Bernie Needs Love

Bernie Needs Love is a challenging platformer about Bernie, a kind but anguished old man pursued by death. You guide him through a beautiful but poorly maintained city toward his girlfriend, avoiding hazards and collecting blue pills that enhance love for an extra-special night. The game uses humor to explore social and existential themes, including mortality, the need for love and sex, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Stages and settings

The game is planned around 30 stages divided into three areas: Downtown (stages 01–10), Carnival (stages 11–20) and The Beach (stages 21–30). Each area has two to three subareas. In Downtown, stages 01–07 take place in The Park, stages 08 and 09 in Downtown, also known as the Red Light District, and stage 10 in a cemetery with a boss fight.

The Carnival area begins with a street parade and later takes Bernie to an arena where samba schools display their large themed cars to thousands of viewers. Its first section is set in a wealthy residential area, where the story takes on dystopian and cyberpunk elements, including aerial and terrestrial drones, crowd-control forces, informational holograms and genetically modified peacocks. Another subarea is planned for the second boss battle, though its setting is undecided. The Beach area spans from a sunny morning to a New Year's Eve celebration, and ends with a one-on-one fight against the reaper.

Visuals and music

The game has lo-fi graphics inspired by games of the 1980s and early 1990s. Its palette combines colors from CPC, C64 and NES systems with a few additional colors to highlight certain elements. The original chiptune soundtrack is made entirely with synthesizers that emulate the hardware of 8-bit and 16-bit machines.

Difficulty and options

The game has a high difficulty level, balanced with infinite lives, an immediate restart after death and no further loading after the initial loading screen. It saves your progress and supports the Xbox 360 controller. You can switch between windowed and fullscreen modes and adjust the music and sound effects independently, or toggle them on and off.