RALA-8

RALA-8 is a small turn-based arena game about dodging bullets. Nothing moves until you do, and every attack is marked on the floor a turn before it lands, so every hit can be avoided. In theory.

It started as a sketch of the combat for a bigger game I'm working on, and turned out fun enough to stand on its own.

TWO ARCHETYPES

Pick one with left and right on the title screen (you can switch after you fall, too).

Entangled is part of the world, and carries a gun. X shoots the nearest enemy in a straight line. Start here.

Thanagen is a Carbon Copy, cut loose from the world, and has no gun. X swaps places with the nearest enemy in a line instead. The swap does no damage, but the enemy loses a turn standing where you were, so whatever was about to hit you hits it. Takes more thinking.

Up/down switch to the daily run: the same waves and character for everyone that day, with its own best score.

Three modes

Up and down on the title screen pick how you play.

First Breath is the full run from wave 1. You start with just a shove and pick up the rest as you go. If you're new, start here.

Wayfarer skips the lessons. You drop in at wave 9 with everything unlocked, on a random board.

Daily Pattern is a Wayfarer run that's the same for everyone that day, character included. There's a new one every day, with its own best score.

CONTROLS

Arrows - move

Walk into an enemy - shove it

X - shoot, or swap as a Thanagen (you get 3)

Z - knife whoever's next to you, or wait a turn

Hold X + an arrow - aim a dash, let go of X to jump (Z while holding X cancels)

Enter - pause

TIPS

• In First Breath you start with just the shove. The knife, gun and dash unlock over the first few waves.
• Striped tiles get hit next turn. The small marks further out mean the same thing.
• Bullets point the way they're flying. You can step onto one, as long as it isn't coming at you.
• Knife something to get a shot (or swap) back.
• Shove enemies into walls or each other to hurt them, or into pits to get rid of them. A shoved enemy loses its next turn. You can't fall in yourself.
• Most enemies don't care who they hit. Get a Hunter to shoot a Charger.
• Chargers hurt themselves charging into rocks.
• Wardens block shots and knives. Slam one into something to break its shield.
• The dash jumps over bullets, striped tiles and pits, but not walls.
• Every 5th wave is a lighter one, and clearing it refills your health.
• Every 15th wave, something big shows up. Make it charge into a rock, or swap it into its own boulder.
• Use one move a lot and it gets stronger for the rest of the run.
• Play well enough and you might get a visitor.

SCORING

If an attack lands right where you were standing a moment ago, that's a close call, and your multiplier goes up (x9 max). Take a hit and it drops back to x1. Kills are worth 10 times your multiplier. Clearing a wave gets you 50, plus 100 if nothing hit you, plus another 100 if you never fired (or swapped).

Max it out and you hit OVERDRIVE: 6 turns of free shots (or swaps), then it's back to x1.

The boards come in a random order (after the first eight in First Breath), and every 15th wave the Colossus shows up in its own arena. 

FEEDBACK

Tell me what felt unfair, what confused you, and how far you got. Comments are open!

CREDITS

Made by Solmare with PICO-8.

Art is Gustavo Vituri's [8x8] Isometric TRPG Asset Pack, recolored for PICO-8's palette.

RALA-8 © 2026 Solmare. All rights reserved. Art © Gustavo Vituri, used under license.