They Bleed Pixels gets new levels in free Crimson Update

There are over 21,000 articles on PCGamer.com—I counted—and somehow not one of them is about They Bleed Pixels. That seems like a mistake, and one I will now attempt to rectify.

They Bleed Pixels is a hardcore combat-platformer. It's slower then, say, Super Meat Boy, but bolsters the extreme platforming challenge with a deep combat system that utilises combos and environmental traps. It's neat, but also absurdly difficult. And now, two years after its release, it's received a free update that adds new levels and an optional "novice" difficulty mode.

This live-action trailer should give you some idea of the tone and features of the Crimson Update.

Here's what's been added:

New engine rewritten in C for 60fps gameplay on netbooks and older computers.
Shorter and easier Novice Difficulty levels.
New bonus levels! Winter’s End and exp. 666.
Record, play and share your best runs on the leaderboards. Watch the top players to improve your runs!
Enhanced blood effects! Double the blood particles!
Support for both DirectInput and XInput controllers.
Lots of other little bits of polish, from save games to graphics options.

They Bleed Pixels is also now available for Mac and Linux. To celebrate the update, the game is 75% off until June 10. That makes it a ridiculously cheap £1.74/$2.49.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.