Phaser 4 Arcade Physics

Add movement and collision to a Phaser game with the lightweight Arcade Physics engine (AABB rectangles and circles only). Targets Phaser 4.2 for new projects; inspect the installed major before editing an existing project.

When to use

• Use for top-down or platformer movement, velocity/acceleration/gravity, bouncing, world bounds, and collision/overlap resolution between sprites, groups, and tiles.
• Use when the scene enables physics: { default: 'arcade' } and code calls this.physics.add.*, body.setVelocity, or this.physics.add.collider.

When not to use: the Game config, scene structure, asset loading, or cameras → use phaser-core. Hinges, springs, complex polygons, or stacking rigid bodies → use Matter physics (a different engine; Arcade and Matter bodies do not interact). For engine-agnostic feel tuning see physics-tuning.

Core workflow

1. Enable the world. Set physics: { default: 'arcade', arcade: { gravity: {...}, debug: true } } in the game or scene config. Turn debug on while building to see body outlines and velocity vectors.
2. Give a sprite a body. Create it with this.physics.add.sprite(...) (dynamic) or this.physics.add.staticImage(...) (static), or attach to an existing object with this.physics.add.existing(obj).
3. Drive it through the body, not by setting x/y. Use setVelocity, setAcceleration, gravity, setBounce, and setCollideWorldBounds. The engine integrates position from velocity each step (already frame-rate independent).
4. Resolve interactions. this.physics.add.collider(a, b) separates bodies; this.physics.add.overlap(a, b, cb) detects without separating (pickups, triggers). Pass a callback to react.
5. Group many objects. Use this.physics.add.group() (dynamic) or staticGroup() (platforms) so one collider call handles all members.
6. Check ground contact with body.onFloor() / body.blocked.down before jumping. Run with debug: true and confirm bodies, contacts, and bounds.

Patterns

1. Enable Arcade Physics (game config)

const config = {
  type: Phaser.AUTO,
  width: 800, height: 600,
  physics: {
    default: 'arcade',
    arcade: {
      gravity: { x: 0, y: 600 },  // top-down? use { x: 0, y: 0 }
      debug: false                // true to draw bodies + velocity while building
    }
  },
  scene: [PlayScene]
};
new Phaser.Game(config);

2. Top-down movement (velocity from input)

create() {
  this.player = this.physics.add.sprite(400, 300, 'player');
  this.player.setCollideWorldBounds(true);
  this.cursors = this.input.keyboard.createCursorKeys();
}

update() {
  const speed = 220;
  const body = this.player.body;
  body.setVelocity(0);                              // reset each frame
  if (this.cursors.left.isDown)  body.setVelocityX(-speed);
  if (this.cursors.right.isDown) body.setVelocityX(speed);
  if (this.cursors.up.isDown)    body.setVelocityY(-speed);
  if (this.cursors.down.isDown)  body.setVelocityY(speed);
  body.velocity.normalize().scale(speed);           // keep diagonals same speed
}

3. Platformer jump (gravity + ground check)

create() {
  this.player = this.physics.add.sprite(100, 450, 'player');
  this.player.setCollideWorldBounds(true);

  // Static platforms: one body each, never moved by collisions.
  this.platforms = this.physics.add.staticGroup();
  this.platforms.create(400, 568, 'ground');
  this.physics.add.collider(this.player, this.platforms);

  this.cursors = this.input.keyboard.createCursorKeys();
}

update() {
  const onGround = this.player.body.blocked.down; // or this.player.body.onFloor()
  if (this.cursors.left.isDown)  this.player.setVelocityX(-160);
  else if (this.cursors.right.isDown) this.player.setVelocityX(160);
  else this.player.setVelocityX(0);

  if (this.cursors.up.isDown && onGround) this.player.setVelocityY(-450);
}

4. Colliders vs overlaps (separate vs detect)

// Push apart and react: player vs enemies.
this.physics.add.collider(this.player, this.enemies, (player, enemy) => {
  this.handleHit(player, enemy);
});

// Detect without pushing: collect coins. The 4th arg is an optional
// process callback returning a boolean to filter pairs before the main callback.
this.physics.add.overlap(this.player, this.coins, (player, coin) => {
  coin.disableBody(true, true);              // deactivate + hide
  this.registry.inc('score', 10);
});

5. A group of moving objects

this.bullets = this.physics.add.group({
  defaultKey: 'bullet',
  maxSize: 30                  // pool size; reuse instead of allocating
});

fire(x, y) {
  const bullet = this.bullets.get(x, y);     // reuses an inactive bullet if available
  if (!bullet) return;                       // pool is full: every bullet is active
  bullet.enableBody(true, x, y, true, true);
  bullet.setVelocityY(-500);
}

update() {
  // Return off-screen bullets to the pool, or firing stops after 30 shots.
  this.bullets.getChildren().forEach((bullet) => {
    if (bullet.active && bullet.y < -32) bullet.disableBody(true, true);
  });
}

Pitfalls

• Sprite ignores physics → it was added with this.add.sprite instead of this.physics.add.sprite (or this.physics.add.existing(obj)), so it has no body.
• Setting sprite.x directly fights the engine → move dynamic bodies with setVelocity/setAcceleration. Direct position writes can tunnel through colliders.
• Diagonal movement is faster → independent X and Y velocities add up; normalise the velocity vector and rescale to the intended speed.
• Platforms get pushed by the player → use a staticGroup, or set body.setImmovable(true) on a dynamic platform.
• onFloor() is always false → the body needs something to collide with; add the collider against the ground/platforms before checking, and ensure gravity is on. Standing on an ordinary dynamic body does not count as blocked; make platforms static, immovable, or non-pushable (platform.setPushable(false)).
• Moved a static body but collisions are stale → static bodies don't auto-sync; call body.updateFromGameObject() (or refreshBody() on the game object).
• Collider added every frame → register collider/overlap once in create, not in update.
• Fast bullets pass through thin walls → Arcade has no swept collision; a body that moves farther than a wall's thickness in one physics step skips it. Thicken the wall's body, cap speed with setMaxVelocity, or raise the step rate (arcade: { fps: 120 }, default 60) at extra CPU cost.
• Bodies pass through each other after adding collision categories → a pair only collides when each side's mask includes the other's category, and untouched bodies keep mask 1. Widen the other side's mask too, and set groups and their members separately (see the reference).
• Drag does nothing while a key is held → Arcade applies drag only on an axis with zero acceleration; set the acceleration to 0 when input stops.

References

• For body anatomy and tuning (drag, bounce, max velocity, custom setSize/ setCircle/setOffset hitboxes, collision categories/masks, and worldbounds events), read references/bodies-and-collision.md.

Related skills

• phaser-core — game config, scenes, loader, cameras (the prerequisite setup).
• physics-tuning — engine-agnostic feel (fixed timestep, tunneling, jitter).
• platformer / tower-defense — genres that compose this skill.
• level-design — laying out tile/platform geometry these bodies collide with.