Introducing kinematic bodies

A platform game requires gravity, collisions, jumping, and other physics behavior, so you might think that RigidBody2D would be the perfect choice to implement the character's movement. In practice, however, you'll find that the realistic physics of the rigid body are not desirable for a platform character. To the player, realism is less important than responsive control and an action feel. As the developer, you therefore want to have precise control over the character's movements and collision response. For this reason, a kinematic body is usually the better choice for a platform character.

The KinematicBody2D node is designed for implementing bodies that are to be controlled directly by the user or via code. These nodes detect collisions with other bodies when moving, but are not affected by global physics properties like gravity or friction. This doesn't mean that a kinematic body can't be affected by gravity and other forces, just that you must calculate those...