PIC’O MIX: DEFINING GAMES

IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO TRY OUT EVERY GAME AVAILABLE ON THE PICO-8, BUT WE’VE DONE OUR BEST TO PICK OUT SOME HIGHLIGHTS THAT THE BREADTH OF THE HIGH-QUALITY TITLES YOU CAN FIND THERE

CELESTE CLASSIC

▪ Undoubtedly the Pico-8’s most famous game is the original version of Celeste, which would later be elaborated on to create the critically acclaimed platformer that hit PC and consoles in 2018. The original is still great, as is the sequel Celeste 2: Lani’s Trek, released this year to celebrate Celeste Classic’s three-year anniversary.

CAKE MONSTERS

▪ This clever puzzle game sees you controlling monsters that have to be guided to gobble up pieces of cake that match their colour. The game keeps introducing new ways to elaborate on its simple core concept, having you combine monsters to mix colours, avoid traps and so on. It’s one for us – monsters and cake together at last.

ALFONZO’S BOWLING CHALLENGE

▪ This game is reminiscent of Frog Fractions, in that you go in expecting one thing and soon realise you’re in for something completely different. Saying too much more would spoil this short and creative comedy game, so we’ll leave it up to you to discover more.

MAI-CHAN’S SWEET BUNS

▪ Serving up buns to customers from Mai-chan’s delicious collection is the aim of the game in this well-crafted puzzler. Orders of more than one have to be taken from buns that match up in a row or column of the corresponding number, so you have to carefully plan ahead. Also the name made us giggle a whole lot.

STORMING THE GRANDMOTHERSHIP

▪ This bullet-hell shooter offers you the unusual but cool ability to pause the action as you reposition the angle of one of your weapons. You weave your way through the massive ‘grandmothership’, dodging fire and taking out mechanical eyeballs, each one you take out allowing you to upgrade your ship.

PICOWARE

▪ As the name suggests, Picoware is a homage to the beloved Warioware.

Like Nintendo’s title, it’s a collection of tiny microgames – pick a nose, dunk a basketball, wake someone up and the list goes on.

The game is made up of contributions from over 50 developers that all took part in a Picoware game jam that took place in 2019.

JACK OF SPADES

▪ In this turn-based roleplaying game, you have a hand of cards that you play to determine what abilities your party members use, the game allowing you to play multiple cards from the same suit in one turn. It’s an excellent and intriguing mix of strategy and chance that feels like it could support a much larger game.

PAKPOK

▪ This fun platformer has you playing as a little ladybird, awww. Through its 11 levels, you have to use the other bugs crawling around and their ability to launch you up into the air to help you progress. Relative to its short playtime, the game brings lots of new challenges and ideas to the table, which is rather surprising considering its length.

WINTERWOOD

▪ A short adventure about travelling to an old man’s house to return his lost dog whistle before a snowstorm hits. Winterwood does an amazing job of capturing the sense of disorientation that comes with being lost as you work your way through a confusing forest of trees. It will only take you ten minutes, so there’s no reason not to give it a go.

WILLO

▪ In this stealth game you control a spook trying to sneak his way past skeletons, blow out candles and get to the end of the level. Your ghostly “woooooo” can be used to distract enemies and ratings encourage you to replay levels to optimise your runs. Could be one for speedrunners to have a go on, maybe at the next Games Done Quick event?