Little Big Adventure 2: 5 Open Source Clones Compared
These form a fork chain. LBA2 Classic (Community) is the base modern port of the original 1997 engine — widescreen/HD rendering, gamepad support, SDL3 audio — though its own README says it's still pre-1.0 and not fully playtested; LBA2 Ida Edition forks it specifically to finish that job, fixing several gameplay-breaking bugs (a disappearing tunic, broken car handling and sounds, missing video/music) and claiming full playtesting and completability, and LBA2 IdaJS builds on Ida Edition again to add a JavaScript scripting layer for mods and custom stories. LBA2 Remake is a separate, from-scratch browser reimplementation in TypeScript/Three.js with an added editor/debug mode, but by its own admission isn't yet completable. The original 'Engine source code' repository is the unmodified historic 1997 release with no fixes applied — its own README actually points players toward the official commercial Steam remaster instead for straightforward play.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, DOS
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 5y ago
- Stars
- 540
- Contributors
- 5
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesThe engine source code is provided, but game assets (art, models, textures, audio) are not open-source and must be supplied from the original game.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Web
- Play in browser
- YesPlay in Browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 5mo ago
- Stars
- 286
- Contributors
- 19
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires a legitimate copy of the original LBA2 game to provide the game data and assets.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Unplayable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 108
- Contributors
- 15
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesGame assets (art, models, textures, audio) from the original game are required and must be provided by the player.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 7mo ago
- Stars
- 2
- Contributors
- 5
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires a legitimate copy of LBA2 from GOG or Steam to provide the game assets.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- YesPlay in Browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 6mo ago
- Stars
- 1
- Contributors
- 5
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires a legitimate copy of LBA2 (GOG, Steam, or itch.io) to provide the game assets.
- Modding support
- YesSupports JavaScript-based scripting via IdaJS for creating mods, new gameplay, and custom stories.
| Title | Little Big Adventure 2 - Engine source code | LBA2 Remake | LBA2 Classic (Community) | LBA2 Ida edition | LBA2 IdaJS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Semi-playable | Unplayable | Playable | Playable |
| Platforms | Windows, DOS | Web | Windows, Linux, OSX | Windows | Windows, Linux, OSX |
| Play in browser | No | YesPlay in Browser | No | No | YesPlay in Browser |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||||
| Development status | Halted | Sporadic | Active | Sporadic | Sporadic |
| Last updated | 5y ago | 5mo ago | today | 7mo ago | 6mo ago |
| Stars | 540 | 286 | 108 | 2 | 1 |
| Contributors | 5 | 19 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Engine | — | — | SDL2 | SDL2 | — |
| Compatibility | |||||
| Requires original assets | YesThe engine source code is provided, but game assets (art, models, textures, audio) are not open-source and must be supplied from the original game. | YesRequires a legitimate copy of the original LBA2 game to provide the game data and assets. | YesGame assets (art, models, textures, audio) from the original game are required and must be provided by the player. | YesRequires a legitimate copy of LBA2 from GOG or Steam to provide the game assets. | YesRequires a legitimate copy of LBA2 (GOG, Steam, or itch.io) to provide the game assets. |
| Modding support | — | — | — | — | YesSupports JavaScript-based scripting via IdaJS for creating mods, new gameplay, and custom stories. |
| Preview | | |
Known limitations
- gameplay: The game is not completable at this point in development.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Little Big Adventure 2 clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Little Big Adventure 2 clones use?
Little Big Adventure 2 - Engine source code, LBA2 Classic (Community), LBA2 Ida edition, and LBA2 IdaJS (GPL-2.0); LBA2 Remake (MIT).
Do I need to own the original Little Big Adventure 2 to play these clones?
Little Big Adventure 2 - Engine source code, LBA2 Remake, LBA2 Classic (Community), LBA2 Ida edition, and 1 more require original game assets to play.
Can I play any of these Little Big Adventure 2 clones directly in a browser?
Yes — LBA2 Remake and LBA2 IdaJS have a browser-playable build linked in the comparison table above, no install required.
Which Little Big Adventure 2 clone is the most actively maintained?
LBA2 Classic (Community) is currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Little Big Adventure 2.