Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City
Game
Game2014
Super Life of Pixel
Developer Super Icon Ltd
Join Pixel as he quests through gaming history, teleporting across the most iconic video game systems of generations past. He’ll have to jump, dodge and play smart if he wants to survive all the traps, puzzles and enemies waiting to take him down at every turn. From the Steam store page
195 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Sep 4, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
69
Fresh
133 positive · 59 negative
95% range 62–75%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 133 | 59 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
295 of 377 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
A nostalgic platformer that splits players on its execution.
Many players praise the game's nostalgic trip through gaming history, with lovingly recreated retro themes and a charming soundtrack. Some call it a 'true gem' that is 'extremely addictive' and 'fun'. [3][7][9][12]
However, critics argue the execution is flawed, with bland level design, repetitive music, and frustrating difficulty spikes. Some feel the game fails to truly capture the essence of each console, calling it 'another modern 8-bit platformer'. [26][28][29][31][35][36]
Praised nostalgia · concept · music · controls
Criticised level design · difficulty spikes · repetitive music · lack of platform authenticity
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 195 · most liked firstThis game claims to be about following a single character through a number of console systems. You would think that emulating the game and art styles would be important then. While superficially and at a single glance the art styles change they do not actually conform to limitations present by each system. Instead every console plays exactly the same other than a new coat of paint. If you are attracted to the idea of playing games through the ages this is not for you. If you want a bog standard…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Summary Life of Pixel is a platformer for Steam that has a dual purpose. On one hand, you have a nice little platformer boasting over 100 levels with simple controls, and sometimes challenging gameplay as you control a little green block face thingy (as best as I can describe it) as you dodge enemies, jump over pitfalls, make sure not to get hit by spikes, and collect jewels in a standard fare that you would expect from an old school platformer. It’s simple basically. And on that alone, just a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Though it would seem self-evident from its nostalgia based advertisement, proclamations of historical knowledge, and general retro theming, I remain unclear as to what Life of Pixel actually wanted to be. As a minimalistic platformer aiming to present itself through the lens of 13 dated gaming platforms, the immediate answer would seem that Life of Pixel is trying to encapsulate the evolution of gaming from its inception up through the 16-bit era. Except that here that evolution is personified…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very pleasantly surprised. Got hooked to it very fast. Tight controls, charming music and a panoply of systems to (re)visit. It's hard enough that it's challenging, without being absurdly hard (like Super Meat Boy, and the like), at least until around 50% of the game. Had a very nice time revisiting many different systems, including the Spectrum, which I love. The game's biggest fault seems to be the a very sudden difficulty spike that happens on the later systems (from the SNES onwards). This…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yet another nostalgia game which takes decades of history and manages to compress it into a single pointless and poorly designed platformer. I was hoping that the complexity of the game would increase to the point that it became interesting, but it remained a "get gems -> find exit" experience all the way. There are some "secret areas" but there's no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ point finding them because all you ever do in this game is jump around and die on spikes/water. Games in the 80s and 90s were better…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A nostalgic, colorful, simple platformer, Life of Pixel explores the evolution of consoles from cassettes to the 16 bit era. Life of Pixel is a fun, well constructed, lighthearted love letter for a lengthy history of gaming, demonstrating the evolution of graphics and mechanics for a basic one dimensional platformer. The game spans 13 consoles, beginning with the ZX81 and Atari 2600, and ending with the NES, SNES, Sega Master System, and Sega Genesis. You are a square with a face named Pixel…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really really wanted to like this game. I absolutely love the idea behind it, but the execution is so flawed it is not worth playing. As I am sure youhave figured out from the trailer, life of pixel is an old school platformer that takes you through various generations of games. The game starts out in black and white, one room levels with very simple graphics. As you progress through more and more levels you open up new systems which open up better graphics and more complex levels. