Huge classic platformer with several power-ups and 16+ hours of main story & 300+ hidden locations just begging for exploration · 56 big Levels · 5 huge worlds
User reviews: Mostly Positive (315 reviews)
Release Date: May 6, 2014


Buy 8BitBoy

HOLIDAY SALE! Offer ends January 2


Recommended By Curators

"platformer like mario"

Recent updates View all (15)

July 13

8BitBoy 1.50 - Major design overhaul

The every level in every world is undergoing a design overhaul. This is to make some of the first levels I made for the game, up to the standard of the complexity of the later levels. This also means alternative routes and much more content.

This is also to stash a lot more hidden places in even more inventive ways. 8BitBoy has so much hidden content you won't believe it. Most people isn't going to find many of these hidden spots, but just knowing they are there to find, makes the game that much more exciting to play. And it's e

  • All levels in World 1 to 4 has received a major design overhaul.
  • Level 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4 has received a design overhaul and new hidden places or alternative routes to exit.
  • Extra warp zone hidden early in World 1 & World 4.
  • Quit from World map possible
  • Hidden coins and power-ups in some rocks
  • Fire particles on jumping fireballs
  • New loading screen for game booting up.
  • More time to complete each level (time for exploration).
  • Unable to shoot when green/red/black bug - fixed
  • Fireball in lava sound not tuned to volume settings - fixed

7 comments Read more

July 4

8BitBoy 1.49 - World 2 and 3 design overhaul

Polishing up and improving 8BitBoy in various places. New features and content are coming to an end for now, but there is still small bits that need to be tweaked and polished before I'm satisfied.

  • All levels in World 2 has received a major design overhaul.
  • Run and Shoot is now assigned to one key on both gamepad and keyboard. Keyboard can be configured for three keys still. X and B on gamepad are the same now.
  • Volume bug fixed. Volume lavels are saved automatically.
  • Added gradual transition entering hidden places
  • All new music in bonus levels
  • Black 8BitBoy was green in bonus levels
  • Added new or improved hidden places in 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8, 2-9, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 4-1, 5-1, 1-5, 1-7
  • Dying when black in water randomly caused crash - fixed!
  • Green birds flaps wings when falling and floats slowly through air
  • Jumping from conveyor belt to falling stone causes insaly fast jump - fixed.

4 comments Read more


“A fun game that any fan of classic platformers will enjoy”
8/10 – Universal Gaming Reviews

“8BitBoy is an enjoyable yet quite hard learning experience that’s worth all the times you die, and more.”
8.5/10 – Novo Adagio

“It's this generations Super Mario 3, it's that good.”
Tanner Plays

About This Game

Huge classic platformer with tons of power-ups and 16+ hours of main story & 300+ hidden locations just begging for exploration. 8BitBoy is a tribute to all the greatest platformers of the 80s and 90s and a symbol of my endless love and passion for gaming.

· 16+ hours main story!
· 56 Levels + huge 5 Worlds
· 300+ Hidden Locations!
· Hidden Warp zones!
· Coin collecting game + tons of Power-Ups
· Boss-battles
· 60 fps frame rate (GPU dependent)
· Frequently updated with new content

Appropriate for all ages

* Full Xbox 360 Controller Support
(Auto switch - push button A to enable)

Who's 8BitBoy?

8BitBoy is out of a job, and quite frankly he's depressed about it. Then he suddenly remembers all the good times he had as a kid, playing his trusted 8-bit console. Deep down in the far and darkest corner of the basement he finds it along with a strange looking cartridge. He plugs in the cartridge right away, and get sucked into a vivid, but decaying world of platforming. And this is where your adventure takes off.

8BitBoy is the platformer I always dreamt about playing as a kid.

It's a fantastic mash-up of the greatest of the late 80's and 90's and a complete game on it's own terms. This is a true tribute to old school gaming and by no means a walk in the park, but it's also never unfair. With big challenges, the sense of accomplishment is always bigger and better.

To me, 8BitBoy is the ultimate classic platformer on PC and Mac. and a symbol of my love and passion for gaming.

