Something very strange is going on in Spooky Pixel Hero. When you’re not dodging giant bats and whirling blades in a retro-style platformer, you’ll step outside that game-within-a-game—and discover creepy glitches in its code that point to a disturbing mystery. There’s more here than meets the eye!

What we love: The eerie backstory. Beating each bite-size level reveals new clues about the game’s unsettling origin. What’s with the corrupted data files scattered around its castle? Or the ghastly figure you see in fleeting glimpses? And why is your employer—the ominous Institute—warning you not to dig any deeper? Keep playing to find out!

Quick tip: Crates slide along the floor as you walk on them; you can ride them like chunky surfboards over otherwise deadly obstacles. Tap quickly to move crates or change their direction—or you might slip off.

Meet the creator: Spooky Pixel Hero is a prequel to Darius Guerrero’s shared-universe horror games DERE EVIL EXE, Puzzling Peaks EXE, and DERE Vengeance. A solo developer based in the Philippines, Guerrero was inspired by his love of retro games to develop new titles for classic systems, including the old-school ZX Spectrum computer.