The Carbonara Tales

The Carbonara Tales is a rage game and a troll platformer about a capybara with a tangerine on its head. I made it for people who love hard games, laugh when a game tricks them and then press retry anyway.

A troll game where any block can lie

It looks like a cozy pixel art platformer. It isn't. Blocks drop on your head, the floor slides away, two giant stone numbers 6 and 7 squash you from both sides, and the checkpoint flag can be a trap too. You only find most traps by dying in them, so every run teaches you a bit more of the level. The Aura counter in the corner keeps score of your fails and only goes down.

Five worlds, one short level each

Each world is one level, and a clean run takes 40 to 75 seconds. You start in a village of moles who forgot where they live, then go through a winter forest with little yetis, a rainy city at night, a beach where crabs started a revolution, and a black-and-white noir finale. Short levels make this capybara game easy to pick up: one try while waiting for the bus, or an hour of "just one more".

A hard platformer with a story

Under the jokes there is a sad story, and it gets darker toward the end, up to psychological horror and jumpscares. Safe mode turns off flashes, screen shake and jumpscares if you want just the platforming. After each death you get a small drawing, and the ending tells you what they mean.

Speedrun mode, skins and a retro console

After the ending you unlock speedrun mode: all five levels against the clock, with online leaderboards. Tangerines from the levels buy skins for the capybara, and legendary skins restyle the whole retro handheld console you play on. Play in portrait or landscape, with buttons or a virtual joystick.

No lives, no energy, no paid retries. It's an offline game, so it works on a plane or in the subway.

The Carbonara Tales is free on iPhone, iPad and Android. If troll games and rage games are your thing, try to get through the first world and tell me how many attempts it took 🍊