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Someone put a lot of love into this game and it shows. Its literally a trip through gamings golden (and not so golden) eras. You play as a pixel who wants to see what he's all about, so he traverses through levels going from as early as the atari 2600 & zx spectrum up to the mid nineties with mega drive and snes. What impresses me most is the care he put into making the graphics (and the music) sync up with the systems they represent. Before I knew what soundfonts were I would wonder why…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm usually not that big on platformers, as I'm pretty bad at playing them, but this one hit on the right nostalgia notes that I kept going until I just had to give up, otherwise I'd break my computer in half. Plenty of easter eggs, showing off the quirks and limitations of each system while not running it into the ground (8 levels each), pretty good chip tunes and overall a fun platformer, that even lets someone as bad as me progress pretty far, while still having plenty of levels for the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yikes. Where do I even begin with this one ? SLoP... it’s the perfect acronym for this game. Super Life of Pixel’s overall concept is what initially attracted me to it. Being a gamer since the Atari 2600 days, I figured the whole “trip through gaming history” would really strike a chord with me. In the end, it just made me realize why I never returned to these older generations of gaming. To put it mildly, the majority of the games suck - and they suck hard at that. Instead of taking the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The overall concept is great Gameplay is simple yet fun The soundtrack is awesome! Nostalgic I actually like that there are no checkpoints & that spikes/water can instantly kill you - That's what makes the game challenging. I can see why it may be frustrating to some but it's a true representation of gaming on older systems. If you can accept that you are going to die alot, I would recommend this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a true gem. If you like retro gaming, you'll be enlighted to see how reproducing the look&feel of the original machines is a success. If you like platformers, you'll find much enjoyment in the first levels, and much challenge later in game. I'm now at the SNES era and it's becoming really hard - but also very rewarding when you manage to see the end of a level. Thanks a lot to gods of luck for making me one of the happy winners of the WGN raffle :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For me, I didn't receive the nostalgia effect as I expected. It just feels like another modern 8-bit platformer where each level has a different theme. The player mechanics never seemed to change on each machine, breaking the illusion you're actually playing on a different platform, if that makes sense. So in the end it just felt like I was playing a bog-standard platformer with uninteresting level design and a box-shaped character. If you do like pixel art platformers, and don't really care…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Evoland in 2D. Overall, it's an enjoyable game. The mechanics are solid and the jump/run/falling physics never feel unreliable. However as of my playthrough in late March, there were a couple glitches in relation to enemies/obstacles not moving. None of these glitches were game-breaking or really impeded my progression in any way, but they're worth mentioning. Surprisingly, I've had a hard time finding "New" satisfactory platformers on steam, and with stuff like Canyon Capers and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super Life of Pixel is a nostalgia-filled trip down memory lane that had me grinning from ear to ear. This pixel-perfect gem transported me back to the good old days of gaming, with lovingly recreated retro themes from different gaming eras. Steam Deck gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f399544D1k4 From the 8-bit chiptunes to the charmingly blocky graphics, this game nailed the essence of classic gaming. It was like I had dusted off my old consoles and hooked them up to a time…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Life of Pixel is a 2D platformer that takes you through video gaming history; from the ZX81, all the way up to the 16-bit era, Life of Pixel's charm is absolutely dear. Every machine is composed of eight levels, each stylized with the graphics and music of their respective machine. The ZX Spectrum levels, for example, have the maximum of 15 colours, just like the actual machine; in fact, the colours even clash, further like the Spectrum! It's amazing how much care the developers put into the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely addictive, informative and mostly: fun. The concept is very good Only minor problem I had was 1 or 2 of the songs weren't looped properly... Other than that: Perfect game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While I would certainly give this game a 10/10 on concept, the execution of this concept leaves a lot to be desired. I got about 1/3 through the game before I realized that there wasn't really any significant progression other than the graphical presentation. It would have been nice if your character actually developed as the graphics had, but just being a pixel really exacerbated the lack of development. The concept basically masks that the game isn't progressing in any meaningful way as you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: Brought back lots of great memories of the classic consoles/computers of the past. Cons: Brought back lots of terrible memories of irritatingly difficult things I only put up with because I was young and didn't know any better. Also, unforgivably wonky jump physics when on a moving platform. Pick it up if you can get it cheap.