Yours Sincerely,
Rasmus Kønig Sørensen
Indie developer and sole creator of 8BitBoy

System Requirements

Mac OS X
    • OS: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8
    • Processor: Dual Core AMD or Intel / AMD E-350 APU
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Intel HD 4000 / Radeon HD 6310
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Hard Drive: 100 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Xbox 360 controller or Keyboard
    • OS: 10.8.1 or above
    • Processor: Core 2 Duo / i3 or better
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Geforce 9400M / Intel HD 3000 or better
    • Hard Drive: 100 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Xbox 360 controller or Keyboard
Helpful customer reviews
38 of 42 people (90%) found this review helpful
7.9 hrs on record
Posted: December 13


Paint by numbers


Personal Rating: "Worth purchasing during a sale"
Traditional Rating: 6 out of 10
Genre: 3rd Person Platform Adventure

8BitBoy is billed as a huge platformer (with 16+ hours of main story) by the developer on the Steam store page for the game but that is a bit of a misnomer. Whoever is taking 16+ hours to clear this game is either 90+ years old having never played a computer game in their life or a 2 year old toddler who is in the process of developing his/her hand and eye co-ordination. Having played for just over three hours I have already managed to reach the fifth and final world. Sure I can see a bit more longevity in the game if you seek out all the secret rooms within each level but 16 hrs is definitely pushing it. Also if there is a story in all of this outside of some grown man booting up his 8-bit console and magically getting sucked into its game world then I must have missed that part.
Booting up the game you are greeted with a simple message from its creator who professes his undying love for everything gaming related. There is no denying he was obviously heavily influenced by the platformers of yesteryear - particularly Super Mario Bros. - because at the heart of it 8BitBoy is a simple Mario clone (with the main character and the world he inhabits basically ripped straight from the 80's Nintendo Mario classics). Mushrooms are replaced with birds as our titular copy-paste hero bounces on heads to remove enemy obstacles. In much the same way Mario punched blocks to reveal coins and power-ups so does 8BitBoy. It's all very...retro chic but without the chic bit. 8bitBoy does give the player the abilty to shoot projectiles but its never really explained why eating fruit such as blackberries gives the hero the ability to shoot out tiny little fireballs. If you played any of the old NES Marios back in the day, 8BitBoy will be instantly recognizable as you traverse its five different worlds. Where the game excels is in delivering a great little chiptune soundtrack although it's very limited musical array starts to repeat fairly early on.

As a homage, 8BitBoy is perfectly serviceable and while it isn't going to bring down the house it should offer those looking for some 8-bit nostalgia a relatively fun-filled time. In the end 8BitBoy achieves what it sets out to do...almost! It's still no patch for the actual games it's inspired by and I would say you are better off going to play the original Mario SNES classics, which are freely available all over the internet today, but considering the price ($3.99) and that clearly 8BitBoy is made with an undying fandom love and you could be doing a whole lot worse with those $4.00.

Was this review helpful? Yes No
18 of 23 people (78%) found this review helpful
4.8 hrs on record
Posted: July 2
ost will probably look at this game and think, "generic platformer" and pass it by. You are missing out, my friend.

I went into playing this with that exact attitude and I was so pleasantly surprised to find how well crafted this title is. Yes it is almost identical to Mario, but there are added features such as being able to shoot the bad guys with three different "stages" of boosts - Red, Green and Black.

I found my self completed hooked as soon as I loaded it up. Each level can last between 2-5 minutes each, and will gradually get harder and harder.

Xbox controller again, works wonders and makes the whole experience that bit more enjoyable.

The game does over exaggerate a bit when it claims to have 16+ hours of levels to explore, I managed to clear the game in just under five hours. Still, I was not expecting it to take that long anyway!

I highly recommend you pick this game up. It's so cheap, you would really need a good reason not too. If you want a Mario-clone on Steam, this is the game for you.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
10 of 11 people (91%) found this review helpful
2.0 hrs on record
Posted: September 4
This is a first impressions after 2 hours of gameplay

You often see games coming out that promise a nostalgia trip to the early days of gaming, but very few games deliver on that promise, and either fail when it comes to artstyle, music or most importantly; gameplay.

8BitBoy is not one of those games. It is a game that harkens back to the 16-bit era when Nintendo and Capcom rocked the world with their line of Super Mario and Mega Man games respectively. It is a game that manages to feel both fresh and familiar at the same time.

