Popular games built on game engine PICO-8
A hardcore platform game for the PICO-8 fantasy console.
Tutankham is a combination of the maze, action and shoot 'em up genres. Taking on the role of an explorer grave robbing Tutankhamun's tomb, the player is chased by creatures such as asps, vultures, parrots, bats, dragons, and even curses, all that kill the player on contact. The explorer can fight back by firing lasers at the creatures, but he can only cover the left and right directions. The player is also endowed with a single screen-clearing "flash bomb" per level or life. Finally, each level has warp zones that teleport the player around the level, which enemies cannot use. To progress, the player collects keys open locked doors throughout the levels, searching for the large exit door. Optional treasures can be picked-up for bonus points. Each level has a timer; when it reaches zero the explorer can no longer fire lasers, and once a level is cleared the remaining time is converted to bonus points.
Stay alive in the arctic while climate change destroys your habitat! Eat fish to keep your hunger down or you will starve! Stay away from trash and don't fall into the water.
Pröng is a mutant game of pong. Also a techno-thriller dating sim.
Pilot an adorable, customizable biplane! Explore the world! Deliver mail from the skies!
A short puzzle game where you mimic animals to take their form.
This is a tiny flight simulator based on a Cessna-172R with a G1000 glass cockpit made with PICO-8.
Survive waves of enemies on a hostile alien world and contend with random modifiers every 10 seconds. Find new weapons scattered across the map. Watch your stats and try to use the most optimal damage type. How many waves will you survive?
A little puzzle game with a little puzzle twist.
Retro match 3 with a Bug juggling at his job. Line tiles in a line to destroy them, but the way to move them changes constantly. Be a Bug, Do a Work, Match a 3
Pixel Rift Adventure is a fast‑paced Pico-8 roguelike dungeon crawler that blends the room‑by‑room exploration of classic Zelda titles with the procedural unpredictability and challenge of Binding of Isaac. Each floor is a freshly generated grid of interconnected rooms, packed with randomized enemies, destructible obstacles, and hidden treasures. Your hero starts modestly equipped—three hearts, basic sword reach, and no special powers—but every playthrough offers new opportunities to power up via treasure chests, vending machines, and a unique letter‑collecting mechanic. The heart of the game lies in its letter system. Scattered throughout the dungeon are consumable letters that spell out SUBPIXEL and MATTA. Completing the former permanently extends your sword’s reach; completing the latter grants a limited‑use ranged projectile attack. Vending machines sprinkled on each level sell letters for coins you’ve hoarded, adding a strategic layer: do you spend now for a chance at a powerful upgrade, or save for health and keys? Boss rooms punctuate your descent, each featuring a thematic “family” of bosses—wiggling slime overlords, spectral ghost generals, and subterranean plant tyrants—that grow tougher as you advance. Defeating a boss opens a portal to the next floor, and reaching level 10 without succumbing to traps or overwhelming odds crowns you the ultimate Pixel Rift champion. Tight controls, i‑frames after damage, and a reactive HUD keep you always in the action—dive in, adapt on the fly, and see how far you can go!
A PICO-8 demake of Tetris Effect.
A two-player juggle fiesta!
Mars base, Union Aerospace Corporation experiments opened a portal to Hell. You appear to be the last human, fight your way out! Beaming up the virtual feed from Mars takes about 20s, be patient while loading the battle simulator soldier. If experiencing slowdowns, prefer desktop browser or beefy mobile.
For 2019 I ran two prototyping classes – one in Pico-8 for the undergraduates and a graduate version with no platform constraint (which generally means they work in Unity). So this year I hid the same prompt in two different interpretations of the same idea. I tuned the Pico-8 game for the youthful reflexes of the undergraduate class, but I did not count on the fact that none of them would have ever played a bullet-hell game, and as a result, only one of them was able to reach the end and find out what the assignment was. I instructed that person that they could keep it a secret if they wanted to.
Time slows down drastically when not moving, use that strategically against the enemy. A mashup of Contra and SuperHot.
A demake of the game Dark Echo (Steam, iOS, Android) for PICO-8. You are trapped in a world of absolute darkness and can only see via visualized echolocation.
Survive against hordes of relentless creatures by using your arcane powers to defeat them. Gather their essence and use it to increase your magical prowess! Use the beacons lure them and defeat them, but be warned, the more time passes, the stronger they get. Your mission? Survive until "It" arrives. When "it" arrives, destroy it.
An aquatic action game. Swim sword first into the deep to destroy the evil at the heart of the ocean.
A short, challenging soulslike with metroidvania elements. Made in PICO 8 by Abhi Sundu. Olden Peak is a melee combat-focused metroidvania with some soulslike elements like limited healing flasks and stamina.
Hit the slopes, turn by turn! Play cards, clear gates, and don't crash!
A bite-sized pico8 roguelike.