A retro platformer about an old man who collects blue pills amidst urban dangers and bird poop in a desperate effort to reach his girlfriend before he is himself reached by the ever-approaching Grim Reaper.
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Release Date:
Aug 21, 2015
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Early Access Game

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Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“It's been a while since 2013, when version 0.7 was made available with only 5 park-themed stages. Since then, we've been relying on the feedback we get from players not only to fix the bugs they report, but also as a key source of ideas that, more often than not, end up implemented and greatly benefit the game we're making: controller support with full visual feedback, keyboard input adaptations to layouts from different regions, bonus stages, slight yet effective palette changes for better visualization - all of those additions and much more were either directly suggested by our players, or at least inspired by their reactions to each update.

Two years later, Bernie's left the park, went downtown, visited a cemetery, and ended up in the dystopian confetti-filled streets of a well-off residential area in levels 2-1 and 2-2 (aka 11 and 12). We'll be honored to have you onboard as we take Bernie Needs Love to new and exciting locations, all the way to level 30!”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“By the end of 2016 is a realistic estimate. We are aware it might seem like a long time, but we really want to keep prioritizing quality and content over speed.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“On top of the very cool features introduced with v0.82, the next update will add at least one new stage (level 2-3), the 2nd secret stage, and new gameplay mechanics which consists of using a new burstable duck floater type to be propelled forward.

As for the update after that, version 0.84 will take Bernie to yet another new Carnival-related subarea - but more details on that later.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

  • 12 complete levels, split among the following areas: The Park, Downtown, The Cemetery, Street Carnival
  • 8 original chiptune tracks that range from blues to samba just as they do from heavy rock to synthpop
  • 10 enemy/hazard types: static pooping birds, flying pooping birds, muggers, exploding manholes, leaking steam pipes, furious giant peacocks, security drones, crowd-control officers, remote-controlled minitanks, drunk pirate-clad public urinators
  • 1 secret stage with tips about a surprising underplot
  • 1 procedural bonus stage type
  • one duck floater type
  • CRT simulation mode to add an optional old TV vibe to the experience
  • total compatibility with the XBOX 360 controller

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“A discount will be kept in place until we reach version 1.0.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Since version 0.7 was first made available in 2013, we've been listening closely to every request our player base shares with us: full controller support with onscreen feedback, more music, bug fixes, gameplay tweaking, and much more of what now makes the whole of this game have been suggested by its players. We will continue paying great attention to our players, and we are eager to take this game to version 1.0 with as much as possible of the great ideas we're sure the community will come up with.”
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About This Game

Bernie Needs Love is, in essence, a simple and lighthearted platformer in which the player must guide Bernie, a nice but anguished old man chased by death, towards his girlfriend — while avoiding the many hazards of a poorly maintained yet beautiful city and collecting blue 'love-enhancing' pills to make it an extra-special night!

A humorous portrait of social and existential issues in a media where death and sexuality are usually quite one-dimensional, Bernie Needs Love also stands out from the crowd with its charming lo-fi graphics, lovingly composed chiptune music, and hardcore difficulty level — which are sure to satisfy players who grew up in the 8-bit era.

Aesthetically, Bernie Needs Love is indeed a loveletter to the games of the 80s and early 90s, but also an experiment on getting the most out of a self-imposed set of limitations: the palette is a mix of CPC, C64, and NES colors with a few odd ones to highlight certain elements, while the original chiptune soundtrack is entirely created with synthesizers that faithfully emulate the hardware of iconic 8-bit and 16-bit machines.

Regardless of its nostalgic appeal, Bernie Needs Love is an up-to-date game from the depicted subjects (i.e. the anguish of life in the constant shadow of imminent death, one's need for love and sex, the pharmaceutical industry, etc.) to the modern conveniences it provides, such as automatic support for the Xbox 360 controller, quick and easy switching between the windowed and fullscreen modes, audio options (toggle-enabled and independent controls for Music and SFX), and saving the player progress. Even the hair-pulling difficulty is balanced with infinite lives, immediate restart upon death, and no loading whatsoever after the first loading screen upon start (which shouldn't take more then 3 seconds, by the way).

The game is already available, but will remain in beta while stages and features are added. Once we reach the 30 planned stages (we're currently working on stages 11 to 20), the beta phase and the correspondent discounted price will be over. Development is expected to be complete in Q4 2016.

The 30 stages are divided as follows:
  • Stages 01 to 10 -> Downtown (Implemented)
  • Stages 11 to 20 -> Carnival (WIP)
  • Stages 21 to 30 -> Beach (WIP)

Each area is subdivided in two to three subareas. For example, here is the subdivision of the first ten levels:
  • Stages 01 to 07 -> The Park
  • Stages 08 and 09 -> Downtown (aka Red Light District)
  • Stage 10 -> Cemetery and Boss Fight

The second area, focused on the Carnival festivities of Bernie's city, starts with a street parade and will later take our protagonist to the arena where samba schools exhibit their humongous thematic cars to thousands of viewers. The first section of that carnival-themed area, however, takes place in a well-off residential area that introduces dystopian tones to Bernie's adventure that could very well be deemed cyberpunk — not necessarily moreso than our present times, but still: aerial and terrestrial drones, crowd-control forces, informational holograms, and genetically modified peacocks are just examples of such elements and a new dimension to the plot of the game.

Finally, another subarea will be added for the second boss battle — but we're still deciding on the exact environment. The same model will be applied to the 3rd and last area, 'The Beach': from a sunny morning to the new year's eve celebration, levels 3-1 to 3-10 will span across such settings and finish with one last mano-a-mano with the reaper.

System Requirements

Windows
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • OS *: Windows 7 or later
    • Processor: Dual-core Intel i3 or similar
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Any GPU compatible with OpenGL ES 2.0
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    Recommended:
    • OS *: Windows 7 or later
    • Processor: Dual-core Intel i5 or similar
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Any GPU compatible with OpenGL ES 2.0
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.
    Minimum:
    • OS: Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS
    • Processor: Dual-core Intel i3 or similar
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Any GPU compatible with OpenGL ES 2.0
    Recommended:
    • OS: Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS
    • Processor: Dual-core Intel i5 or similar
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Any GPU compatible with OpenGL ES 2.0

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