It is one of those games that are deceptivly simple. The controls consist only of the arrow-keys to walk jump, and crouch and the spacebar to use a projectile if you've got one, while holding it down makes you sprint, and shift to use an item you've obtained by collecting 100 coins. Despite of this, the game is extremely difficult, but it's not cheap. When you die, no one is to blame but yourself, and you're forced to learn from your mistakes. The game is comprised of 5 differently themed worlds.The gameplay is your standard 2D platforming fare; you go from left to right, killing enemies, avoiding hazards and jumping on platforms to reach the end and advance to the next level. The game is not without it's differences however. It's surprisingly open-ended, with many, if not all of the levels having branching paths and secret areas, rewarding you for taking the time to explore. The game also features an interesting Weapon-tier system, where at the first pick-up you will get a shield, on the second you will get a single fireball, on the third you will get two that fire in a rapid succession, and on the forth you will get more powerful fireballs. The projectiles bounce off surfaces, making killing the enemies extremely satisfying. The music in the game is absolutely fantastic, and I'm sure fans of Chiptune will get a kick out of it.

Unfortunately the game is not without it's flaws. The enemies for one are mostly boring and generic, being comprised of Bats, snakes, giant insects and birds. The same can be said about the bosses I've faced so far, which have been nothing special. There are also moments when objects in the background look like they're in the foreground, making it possible to mistake them for platforms, resulting in you falling to your death.

There are also a few bugs I encountered while playing, nothing too gamebreaking but some annoying nonetheless. The worst one was definetely the times when sprint suddenly decided not to work, forcing me to restart the game. The others are mostly visual bugs, like enemies walking on air when you destroy a block in their path. I also find the lack of trading cards and achievements a bit disappointing, but those are hopefully getting added in the future.

Despite it's flaws, 8BitBoy is an excellent Platformer that fans of the genre should find entertaining for a while, and for the price I absolutely recommend it.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
12 of 18 people (67%) found this review helpful
2.8 hrs on record
Posted: November 4
This game appears to have all the elements that would make it fun, but it's faulty mechanics and a ton of other stuff just ruins the fun.
It is a very hard in all the wrong ways; very punishing and somewhat repetitive.

I'll try to justify why I'm not recommending it, since it seems like a lot of work was put into the game and the dev updates it regularly, which tells me at least he cares.

First about the levels.
  • Within each world some levels are super hard but others are a walk in the park. Specially if you are just shooting for the end without exploring. Having branching paths and secrets is ok, but have your main level be interesting as well. That's just like making an RPG have awesome side quests and a bad main story. Side quests are a bonus, not the main stuff, it's like the topings on an ice cream.
  • Variety is also an issue, each world has a lot of levels, but they all feel like the same level with rearranged stuff. Each world introduces some new baddies and graphics, but they are not well distributed or introduced.
  • Also, levels are long but they don't flow right, I find myself a lot waiting idle for a monster to get out of the way or a moving platform to reach me. Or sometimes the opposite, for example on the flooding levels, where you "escape" water that rises, since it expects you go down the bazillion secret paths, if you just follow the main level the water is never even close to you. This just tells me the levels were not really planned much, stuff was just thrown there. I would much prefer fewer levels but better planned than a ton of levels all the same.

The enemies don't follow any "consistent" pattern, they move, jump and shoot whenever they want. This extends to other stuff, for example one of the enemies throws a big snowball that sometimes hits the wrong pixel and rebound on a different direction from where it was supposed to go. This happens with a lot of stuff including the bosses, they rebound against the walls in a weird fashion when they jump.
You die because you can't predict stuff, it's just twitch reactions a lot of the time or simply impossible to dodge.
I'm honestly not sure if this is related to framerate or whatever, but it's just an ingredient for a bad plaformer.
Consistency is what makes these kinds of plaformers fun (at least the ones this game is trying to emulate). On most games from the NES/SNES/Sega era, the enemies and the enviroment reset on each life, and always move the exact same way when you respawn, so you can learn the level. This way when you die you know it was your fault.

Moving on to glitchy stuff
  • Hitboxes are weird. Sometimes you don't properly hit platforms or pass through them.
  • Solid blocks and non-solid blocks look the same.
  • Some of the background can be confused with platforms.
  • Breaking squares from below also behaves badly, sometimes you have to hit squares twice or more.
  • Throwables from enemies go through stuff. I was hit a couple of times by one of the small snowballs from an enemy I wasn't even seeing on the screen.