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept of the game is very good, going through different stages in different consoles, feeling the progression of technology while also feeling nostalgia. It is interesting to see a little bit about the history of these consoles. However this game is very bland, it lacks any strong feature of the games that used to be on these consoles, it feels more like something you would be playing on your smartphone rather than your pc.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simple but neat little colorful platformer. Lots of interesting stages in the style of classic console games and a nice soundtrack to tie it all together. It's good fun for a bit!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game rocks and works nearly the same as Manic Miner. The good thing is you can play like Manic Miner, in a Multi Cross-platform from ZX81s to Amiga quality. You will also get a interesting glossary on the tech specs and history of the vintage 8-Bit and 16-Bit machines in this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Obviously I like this game, as it has Amiga levels. It _also_ has ZX81 levels, and my first computer was the US model (the Timex-Sinclair, which had 2k rather than 1k (: ) Also, obviously, C64 (: The attract screen is quite like the old arcade mode attract screen style - where you'd have your points listed for the enemies (Defender, Stargate, Pacman ...) which made me smile. The game itself - loads of jumping, some of it pixel-perfect, and frustrating. That said, I enjoyed the amount I've…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not for the easily frustrated (like me), but if you like platformers and a challenge, this is a well made game with a neat take on the retro concept.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ Neat info about each platform + Mechanical and visual progression is nice + Music is appropriate to each platform - Sometimes difficult to distinguish platforms from background - Music is repetetive as only one track per platform (8 levels each) - Core gameplay is sparce, forcing cheap level design tricks to be used to pad - Length of some later levels can be frustrating - Ran into gamebreaking bug once on screen transition (required task manager and game relaunch) Grab it on special if you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starts off great, but gets rapidly more and more and more annoying. The controls are good, the idea is good...the game is quite pleasant. BUT as the levels get bigger and bigger as the consoles get more advanced....you don't get any extra help. So you journey from levels that can be finished in ten seconds towards levels that can take several minutes to complete...and there are still plenty of instakill enemies that appear out of nowhere that you possibly couldn't see coming...lava, bottomless…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The first part of the game is definitely better done than the second half. After NES levels, there is an illogical difficult spike, making the levels very frustrating, too long and very repetitive. Pro: + Music + Graphic + The first part of the game is funny Cons: - Level Design, in a platform game it's very important... - Too many blind jumps - Final levels are too frustrating and long
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Life of a Pixel is just an amazing piece of software... To be honest, this game is proper for ages of 30+ since only those people will trully understand the greatness of the game The developers studied hard the machines from the early 80s and 90s from every possible aspect... I mean the levels you play while playing on atari, feel exactly as if you are sitting infront of an atari! you feel like you jump in a time travelling machine and the ride is... AWESOME! the controls feel excellent. you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is simply amazing. Similar to Evoland, you go through the video game history as you play. Decent controls and simple but yet amazing gameplay. Grab it in the sale - 100% worth it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've had my problems with this game, and the more I play it the more ridiculous it gets. First off, early on in the game there are some areas where you have to be pixel perfect to make the jump, and if you are off by any amount you fail. The difficulty on some of these levels are just ridiculous! You know what will help in a platformer like this? Checkpoints. There is not a single level in this game that has checkpoints, and in some levels this realization is devastating. In the early levels,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has serious accessibility issues: No difficulty level No checkpoints. You will die a lot and start over the same level with many challenges you had already overcome only to do so again and again or fail them out of lack of patience. A game like "VVVVVV" exists, learn from it. No sound volume, only on/off switch. The art is gorgeous and its the main reason I bought this game, sadly I can't bear to repeat the same level again for a chance to see the rest of the game systems.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Because nostalgia is a life style!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, this is an interesting little thing, I'll give it that much. What we've got here is a simple retro-themed jumpy game with the gimmick of going through different "eras" of video game consoles and home computers. Credit has to be given to the selection here; rather than just a simple Nintendo-centric view of old video games like a lot of this genre boils down to, they have a wide variety of consoles on display here, each with their own quirks. Consoles like Atari 2600 and Sega Master System…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For fans of retro gaming and retro hardware all together this is the perfect choice. Not to mention that controls in this game are spot on and the game doesnt feel like it's cheating. The music can get repetitive from time to time. To any true plaform lover I fully recommend this!