PRAXIS FIGHTER X
Controls
- ◀▲▼▶: Move
- Hold (X): Fire main weapon (spreadshot)
- Hold (O)/Z/C: Charge secondary weapon (bomb) / focus mode.
- Enter: Pause/menu
About
Praxis Fighter X is a fast-paced single stage retro shoot-em-up for the PICO-8 fantasy console. Dodge bullets and fight off the militarized police force defending a corporate toxic sludge pipeline.
Inspired by old-school shmups/STGs, the game focuses on reflex-based action and satisfying destruction while including some modern comforts like a smaller player hitbox and a focus mode.
It's on the difficult side but with dedication and the power of 3 Continues you will persevere.
Scoring
Build your scoring multiplier and keep your combo meter up by taking out enemies and ground targets. Dealing damage also helps sustain your combo meter — once it runs out, your multiplier will begin falling.
Tip 1: Your combo meter depletes more slowly while charging your bomb weapon.
Tip 2: If your bomb collides with an enemy mid-air, you get your shot back with a shorter delay
Tip 3: Collecting a powerup you already have or a 1UP when at 3 lives will give you points instead of the usual effect. Your current multiplier applies here too.
Tip 4: Your multiplier also applies during boss fights. Try to take out all the boss's destructible parts while continously dealing damage for maximum points.
Credits
Praxis Fighter X was created by Eric Billingsley.
Thanks to Krystian Majewski of Lazy Devs Academy for creating the Advanced Shmup Tutorial which inspired me to work on the game. Though I didn't use the solutions from the tutorial exactly, watching the videos was really helpful in understanding what makes shmups tick and what challenges I would need to plan for. Boghog's Shmup Workshop series was also really helpful.
Thanks to Otto, LokiStriker, Louie Chapman, Catto, Glimm, Trog, TheGacko, Jonah Davidson, and Jeep Barnett for playtesting and feedback.
Thanks to Aktane for feedback on my initially terrible bullet visibility and Heracleum for help with turret rendering tech.
And thanks Maria for your encouragement and for being there for me all along the way.
Future Plans
Praxis Fighter X features a single stage and is meant to be a complete experience as is — there are currently no plans to expand it. I do have some potential ideas for other stages, but there are many other projects I'd like to get back to for now.
Though it's free to play in the browser or through PICO-8's Splore, a standalone version of the game is available for purchase if you'd like to support the project. Thanks! —Eric
Status | Released |
Platforms | HTML5, Windows, macOS, Linux |
Rating | Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (44 total ratings) |
Author | SPARSE//GameDev |
Genre | Shooter, Action |
Made with | Aseprite, PICO-8 |
Tags | 2D, 8-Bit, Arcade, High Score, Indie, PICO-8, Pixel Art, Shoot 'Em Up |
Average session | A few minutes |
Languages | English |
Inputs | Keyboard, Gamepad (any), Touchscreen |
Links | Community |
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- 2022/2/12 Update patch notesFeb 12, 2024
- 2022/02/02 Launch day update patch notesFeb 03, 2024
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I freaking love this game, legitimately one of my favorite games to play right now, and I dare say the most dum I'ge had with a vertical scrolling shooter up (not usually my thing). I think what makes this so fun, that alot of shootemups lack, is a sense of speed and purpose. The spread is perfect where I feel like I can intelligently target enemies and its not just an aimless spray, and the secondary weapon mechanics are great. And the intro is kickass. Wish it has more levels!
Yoooo this game is epic... its so good i want to play it offline for my tablet when my internet isnt available.
I like this beautiful pixel style game. And feel relax also fun to play
I use it with an handheld and i would like to be able to reassign the bomb button please
Since the game is made in PICO-8 I don't have much control over this -- it only supports 2 buttons. Theoretically they could be swapped, but there's not really room in the cart to add more options to the in-game menu.
If your device runs PICO-8 natively you may be able to change the bindings in a config file (see https://pico-8.fandom.com/wiki/Controllers#Configuring_controllers)
There's also an option in the game's pause menu to change the autofire mode so the main fire button doesn't need to be held down, if that helps.
yes tnx activated autofire i can now concentrate on dropping the bombs :)
PRAXIS FIGHTER X got reviewed on the arcane cache, a underground blog for underground games:
If you don’t mind the formulaic gameplay the likeable story, the very well polished gameplay, and the overall high quality make it a great pick for underground gaming enthusiasts and shoot ‚em up veterans alike.
https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2024/04/22/praxis-fighter-x/Congratz :)
Wow! This is inspiring me to go through that LazyDev tutorial. I loved the basic tutorial, but this is so smooth, polished and fun to play!
Also, I think it's worth mentioning: your pixel art skills are fire!
Great mechanics and playability <3
Really liked it. It captures really well the feel of old school shoot'em up. Maybe I didn't go far enough in the game but is there any power ups ?
yes, there are triple-bomb and missile power ups!
Hi! We played your game on stream and really enjoyed it!
Thank you for checking it out! I just watched your video -- very fun stream and your enthusiasm for the games is infectious :)
THIS RULES
absolutely fantastic work
dope sir i enjoy the bomb mechanics
AWESOME game - tough one too! Easily one of the best pico-8 games ever... in my top 10!
hell yeah this is awesome!
good game
this game is pretty good
this game slaps, those lightning spire dudes are rad as hell.
This is literally the most impressive game I've seen the PICO-8 ever do. It looks amazing and plays even better. Bravissimo.
EDIT: My 1-credit record is 553,009 - a double knockout with the final boss SMH
Really awesome!
Excellent!
Game difficulty is spot on, good use of credits to keep going.
Awesome game, super hard though!
Such a great experience. This is an amazing game you’ve made here and super fun one to boot. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for future projects from you. Keep up the great work!
Wow, so good! Thanks for ramping-up the difficulty slowly. I love shmups, but i’m terrible at them, so this is just the right level of fun without being crazy hard.
Please start working on more (paid) levels! 🙏🏻