Finally, my biggest issues, several game mechanics are bad:
  • Level exploration is super punishing. On my playthrough I was going through levels in a straight line to the finish. Levels are super hard already without exploring, and exploring is just pointless, any benefit is crushed by the fact that any mistake and it's back to the start without power ups. Exploring stops being fun after the 30th death, where you have to redo the entire level from the beginning, while also loosing the power up. Risk is not worth it just to get a couple extra coins.
  • The power up system is very unbalanced. The game doesn't know if it wants to be a shooting plaformer or a jumping plaformer, and the mix is not well done. A power up makes enemies super easy, but no power up makes them a nightmare. You are massively underpowered without a power up. And, let's not overlook the fact that, if you don't have one, you die in 1 hit. So you can't shoot, but you also insta-die, it's the worst and not well balanced.
    Levels don't help at all, some enemies are even impossible to kill by jumping, for example the birds that fly high and shoot at you. If you compare this to super mario for example, the difference is that in super mario the main focus was jumping, and you could finish all levels just with small mario, the flower was just a "nice to have". And if you compare to most shooting plaformers the difference is that you already start with a gun or have means to handle enemies other way. In this game the balance is bad, and you start with nothing each time you die....
  • Last, the lives are just worthless. The fact that, loading the save restores your power up when entering the level, just makes it better to have 1 life with a power up and get a game over on each death. Also, harvesting lives is horrible. If you are going to make a game inspired in old games, bring only the good stuff, not the bad. In any case, harvesting lives doesn't work here, because A) it's super hard so you would need like 2000 lives B) there isn't any fun level to quickly get lives C) on each death you loose the power up D) it's better to get game over and continue than having lives

The rant ends here, these game mechanics were the last thing that ruined it for me, but they could be fixed with changes like:
  • Adding checkpoints would encourage exploration. Super nintendo games added them for a reason. If you want to keep the difficulty, you can do something like Shovel Knight or Bit Trip Runner 2 where you have the option to break or skip the checkpoint if you want.
  • For the power ups the easiest would be to make the shield be a default on death, and make the first pickup be the red berries. An alternative would be to better balance the levels for when you don't have any pickups. Since right now it's a death sentence.
  • The behavior on death should be the same as loading the last game or something similar. I would just get rid of the lives system entirely. The game could keep track of the deaths but have them be meaningless except for points or something.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 of 6 people (83%) found this review helpful
3.6 hrs on record
Posted: July 14
Got destroyed by the same cactus enemy at the start of a level like 10 times in a row, 10/10.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 of 6 people (83%) found this review helpful
12.6 hrs on record
Posted: September 14
If you love Mario, there's no reason why you wouldn't love this.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 of 8 people (75%) found this review helpful
1.2 hrs on record
Posted: September 9
8BitBoy is a homage to oldschool platformers. It looks a lot like Mario, and a little like Psycho Fox and Wonder Boy, but it has a propose: the main character is a man trapped in a world made of games of his childhood (NES and Master System era).

In your journey through five worlds you'll face different enemies, find a lot of secrets and traps. You'll need to perform perfect jumps in some areas to pass tougher stages. This can daunt some young players, but don't worry, this is not a problem of level design; games used to be like this in late 80's.

The pixel art feels truly retro. Even the menus are oldschool.
The soundtrack...well, could be better. Music is repetitive and kinda sad sometimes.

8BitBoy is made by only one guy (Rasmus Kønig Sørensen) - also, looks like this is the first game he developed. It has some flaws, but for the cheap price we can forgive.

All in all, I rate this game a 7/10
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 of 8 people (75%) found this review helpful
0.3 hrs on record
Posted: October 10
I may not be good at it. But this is a GREAT game! It may have the elements of mario and some others but its supposed to. Its a fun little platformer that is actually pretty long. It could take a couple hours or maybe a day depending on how you play it, or how good you are.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
3 of 3 people (100%) found this review helpful
0.2 hrs on record
Posted: December 3
I am driven away from so many platformers with great potential simply because they lack an interesting story and a connection with the character(s). Anyone who has played 8BitBoy will tell you it is not one of those games and its touching introduction will have you hooked right off the bat!

