Team Fortress 2 demake is a love letter to retro-brawlers

Notorious video game 'de-maker' Eric Ruth has struck again, this time by turning Valve's team-based multiplayer Team Fortress 2 into an 8-bit side-scrolling brawler. Called Team Fortress Arcade, the free game lets players select between nine familiar TF2 characters, join the heroic Blu team, and kick Red ass through ten levels alone or with an ally via local co-op.

Check it out:

In an interview with Piki Geek, Ruth said he got his inspiration for TFA from classic side-scroller games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Final Fight, and X-Men Arcade. And while there were plans to pay homage to TF2's love of hats, he admitted including them in the game was too time consuming, saying, “It's not that I don’t care or I don’t love hat collecting, but it's just not realistic for this title. There is a nod to some in-game hats in TFA though, so keep your eyes peeled!”

Ruth revealed he will be updating the game with new modes, challenges, PvP and online co-op in the future, adding, “For now, I needed to get the game out the door, but just like the real Team Fortress 2 that we know and love, there will be updates later to add things you will most definitely want. So, you won’t have to pay me anything, I assure you (although donations go a long way) to get online co-op involved in the project.”

Team Fortress Arcade is available now as a free download at Piki Geek. Eric Ruth's full library of demakes - including Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead, Pixel Force Halo, and Pixel Force: DJ Hero – can also be played at his official website.

Sep 30, 201

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.