Last updated on February 10th, 2026 at 05:51 am
8bit Doves – Action Game Review
8bit Doves is a Action/Entertainment/Casual game from Nitrome, first launched in 27th August 2014.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 563+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes 8bit Doves Stand Out
Trapped in a VR world powered by an ancient handheld device, you are forced to endlessly dream in a pixel world of just 4 colours! Doves have taken roost in your prison and though you don’t know it they are the key to your survival. The Doves subconsciously inspire dreams of flight, so take to the skies through the mazes of your imagination and find the exit.
Intuitive two button gameplay is all you need to steer your way through the sky. Fly through each stage and reach the exit. Get doves to follow you for extra bonus bragging rights on Game Center and Social Networking stuff. If walls aren’t enough challenge you may enjoy the variety of traps that get rapidly added including, moving walls, speed boost zones, growing walls and more!
By the team that brought you the award winning mobile hit Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage.
Features:
• Expanded from the hit #Nitromejam game!
• 3 level packs each with a different dream theme! (Sweet Dreams, Deep Sleep & Nightmare).
• A unique world realised in 4 Colours! (Great for that Game boy nostalgia fix)
• Don’t worry parents this game contains no In app purchases!
• Stunning Pixel Art from the award winning Nitrome studio!
• Simple two button gameplay, perfect for a touch screen!
Important Message for Parents
This game may include:
- Direct links to social networking websites that are intended for an audience over the age of 13.
- Direct links to the internet that can take players away from the game with the potential to browse any web page.
- Cross promotion of Nitrome products.
This Action game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, 8bit Doves is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 30th January 2025
Recent improvements include:
- The game now has fullscreen support for modern devices!
The artwork in menus and in-game has been has been extended to support taller screen ratios. - Bug fixes
- Updated libraries for compliance
Download & Availability
8bit Doves is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
Feels like a gameboy game. The music is awesome, its challenging but fair, and mastering the controls is very rewarding. If you get too into it you can collect all the doves too, which gives it a little more longevity. Also employs simple yet effective storytelling.
Cool art style and a good balance of difficulty. Only wish it was updated to fit newer iPhone screens and had more levels.
Please update the game for iPhone X and later devices, game is not fitting the screen.
Has all of the fun of maneuvering a semi-truck around a parking lot at 40mph. Otherwise, a very beautiful game. Wish we knew what will happen in later levels, but we have enough frustration in our life. No thank you.
Came back to this game after a while and when we did, MY PROGRESS WENT DOWN THE DRAIN.
Thank you dearly Nitrome for such an incredibly gorgeous and inspiring game. The graphics, the music, and the theme of flight are all extremely incredible, and we've beaten this game so many times that we want more! Adding a sad and interesting storyline could really make this game something else, and we think the dark and apocalyptic world sets a perfect layout for a story and character development. Overall a fantastic game an definitely worth the money. We love it.
This game is loads of fun to anyone who plays it. The retro style is lovely, and reminds us of the old cartoons similar to Felix the Cat. The pixelation also reminds us of the Game Boy we had when we were younger. It's very entertaining, and the calming atmosphere and difficult gameplay give it a good blend of difficulty, yet not mind boggling frustration. It's very fun, and we could play this for hours! Lovely job, keep up the great work.
Great Game enough said. Challenge us on Game Center if you dare :) sharkdavid.
The game is absolutely fabulous! And to the people that are saying the controls switch at random, (news flash) they don't. Pushing the right side of the screen will make him turn clockwise and counterclockwise for the left side of the screen. Whenever he gets to 12 o'clock, he will switch directions. When there is nothing touching the screen, he will go downwards whichever way he is facing. You are haters. The controls are actually quite smooth.
The game is short sweet and wrapped up in a nostalgic little bow, we fux heavy with this game.. ITS REALLY NOT THAT HARD IF YOU GIVE IT 10 MINUTES.
We totally agree with the people who compliment this game's music and graphics and story; they are all well done and very charmingly put together. However, we think the biggest selling point is the gameplay that is, while actually very simple, joyously difficult! Holding left on the screen makes the hobo fly one way, and holding right makes him fly the other way, get it? For the people who are criticizing this game on its "random" controls, we're sorry, but it's no more complicated than left and right, seriously. That said, 8bit Doves is still a fantastically challenging little game, the best we've played in a long while.
We really like the retro style. This game takes practice but we feel accomplished when we beat each level. We've done everything so far, hoping more levels come with updates.
We absolutely love this game. It has simple graphics and great music. It took some time but we finally finished every level and every stage! We even managed to collect all the doves in the process! We wish it had more levels and more stages to play, maybe in the future they could add more? We even downloaded endless Doyles! Great game.
Really good game, but can make you rage quit.