As for the gameplay, it is flawless and nostalgic. The music and graphics remind me of playing classic Pokemon and Super Mario games and the controls are very smooth (I recommend using a console controller).

Full-clearing the levels is also very challenging (and rewarding if you are going for highscores) but it is not entirely necessary if you just want to beat the game. So if you're a gamer who likes to go for 100% on every level, I say good luck and bring extra controllers! :)

All things considered, it's a fun game with an intriguing story and it is a must try if you love platformers!
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
0.7 hrs on record
Posted: November 20
A good platformer that pays homage to the games it clearly draws inspiration from. The great thing however about this game compared to other newer retro titles is that instead of trying to emulate and clone the content it aspires to be, it makes its own improvements and feels like a new game. Crisp sprites, loads of awesome hidden content for those that want to find it, will make you want to stretch the most out of your limited time on each level. Often you find yourself in a tricky spot trying to determine whether or not to use precious time for that tantalising power up just out of normal reach.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
2.6 hrs on record
Posted: July 28
it's a fun platform game
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
0.4 hrs on record
Posted: July 14
Absolute bargain, it has elements of all my old favourites. Easy to load save points, Got it for just over a quid. So for that price I have nothing negative to say!
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
1.6 hrs on record
Posted: July 30
I love platformers. They take me back to the days when I was a kid, sitting up late at night, trying to get through various incarnations of the genre in the early days of NES. I've never claimed to be good at them, mind you, but I enjoy them a lot.

8BitBoy didn't seem like much at first glance. It came in a bundle, which means I was after something else in said bundle most likely, and 8BitBoy just came along for a ride. One day I was digging through my library to find a cure for a sleepy Sunday afternoon, and I happened to catch the platformer tag when I scrolled across it. I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a spin.

The first time through? 8BitBoy feels a bit off. You go in expecting Mario, but the controls just aren't the same. They're a bit more floaty, not quite as precise. This will throw you off a bit, but press on. As you dig a little deeper, you start get the hang of the controls and the game starts to feel more familar. You're progressing through the maps, you're stomping on birds and making jumps. Then there's that special moment when you're standing on a ledge and accidentally push the control into the wall, and you slip through and discover a secret room...and now 8BitBoy has its hooks in you!

8BitBoy is a love song to those platformers of old. You will notice elements of them all throughout. While looking back so fondly, the game still manages to be its own beast. It's hard. Hell, it's very hard! It's also packed full of secrets, warps to other zones, many many maps and more. All it makes for a very fun, low budget platformer that you may not have noticed otherwise!

Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
2.3 hrs on record
Posted: August 4
Anyone who is an old school platforming (Mario) fan should check this out. It is like Super Mario Land sprinkled with Wonder Boy in Monster World.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
1.1 hrs on record
Posted: December 11
A simple classic platformer done right. 10/10 for nostalgia.

Great level design and great gameplay and it sometimes even surprises me with it's design. It's also bug-free unlike most Steam games.

The secrets become a bit old after a few levels and I would have prefered an overworld like in Super Mario Bros 3 but those are pretty much the only downsides I could find to this game.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 of 5 people (80%) found this review helpful
0.6 hrs on record
Posted: July 15
A very fun and nostalgic inducing game!
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 of 9 people (67%) found this review helpful
0.4 hrs on record
Posted: July 16
Kinda Like Mario. lol whats to complain about. i paid $1.00

Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 of 2 people (100%) found this review helpful
2.8 hrs on record
Posted: July 17
The developer seems to have a healthy interest in how the community feels about the game. My only request is please take the honest and valuable feedback and make this game great before releasing a sequel.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 of 2 people (100%) found this review helpful
0.3 hrs on record
Posted: July 18
A+ ...deserves nothing less

EDIT: ..and its ONLY $1.59....
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 of 2 people (100%) found this review helpful
4.0 hrs on record
Posted: July 21
Its an entertaining game, and for the price (on sale for $1.59) well worth the money. The foes are odd creatures (different types of chubby birds, jelly fish things, bats, etc.) and the controls are a bit "loose". Seems like your constantly walking on ice. Other than that the game is put together well. Lots of fun secrets and warp zones to discover.
Was this review helpful? Yes No