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Making a retro platformer in 2018 is an uninspired start to begin with, but at least there's a lot that can be done with execution to make something unique out of it. When your protagonist is literally a block with a smiley face, however... It's not a stretch to say Super Life of Pixel is targeted specifically at someone like me. Platformers are one of the few genres I'm above-average at. I own most of the consoles and computers that are represented here, and fully appreciate the unique…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super Life of Pixel looks and sounds great. It really does nail that retro aesthetic. The developers really understood what made the games of old, they'll even give you a history lesson for each console every single time you start them (which gets annoying fast). Unfortunately it's not just the looks of the old games that were brought back, but a lot of sloppy, outdated game design choices. You'll be facing enemies with erratic patterns that are hard to gauge, spikes that come out of nowhere at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thematically, it's great. It's one of the few games where 'retro' actually means retro and not just trying to look like a NES game. It was really nice to see realistic ZX Spectrum levels, which retro games pretty much never do. It's not perfect representations by any means (the older consoles had serious limitations that aren't featured at all), but it works well enough. ...That being said, it's let down horribly by the substandard gameplay. Spikes that you can't see coming, slow moving…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is not just great fun, but really educational. You travel through all the famous retro consoles, learning about the machines and having good time on the challenging levels. The difficulty is perfect, hardcore fans should aim for the achievements for bigger challenges and not so talented players can complete everything as well. The graphics and soundtrack is quite amazing too and everything feels really authentic. I was hoping to find a great, enjoyable and fun classic platformer game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10 As someone who spent his childhood played C64, Amiga, Gameboy, NES and SNES, this game are returned to me the years years before. It appears in a much more enjoyable in-game screenshots, gamepad controls, menu design, sounds very good. Thank you to developers for doing such a perfect retro game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel this game is only about 75% of what it is trying to be. It really needs a bit more attention to detail to nail the feeling of the old systems that are being imitated. My biggest complaint is the "analoguey", smooth movements and animations, particularly of the player. Making the graphics blocky with limited palettes is only going to get you so far, as the illusion is totally shattered when you can move in fractions of what is supposed to be a pixel. The weird particle effects are even…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really platformer-style game with interesting facts and really cool music. I would recommend this title. If you like platformer-type/retro games you should definitely check this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to give this a thumbs-up, because I remember and enjoyed playing a lot of the consoles and home computers this game imitates. The thing is, though, that I'm thinking about re-installing this game and making a second attempt at finishing it and I realize I'm just not going to do it. The game doesn't play like the best games on these old systems, it plays like the mediocre games that your grandmom would see for $5 in the discount aisle and get for you for Christmas. Great concept;…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fine for the first worlds until the difficulty goes to the extremely infuriating. The git gud is totally not worth your time in here. It is a pity, because they nailed those first levels and they nailed the aesthetics.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old game by now (before it was renamed with the 'Super' -prefix) but one of the few ones that made a more lasting impression on me. Just look at it: Platforming using graphics from different eras in Computing? Sinclair, C-64, Amiga etc to more modern hardware. Looks gorgeous in it's own way and plays really nice. Not a overly hard game either so Super Meat Boy fans can skip this but those who want a experience will feel just at home. It does get somewhat hard also when you advance further.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best 8-bit game <3 10/10 music 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know how Shovel Knight is the amalgamation of everything that was awesome about old-school platformers? Well, Life of Pixel is the complete opposite: it's the amalgamation of everything that sucked about old-school platformers. The controls, physics, level design, and enemy behavior are all terrible and frustrating, leading to a lot of cheap deaths, and the graphics and music are extremely lazy and bland. This game is the epitome of pandering to nostalgia without a shred of substance.