IKHOS

The game is currently in Pre-Alpha version. Follow for updates :)

Hello human. Meet the IKHOS.

Hatch them, build your collection, and sacrifice it all to restart the cycle. Your memories and knowledge remain. Progress is found in beginning again, with what you have learned.

The Game

IKHOS is a reaction and timing-based roguelite for Game Boy and Game Boy Color, drawn in a stark “2-bit” aesthetic.

Within IKHOS, nothing is permanent except what you understand. You will raise and collect strange abstract creatures by overcoming challenges inspired by classic Game & Watch experiences.

The world does not settle. It shifts forward whether you succeed or fail, unfolding into something more demanding with every attempt. Each decision carries weight, not because it is final, but because it shapes what you will become next.

Hone your skills to discover more IKHOS and unlock their strange abilities, or offer your entire collection back to the cycle and begin again, carrying only your memory of what you have learned.

Objective

There is a path hidden within the cycle (under development).

To reach its end, you will need to gather enough IKHOS to overcome what lies ahead. Only through accumulation, adaptation, and repeated rebirth will you gain access to the final stretch of this miniature world.

Each cycle brings you closer. Each sacrifice clears the way forward.

What awaits at the end can only be reached by those who have learned how to begin again.

CONTROLS	GAME BOY	KEYBOARD
MOVE	D-pad	Arrow Keys
MOVE RIGHT	A	Z
MOVE LEFT	B	X
STATS / PAUSE	START	ENTER
CLEAR ALL POWERUP	SELECT	SHIFT

Features

Easy to learn, difficult to master

Simple controls open the door to a world that steadily becomes more demanding. Success and failure both push the cycle forward. Only your timing, reflexes, and adaptability allow you to endure what comes next.

A world shaped by your choices

Choose which challenges to face and uncover hidden outcomes through combinations of eggs and trials. Every IKHO you bring into existence is a reflection of the path you decided to take.

Sacrifice to restart the cycle

At any point, you may return the world to its origin by sacrificing your entire collection of IKHOS using the VOID. The cycle resets, and the challenge begins again.

But nothing is truly lost.

Your discoveries remain within you.

Rare IKHOS that persist beyond the cycle

Some IKHOS are born different. Extremely rarely, a creature may emerge as a Special IKHO, a being that refuses to vanish with the cycle.

These rare forms persist across resets, becoming permanent knowledge within your evolving collection. They are the only way the cycle remembers what you have found.

Collect, remember, repeat

Complete your collection of IKHOS in Story Mode (only first level available, enemies not coded yet), or chase infinite mastery in Trial Mode (under development). Every cycle is an ending. Every restart is a continuation. Only what you have learned carries forward.

Install Instructions:

This game is intended to be played on any Game Boy system using a flashcart or the Analogue Pocket. You can also play it using any Game Boy emulator.

Add the .gb file to a flashcart or open the file using a Game Boy emulator, either from your computer, emulation device, or smartphone. A save file will be created automatically.

Credits:

César Arminio (2think design studio)  – Scripting, Design, Pixel Art, Teaser Trailer Music

Beatscribe - SFX

Damien Guard – In-game Typography