Zombies Ate My Landlord: A Retro Arcade Survival Game

Zombies Ate My Landlord is a fast-paced Pico-8 arcade game where players navigate cramped apartment mazes to dodge the undead and rescue trapped tenants. Scavenging limited weapons and power-ups is the only way to survive the 16 stages standing between you and the final boss.

Ross McCormick built this project completely from the ground up. He handled the programming, designed the levels, and composed the original soundtrack. Operating strictly within the Pico-8 engine gives the game a highly specific retro aesthetic that works perfectly for its claustrophobic setting.

You spend most of your time weaving through narrow corridors. The zombies don’t stop chasing you. Ever. Because your weapon drops are severely limited, avoiding combat entirely is often the better strategy. Players have to manage their movement with precision—grabbing power-ups when they appear and pulling stranded tenants to safety before the horde closes in. And since the apartment blocks feature handcrafted layouts, you can’t rely on random generation to save you.

The campaign doesn’t loop infinitely like older coin-op titles. After clearing the sixteenth stage, you run directly into the giant zombified Landlord. Defeating this massive enemy provides a solid, climatic end to the run.

Game Controls

The input scheme mirrors traditional retro hardware setups.

• Keyboard: Optimized for standard QWERTY layouts.
• Controller / Mobile: The Pico-8 X and O buttons serve as your primary actions.

As always, remember to have fun!