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome simulated details, like effects and oddities of each console which had their own charme. You can see that the developer has indeed experience with the original hardware. Nice refreshing time travel. It might be short, atleast for me, but worth it. Would be happy to see a second one, or maybe a DLC with new levels(consoles).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Linux: The concept of this game is very clever. Seeing the gfx, sounds and even the gameplay change for the better as you progress through each console/computer system is brilliant. The controls are tight and the game stays challenging. I have been using a wireless 360 controller. I fully recommend this game, espeacially if you grew up owning a few of these machines. You can really tell the devs were passionate about this game and put alot of effort into it. I am torn between the c64 and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A loving tribute to the era of 2D through the life of a single pixel. Each level is a self contained "theme" that spans across console/pc eras. It has a difficulty spike that is very notable but I enjoyed this experience immensely. Worth the full price easily - 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a bit lazy when it comes to writing reviews but this game is incredible good. And when I read bad reviews about this game I think, you're missing the point here. Basic platforming won't get any better than this. The control you have over the pixel is hard to find in other platforming games. The level design is amazing with a cool learning curve. Sometimes I think, this level is a bit unfair but with a lot of practice I manage to progress and the feeling is very rewarding. I'm 60 years of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Neat (but increasingly difficult - unfair cheap deaths included - and repetitive!) jump'n run game that tries to reproduce the graphics styles (and glitches!) of the 8-bit and 16-bit homecomputer and consoles eras. Verdict: Get while on -75% sale
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice retro styled plattformer!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really good platformer with good artsyles. The game tells the history of old school systems and plays through levels that looks like whatever machine the game talks about. Every level is very well designed and have plenty of hidden collectibles. This is one of those games that honestly is tailor made for 100% completionist. But even with that the game is a great platformer with good controls that I highly recommend you check out. You will even learn some good history about how gaming was…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh the memory's
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing platformer. This has been my favourite game to play over the last year. It is that good. I have high expectations when it comes to platformers, as the genre is where I put most of my gaming effort. This game made by super icon will fit the bill if you have any fondness for mario, megaman, castlevania, sonic, crash, super meat boy, N & N+, they bleed pixels, and so on... Buy this game it is polished and very satisfying. The best platformer out there today relative to the cost. Pure,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another case of 'buyer beware'. Life of Pixel is a fairly charming, yet simple, platforming game that takes you on a tour of video-game-technology history. You literally get to read about old-school tech (which I really appreciated the historical perspective), and then play through levels that simulate what that tech could do. Does Life of Pixel bring anything new to the table, or to platforming in general? Absolutely not. Would it keep a platforming enthusiast busy for a weekend with its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game, there's just something about going through all the retro machines and experiencing all the different styles. Collectibles are very well done and so are achievements. Although for the purists it may seem like "Oh no it's not actually emulating the capability of those systems" the game never claims to do that and I'm perfectly fine with giving a modern edge on these older generation machines, that's what makes this game so enjoyable. The levels in each machine are just long…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Disclaimer: My scores/reviews are almost always based on having bought the game at close to the "lowest historical price" on steam at time of purchase. Quick score: 4/5
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First few worlds are fun until the levels get too long and badly designed to have insta-kills and no checkpoints. The game may seem easy but the levels get so long SOMETHING is going to f*ck you over. In the honeycomb level i missed 2 gems and i couldn't get them because the falling platforms don't come back and my play glitched into the wall so that wasn't an option. I uninstalled in spite of the developer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great music, good graphics, good gameplay. However, there are some frustrating things about this game. For one, there is no telegraph of any kind for enemy actions, environmental hazards and the like. You can land on a platform you've never seen before, and then get cheap-shotted by a spike that you had no way of knowing about, nor any opportunity to dodge it. Enemies will turn around unpredictably without any indication they were going to do so. Usually, in a polished game, there will be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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