This is our favourite game since Duet. It is challenging, but not to the point where it gets so frustrating that we want to stop playing (like Mr. Jump). The controls are simple, but they are perfect for the game. Right spins you clockwise, and left is counter-clockwise. They made it interesting though; if the character flips over, the controls invert. This is the reason people are complaining about 'random controls.' This game also has a surprising level of depth. Every level is a new challenge, and most have a new mechanic as well. We completed the whole game with all the doves in ~4 hours spread over 3 days. That is not the mark of a game that is too hard. If we had to pick one thing to change, it would be the number of levels. We wish the game was longer (or at least had replay value beyond collecting all the doves).
If you are stupid and stubborn, don't get this app. We got it when it was free as app of the week, but would pay to have it if we had to. The controls are simply you tap left to make the guy go to his left, right to make him go right. The reward is you beat the level, and you may feel some accomplishments when you gather each of the doves. Beautiful graphics even on our iPhone 4. Don't let the stupid people influence your decision. Get this game.
This exhilarating game is a very exciting one where there are several variables in the aerodynamics category; which makes it challenging , addicting and overall fun. 8Bit-Dove has mastered it's retro style pixel art which has extraordinary graphics comparable any first generation hand held games, and sega games such as your favorites – Pokemon or Zelda. Yet there's no story, but you take on a heavy sleeper who's not so aware of his surroundings and yea.. Just don't wake him up. But remember it's all about the doves. Go back for doves. And to the first comment, we agree… This is nothing like "FLAPPY BIRD" BUT… It's like a rebirth of "RETRY" a other good game, that you should try… Except we like 8bit-Dove better…… You can do figure eights in this one!! Except it's no retry points, no upgrades and nothing to slow you down… Good Luck ! Happy Dove Collecting.
This game is so great at first we thought ooh look this is one of those kind of games… But then we were addicted. In less Than a week we completed all the levels and now we don't even know what to do anymore. We were addicted on our first day. For all of those people who think this game is bad. Then you don't know what a good game is.
Our game experience: When we first downloaded this game, we played it for five minutes, then deleted it. This happened twice or so. After re-downloading this game for the third time, we thought, "it's the app of the week, how hard can it be?" So we played it again, first tapping the screen rapidly, then realizing that you HOLD THE SCREEN DOWN TO MOVE. We laughed at ourselves a few times, then started to enjoy the game! We played it more and more and we liked it more and more each time! A lot of the bad reviews are about how this game is too difficult. Or how the controls are impossible to learn. Well we've learned them, and so has most of the school that we go to as well! About the game: The graphics are mesmerizing, the music is wonderful, and original. And the game story is funny and extremely creative! A hobo dreaming of flying and obsessively collecting doves? Hilarious! You can't find a flaw in a made up story! To be real: Every game causes the player to come to their breaking point where they badly fail at breaking their device. But we love this game so much that we figured out, to make it easier to play, turn off the games sound the music is peaceful, but the sound of yourself dyeing over and over is enraging. So turn that feature off! We do wish that had made more levels, fingers crossed for an update.
This game is not like flappy bird at all, it takes similar controls and fleshes them out to create scenarios that seem to bend physics. We encourage everyone to try this game out, better and more beautiful than flappy bird; and definitely more rewarding.
Cool game and good everything get 5 stars but the music.The music for the Sweet Dreams pack is emotional.Plz change it it's super emotional.
This is super challenging. It's fun too. Yup, play it.
This game is extremely difficult, and fun at the same time. We usually don't play any games on our phone that require much attention, but this game has captivated us. The sounds and music are cool and remind you of something that you used to play on your GamBoy years ago. No lags or glitches, and the controls are a lot more fun to use than the type you may expect for this type of game.
We like jelly and this game is all about jelly it made us really happy thanks m8.
Great difficulty escalation, lovely music, and simple controls on hard obstacles. We finished the game and we want more level packs and songs! Thank you for being free.
We see a lot of people complaining about the controls and how the game is to hard.. It's suppose to be difficult! People say it is impossible, well we beat the game after two days of playing it so obviously not impossible. Maybe instead of complaining you should go play he game and practice.
Good game for MLG skills and maybe no scoping if your good at it. GOOD LUCK MLG warrior.
This game is seriously addicting.
This game is so awesome! It looks and sounds like an actual old retro game. The controls are good and responsive. Fun to play, but also gives quite an enjoyable challenge. Must play, trust us you won't regret it.
Try it. Really. Very neat. Hold phone like a gameboy, one finger left, one finger right. Alternate holding (or tapping) each finger. Each finger always corresponds to its unique direction of rotation. If you get overwhelmed at any point, get into an infinite loop by just holding one finger. Music is soothing and familiar feeling. As you play, you notice more and more art as if in a 3-D space. The concept with the birdies and dreamlike flying is really neat. The menu is super intuitive.
We don't normally write reviews, but because this game is getting such low ratings, we felt it was our duty to tell the world to GIVE THIS GAME A CHANCE! Yes, it does bring out the same emotions as Flappy Bird (blinding rage), but that's where the similarities end. We would label it as a puzzle game; each level has it's own quirks and needs to be mastered individually. This is the total opposite of Flappy Bird, where you can master the controls once and be set to go. Yes, it's challenging, so if you're looking for a brain dead game to just help you pass the time, go download the Kardashian game. We personally don't like the old-school gameboy graphics, but that's just our opinion. We can see why some people would love it, since it's very nostalgic. Anyway, just give it a chance. It's free. Don't like? Delete. But you might end up loving it.
