Popular games built on game engine PICO-8
A hardcore platform game for the PICO-8 fantasy console.
Swim under the sea with this hungry cephalopod and meet the other marine dwellers in this straight forward arcade adventure.
This is a series of works that came out of a residency carried out in early 2018 in Tokyo, with the Creator Ikusei project, which is supported by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. I adopted research techniques from ethnography and history, such as open-ended interviews and participant observation, and developed a method of representing the results of this research in a playful and interactive form that draws heavily from familiar interaction design patterns such as the tamagotchi-style virtual pet and role-playing game multiple-choice dialogue systems.
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.
Build a vast interstellar empire in 30 minutes flat.
Explore an archipelago, encounter fellow explorers, and seduce and haggle with them to help you complete your map!
A puzzle PICO-8 game by benjamin_soule in which the player must group blocks of the same pattern and/or color and clear the screen.
A short horror game developed for DarkTober Game Jam 2018 using the Pico-8 fantasy console. This game is not suited for children or those who are easily disturbed. The objective of this game is to find the old mirror, locate the dark path and get the orbs of light. This will require navigating 3 different worlds of increasing tension and horror.
A Pico-8 Sized Adventure. Join Link as he fights through 3 dangerous dungeons, solves dastardly puzzles and fights deadly bosses all packed into a bite sized PNG. Bring peace to the world!
Tower Noire is a small coffeebreak roguelike inspired by Cave Noire, Little Nemo, and Powder, created for 7DRL 2018 in PICO-8. I ended up reusing old, long-abandoned assets and concepts to be able to complete something in 7 days. Gameplay Tips: * The goal is to get to the 25th floor and defeat an enemy there, so plan accordingly. * Your starting equipment will very quickly need to be upgraded. * Passive effects for weapons may be more useful than additional strength. * Some passives affect positioning and can help you from getting cornered. * Get a sense for the room before running straight in. Some enemies can kill you pretty easily in 1x1 hallways. * Explore the room carefully for easy enemies that drop edible items and items scattered around. * Falling down a hole will damage you and also let the enemies take a turn. On harder floors this can do a lot of damage. * Move slowly.
What do an excitable asexual pirate, a cultured genderqueer vampire, and a lesbian bird who may be at an important decision point in her life all have in common? They're all your friends, and they're all counting on you to make an absolute banger of a flag for them! In Flags for Friends, you play as a queer artist in a post-scarcity era and make custom pride flags for -- wait for it -- friends!
Explore a mysterious and exciting dungeon filled with exciting mysteries without ever leaving the same room! Why would you change rooms when clearly this one has all the danger and excitement and danger that one could possibly need?!
Speedcat is a tiny 2D platformer where you play as a cat trying to pick up all 32 Speedcoins! Run, jump, and use the environment to navigate your way through the map as quickly as possible. Developed on PICO-8 by Fletch, the game is delightfully small and easy to pick up, with an estimated completion time in under an hour.
A break-neck taxi driving game. Welcome to the Whiplash Taxi Company, where our motto is "The slower you're there, the lower the fare!" As a valued employee and taxi driver, your job is to pick up passengers and deliver them to their destination as fast as possible, by any means necessary. Passengers are easy to spot, just look for the big red arrows over their heads.
The poop gods have found out about the disaster you brought upon them in your previous mission and they are furious! They have located you on earth and took you to a hidden cave somewhere on the planet "Pooparium" and the only way to escape and get back home is to play their game and show them why you are the best poop collector out there! This time they are making your life harder with obstacles and more challenging rooms so go out there and show them how fast you can shame them and clear their rooms to escape back home! Feedback is always welcome, enjoy!
The battle for Eternia is in your hands! A Masters of the Universe themed Barbarian remake for Pico-8. Side with He-Man and his allies or Skeletor and his minions in this new take on the classic Barbarian sword fighting game. Battle 8 levels against increasingly difficult foes or play against a friend. You have the power!
A compilation of different Roc Studios games made in PICO-8.
Spin a web, catch bugs, eat 'em for points! The player controls a spider that spins a physics-y web to catch bugs that fly in from the background.
Be a Space Spelunker!
Slide, spin and snap to solve puzzles with your claw.
A short puzzle game where you mimic animals to take their form.
Use your solitaire skills to assemble powerful combos and defeat the dungeon's monsters. Grab treasure and spend it to build a set of powerful, synergistic abilities to help you. Manage both your own resources and the demon's patience to hopefully survive the ordeal.