spider sitting on an open dictionaryWebbyThe TrashlandsA plush spider who reads the dictionary all day and speaks like a Victorian gentleman.
  • Greg, a patchwork figure with button eyes standing on action-figure legsGregThe Recycling CoreA warm, patched-together figure too afraid of falling to move. Calls you "Friend".
  • Groggy, a worn figure with a red neckerchief holding a wrenchGroggyThe Recycling CoreA tired, practical fixer with a spoon for a head. Doesn't say much. Doesn't stop working.
FAQ

More questions

The basics (release date, co-op, length, difficulty, demo) are answered on the main page. The players and the studio have their own page under Community.

Is Flipping Is Hard like Getting Over It?

It belongs to the same genre as Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, Jump King, Pogostuck, A Difficult Game About Climbing and Egging On: one unusual control, a long vertical climb, and falls that cost progress. Flipping Is Hard adds 3D rotate-only movement, online co-op, a voiced narrator-driven story, NPC challenges and a playable in-game phone.

Is Flippy a flip phone?

No. Flippy is a 2000s brick (candybar) phone of the fictional Flippia brand. He has no hinge. The “flipping” in the title is the way he tumbles end over end to move.

Who made Flipping Is Hard?

Elegant Horse Studios, a three-person indie studio from Vilnius, Lithuania, also known for Driving Is Hard. It is published by Elegant Horse Studios together with Dawn Wood Games. The Narrator is voiced by Sir Captain and the sound design is by Domantas Kutkaitis.

Does Flipping Is Hard support controllers?

Yes. It supports keyboard and mouse and has full controller support, including PlayStation DualShock and DualSense controllers.

What languages is Flipping Is Hard in?

English (with full voice-over), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish (Spain), Polish and Turkish.

Can I speedrun Flipping Is Hard?

Yes. The game has quick restarts and an in-game timer, and the community runs it on speedrun.com. Tournaments have been running since the pre-alpha in 2025.