The Game Census
They Bleed Pixels cover art

They Bleed Pixels

Spooky Squid Games Inc. · 2012-08-29

Steam

ActionIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Side view

Releases: Oct 22, 2020 (Nintendo Switch), Aug 29, 2012 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Aug 29, 2012 (Linux), Aug 29, 2012 (Mac)

They Bleed Pixels is a fiendishly difficult action platformer inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and classic horror.

They Bleed Pixels is a 2012 Action and Indie game priced at $9.99, with an owner estimate of 200,000 .. 500,000 and a review sentiment of Very Positive (83% of 2551 reviews).— census verdict as of 2026-09-20

0
playing now
83%
positive of 2.6k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
200,000–500,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
80/100
critic score (1 outlets, IGDB)
81/100
IGDB user rating (18 ratings)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Verified
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$9.99
steam price (US)

0 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 13:00 UTC (census sample)

They Bleed Pixels is a beat'em up platform game developed and released by Canadian indie studio Spooky Squid Games in August 2012 for Microsoft Windows via Steam. The art style is dark with gothic Lovecraftian themes.

Health check

Quiet
  • · 0 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 17 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~2/week).
  • · Review velocity down 19% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 10% of 27,667 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-30

Estimated sales: 102k–204k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 2,553 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $1.00 at Fanatical (2022-04-15) · bundled 11×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 18 of 28 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
272720172026Week of 2017-11-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2017-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2017-12-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2017-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-01-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

102026-09-14 22:00 — 1 players2026-09-16 06:00 — 0 players2026-09-17 14:00 — 0 players2026-09-18 21:00 — 1 players2026-09-20 05:00 — 1 players2026-09-21 13:00 — 0 players2026-09-22 20:00 — 0 players2026-09-24 04:00 — 1 players2026-09-25 11:00 — 1 players2026-09-26 19:00 — 0 players2026-09-28 02:00 — 0 players2026-09-29 10:00 — 0 players2026-09-30 17:00 — 1 players2026-10-02 01:00 — 0 players2026-10-03 08:00 — 0 players2026-10-04 16:00 — 1 players2026-10-06 00:00 — 1 players2026-10-07 07:00 — 0 players2026-10-08 15:00 — 1 players2026-10-09 22:00 — 0 players2026-10-11 06:00 — 0 players2026-10-12 14:00 — 0 players2026-10-13 21:00 — 0 players2026-10-14 13:00 — 0 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$9.99$1.992015-01-012026-09-092015-01-01 — best price $2.492015-06-22 — best price $9.992015-10-29 — best price $2.492016-03-11 — best price $1.992016-08-08 — best price $9.992016-11-01 — best price $7.992017-03-27 — best price $9.992017-09-04 — best price $9.992017-12-21 — best price $1.992018-04-20 — best price $9.992018-09-13 — best price $9.992019-02-04 — best price $1.992019-06-25 — best price $1.992019-10-28 — best price $1.992020-03-19 — best price $1.992020-08-02 — best price $1.992020-12-01 — best price $9.992021-03-22 — best price $9.992021-10-19 — best price $9.992021-12-23 — best price $2.492022-05-16 — best price $2.492022-11-04 — best price $9.992023-01-27 — best price $9.992023-07-07 — best price $9.992023-11-06 — best price $9.992024-04-04 — best price $2.492024-07-04 — best price $9.992024-11-04 — best price $9.992025-02-25 — best price $9.992025-05-28 — best price $9.992025-09-29 — best price $2.492025-12-04 — best price $9.992026-05-23 — best price $9.992026-09-08 — best price $2.492026-09-09 — best price $2.49
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

3012026-06-01 — 5 pageviews2026-06-05 — 4 pageviews2026-06-09 — 3 pageviews2026-06-13 — 5 pageviews2026-06-17 — 6 pageviews2026-06-21 — 2 pageviews2026-06-25 — 2 pageviews2026-06-29 — 2 pageviews2026-07-03 — 9 pageviews2026-07-07 — 3 pageviews2026-07-11 — 30 pageviews2026-07-15 — 3 pageviews2026-07-19 — 9 pageviews2026-07-23 — 3 pageviews2026-07-27 — 9 pageviews2026-07-31 — 7 pageviews2026-08-04 — 18 pageviews2026-08-08 — 13 pageviews2026-08-12 — 5 pageviews2026-08-16 — 8 pageviews2026-08-20 — 4 pageviews2026-08-24 — 8 pageviews2026-08-28 — 8 pageviews2026-09-01 — 11 pageviews2026-09-05 — 11 pageviews2026-09-09 — 8 pageviews2026-09-13 — 11 pageviews2026-09-17 — 6 pageviews2026-09-21 — 6 pageviews2026-09-25 — 5 pageviews2026-09-29 — 12 pageviews2026-10-03 — 2 pageviews2026-10-07 — 8 pageviews2026-10-11 — 2 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
86.4%
earned "Acolyte"
8.3%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxFull controller supportSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam Trading CardsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsFamily Sharing1 DLC

2 supported languages: English, Japanese

Post-launch support: 1 DLC released, first 2012-08-29 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)14,6970%150
Switch (Nintendo)180%0

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

CuteGoreBloodActionGothicDifficultPlatformerBeat 'em upLovecraftianSingleplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Dying LightThe Cat LadyHyper Light DrifterThe Vanishing of Ethan CarterOri and the Blind ForestChildren of MortaMomodora: Reverie Under The MoonlightTUNIC

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗Discord ↗Official site ↗