We love the game we pay it a lot. Also you should make more levels.
This is by far one of the best app games. It has awesome artwork and making it look old type is a great idea. It's challenging but not hard which is great.
A lot of people in the reviews are saying that the controls are bad. Im here to say there not bad but challenging. The controls help make the game and if you can't get used to them you should stick to tapping on flappy bird.
Beautiful great game with perfect controls that get a while to master.
First off, this app is not for people who get hilariously angry over a game. We'd argue that most, if not all, of the 1 star reviews are people who got way too frustrated because the game is more challenging than they are used to. With that said, if you are not one of those people, it can still get very frustrating at times, but we found it to be very entertaining. The controls can be quite difficult to get the hang of at first (we don't say master because, as others have mentioned, the controls aren't something you would expect most people to master, merely get accustomed to). Once you do get the hang of it though, the game becomes rather fun.
This game is extremely difficult but beautifully designed. 10/10 do recommend.
If you are over 32 and remember the good old days of NES and Gameboy, this is the game for you. Yes it's hard, but that's what you grew up with so toughen up! It's controls are similar to flappy bird, but everything else is straight out of the 80's. So if you like old school, give it a shot. You won't regret it.
This game… Our goodness this game is an artistic masterpiece. The "hints" of a plot given throughout most levels of the game are absolutely tantalizing and very deep indeed. For those that want a quick fix of distraction from their daily life, this is NOT your game. Do not play this because you will end up more stressed before your next interview, office duty, exam, or class. We compare this to the game "Fez". It is just that good! Cryptic, difficult, simple, yet keeps you wanting to know more… What happened… The controls are perfect. If your fingers aren't sore after playing this for an hour or two, you're not doing it right!! We love these types of games. We wish it weren't as difficult as we really would like to finish the game and find out the story, but alas, we could only get so far before the difficulty got too high for us. Great game! Truly deserving of 5 stars. Excellent work.
We just finished it, so we're now downloading Endless Doves it is amazing and hard yet possible.
Once you get over controls, very addicting. Left press is flying in a counter-clockwise motion, useful for ascending. Right press is clockwise, useful for descending. Hope this helped.
Cute and fun, albeit a touch difficult.
We normally never write reviews, but we've felt the need to take the time to write this one. To the people saying that this game is similar to "Flappy Bird", please, go play Flappy Bird, and then go play this game. Where you shall notice, these two games are NOT similar in any way. Now, many people are saying that the controls in this game are "too complicating" and make the game "unplayable". We will admit, the controls do take some time getting used to, and do indeed make the game challenging. However, the controls do not make the game unplayable at all. The controls actually do have a pattern when you're playing the game. Meaning, they don't unexpectedly change or anything! You just got to actually take the time and use your brain a tiny bit to figure out how the controls work. The game is completely playable. We've gotten quite far into the game, and it doesn't take rocket science to get pass each level. You just can't let your frustration get the best of you. This game is meant to make you think and use strategy. If you're not a fan of using your brain a little, then, this game is not for you. The graphics are really great and remind us of older gaming days. We think they really fit this game and are just flawless. This game does deserve five stars.
Awesome game. Brings back old memories of the Kirby games.
We love this game even though the controls might feel weird, it brings back the memory of the golden age of gaming, it brought back us playing mega man with its textures. Good job guys you have brought back our good times in the past.
It reminds us of the old gameboy and this game keeps us calm.
We love this game. We don't understand all the bad reviews saying the controls are inconsistent. Try it out.
It's a fun hard game way better than flappy bird.
People need to stop complaining and giving the game low ratings because they can't figure it out. Ever play an NES game? Or an arcade game? Or any game that doesn't hold your hand and allows any unskilled player to trip through the game to completion? The point of difficult, yet simple, games is to make the player feel accomplished because he actually builds skill and works for the completion of the game. An example is Mike Tyson's Punch Out. Only three things for the player to do: punch high, low, and dodge. The game is hard for many people. When someone finally beats Tyson, they get nothing, just a screen that says "good job." Yet, when we first beat the game, we freaked out and felt like a god. If a game is difficult or hard to understand, figure it out.
This game has good music, nice Gameboy style graphics, and really tight controls. It's a deceptively simple game that's easy to learn but takes time to master – as a result It's a pretty hardcore game in the difficulty dept. Learning curve aside though, it's a really short game once you've mastered the controls – however the dev did make an endless version available for free called ENDLESS DOVES, which has other birds that you can unlock – it's worth checking out.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 3.0
- Size: 50.78 MB
- iOS: 11.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: Nitrome
Last updated: 30th January 2025 | Genre: Action, Entertainment | Developer: Nitrome