Bad Pixels

A single player first person shooter for Steam & Itch.io.
First released: Demo coming on February 24th 2026

Wild 8-bit shoot-out set in the old west.

Back in the days of the wild west, everything was much more rudimentary and raw. Drinking water had bits in it, shoes had holes in them, and computers only had 8-bits of processing power. Now with limited colors, resolution and audio, you too can relive those gritty days of old. It was Bad, Bad Pixels.

Have you ever wondered what a FPS game would look like in 8-bit? It’s gotta look bad, right?

Bad Pixels is a gritty, hoodlum-shooting, gristle-chewing, law-avoiding retro style FPS. As Sheriff in this reckless retro environment, you must round up a team of deputies to help you flush out wrong doers, cash-in on wanted contracts and restore the peace.

Features:

  • Classic first person “boomer shooter” style action.
  • Wild West themed antics.
  • RTS style deputy management system.
  • 16 main missions with various boss fights.
  • 3 difficulty modes.
  • Variety of interesting weapon types.
  • Mission designer for custom missions.
  • 5 main environment types.
  • SID Chiptune sound track and effects.
  • Numerous references to Commodore 64 and Amiga
  • Grit!

Gameplay:

Choosing from a range of jobless drifters, assemble a team of hired deputies to take on missions, ranging from disturbances in the peace, to resolving dead or alive wanted notices. Enemies will not stand idly by for you to capture or kill them however, so your finest first person shooting skills are required to chase down these wrong doers, while also commanding your own team to control the scene.

 

Deputies:

Using an in-game menu, you can command your deputies to perform certain tasks, like patrolling, sentry and following. If a member of your team meets a grizzly end, they are gone forever. Try your best to keep them alive, so they may also reap the rewards between missions.

 

Environments:

In an 8-bit style, explore dusty towns, remote hills, snowy outposts and spooky graveyards. Great care has been taken to recreate these locations as realistically as possible using only the finest lines and polygons the 8-bit world has to offer.

 

Weapons:

Without getting too futuristic, there are some steam powered items to find, along with the usual knives, pistols, shotguns, rifles and … explosives!

 

Leaderboards, Perma-Upgrades and Achievements:

How far can you go on one credit? There is no lives system in Bad Pixels, once all members of your team have perished, it is game over. But that is not the end, you might be rewarded with special skill badges that you can use on your next run.

 

Controls & Compatibility:

Along with the classic WASD + mouse controls, Bad Pixels is also playable on analog stick game pads. 

So pick up that controller, keyboard, or strange custom device, grease up your 6 iron, don your stetson and shake them snakes outta your boots, we’re going on a wild ride!

"Coolest thing I've seen in a while." - PlasticCogLiquid

Bad Pixels Credits
Director, Programming, Graphics Hawken King
Audio, Music Matthew Ivic
Additional environment art Rickbot
Supporters
(become a supporter over at itch.io)
Fantasy Console Specs
Platform Commodore 64
Graphics 3D enhancement chip. Palette accurate. Mixed multicolor and hi-res modes.
Audio Stereo Enhancement chip. Channel accurate. Wavetable accurate (deflemask SID)

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