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.
Welcome to Matchy Matchy, the puzzle game of animal love. Connect pairs (or more) of matching animals to solve puzzles, get points, and make love not war.
Ricochet around an alien world in this Pico-8 pinball table.
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.
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.
Enter the caves and try to find as much gold as you can before you perish to the dangers of the depth. Use your trusty whip in combination with bombs, ropes, and whatever you scavenge to get as far as you can.
A top-down, fast-paced shooter where you pilot a plane and use it to dogfight against those that seek to bring you down. Easy to understand but hard to master, the balance of risk-reward for score maximization while trying to not get overwhelmed is what this game is about! Try to reach to the highest score!
Move a worm to carve the object across 17 thrilling levels!!
A casual game where it's time to tidy up the solar system. Shove planets into each other to make bigger planets. No stress, take your time. Play strategically to trigger insane combos. Earn missiles to get out of tricky situations. A totally accurate simulation of celestial bodies.
An X-Com like game with procedurally generated maps for PICO-8. The game has 16 levels, and you need to beat level 16 to win.
In this falling block puzzle game, position your pieces wisely to make clusters of 4+ blocks of the same color. The bigger the cluster, the more points you'll get. Most importantly, if you manage to chain cluster destructions with the fall of the blocks, you'll multiply your points. Three different modes are available (after being unlocked), each one having a different rhythm.
In Ghost in the Garden, play as a little cat witch and help the princess catch all the ghosts!
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.
Discover the secrets to your brother's disappearance. Learn more about yourself and gain insights. A low rez adventure inspired by Zelda and Undertale.
A 1v1 blizzard standoff! Bring you friend (or your rival) for a showdown in the snow.
A not-entirely-canon demake of the game 'Zeewolf' by Binary Asylum. Pilot your Zedwolf chopper across 6.5 km^2 of 3d open world environment, rescue hostages and repel the enemy force's attack!
It's based off a "sleepcast" by the app HeadSpace called "Midnight Launderette".
A boss fight against a charming opponent!
Mai-Chan's Sweet Buns is a puzzle game about pastries. The goal is to help Mai-Chan serve her sweet buns to customers at her bakery.
Crashed on a desolate but mysterious planet you find yourself eye to eye with an ancient civilisation. Explore the planet, find powerful upgrades, and uncover its secrets.
An 8-bit homage to the original Superhot game created by three members of the Superhot Team.