PICO-8 Alternatives

PICO-8 is described as 'Lua based fantasy console for programming, sharing and playing tiny games and other computer programs. The app boots to a shell prompt with easy access to scores of game building tools' and is a game development tool in the development category. There are more than 25 alternatives to PICO-8 for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Web-based and Android apps. The best PICO-8 alternative is Godot Engine, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like PICO-8 are TIC-80, LÖVE, GABE and Mini Micro.

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PICO-8 alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. GemRB icon
     2 likes

    GemRB (Game Engine Made with preRendered Background) is a portable open-source reimplementation of the Infinity Engine that underpinned Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment. It sports a cleaner design, greater extensibility and several innovations.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenBSD
    • NetBSD
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Symbian S60
    • ReactOS
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
     
  2. Drag[en]gine icon
     1 like

    A free software game engine focusing on developing games faster, more modular and stable with true -1 day portability support.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Haiku
     
  3. nano JAMMER icon
     4 likes

    The nano JAMMER is a fantasy console for tiny games. It is perfect for hobby coding, a game programming course, and tweetjams.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  4. LunarEngine icon
     1 like

    LunarEngine (formerly Librebox) is an open-source game engine powered by Luau. It delivers a sandbox-style API and development model inspired by popular sandbox engines, so existing Luau code runs with minimal changes.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  5. Develop your programming skills by quickly creating and modding retro arcade games with Blocks, JavaScript and Python in the online MakeCode editor, the offline app or your own local pxt-arcade server.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
     
  6. WASM-4 icon
     4 likes

    WASM-4 is a low-level fantasy game console for building small games with WebAssembly. Game cartridges (ROMs) are small, self-contained .wasm files that can be built with any programming language that compiles to WebAssembly.

    22 WASM-4 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. LowRes NX icon
     3 likes

    LowRes NX is a simulated retro game console which can be programmed in the classic BASIC language. Make your own retro games on a virtual game console. Create sprites, tile maps, sound and music with the included tools.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  8. Picotron icon
     1 like

    Picotron is a Fantasy Workstation: a self-contained creative environment built for imaginary hardware. Create cute Lua apps that can be run inside Picotron as windowed userland processes, shared as cartridge files, or exported to stand-alone HTML apps.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Raspberry Pi
     
  9. Voxatron icon
     4 likes

    Voxatron is a fantasy console system where games are made out of voxels and made available to the system as traditional cartridges that can be made from scratch through a built-in designer or remixed from other shared creations.

    22 Voxatron alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  10. BASIC8 icon
     2 likes

    BASIC8 is an integrated Fantasy Computer. Create, share and play disks in a modern BASIC dialect. Use built-in tools like sprite, tile and map editor to develop games fast while having fun with retro aesthetics.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Steam
     
  11. Riko4 icon
     2 likes

    Riko4 is a Fantasy Console intended as a tool for pixel art game development. Built with Lua and SDL2.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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