Intrusion Protocol

Intrusion Protocol

Somber Dawn Studios · July 20, 2017 · Indie, Action, Pixel Graphics, Free to Play, Retro

Intrusion Protocol is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

PC
Positive92% · 26
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

Intrusion Protocol price

Intrusion Protocol is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About Intrusion Protocol

Intrusion Protocol is a classic challenging retro 2-D platformer. Play as a computer virus tasked with infiltrating an enemy network to retrieve mission-critical data. As you find the data you will uncover a story that reveals the secrets of your mysterious purpose. Your only health bar is the clock, and the enemy defenses will quickly drain your precious time. Will you be able to overcome the defenses and access the data? Or will you find yourself out of time? Be quick. Be careful.

There's a reason this is at the top of this page. We want this experience to be a tough one. Players will crash and burn countless times until they figure out how to reach the end of each level in time. Though the game will bring players seemingly endless death, Intrusion Protocol is designed from the ground up to give the player the drive to keep going until they reach the data. If you think you have what it takes, show our unforgiving levels who's boss!

Some games are difficult because they are impossible to control. Not Intrusion Protocol. The controls are designed with the controller in mind and focus on closely connecting the player to their gaming experience. We have created a simple, tight, responsive system to make the player feel like they are in complete control. Considering the intense difficulty, it is crucial that the game has solid controls so the player doesn't feel like faulty mechanics were the reason for their (many) deaths.

The levels in Intrusion Protocol are certainly designed to provide a challenge. Moving enemies will quickly drain your time, and stationary obstacles will immediately send you back to your last checkpoint. Though it will be difficult for the average gamer, there are tricks and specific timings that will allow the true masters of the game to speedrun with blazing fast times.

Everything in Intrusion Protocol is designed to keep the player moving while not overloading the senses. The environment itself is in constant motion. The tail is only active when moving, and allows players to savor moments when they hit that perfect arc. These constant motion visuals immerse the player, and give them the drive to keep moving forward.

Why were you created? What is your destiny? Answers to these questions will unfold as the player completes levels. At the end of each level the player will see dialogue between two of the creators of Intrusion Protocol. Hearing this discussion will shed light on the program's purpose.

Intrusion Protocol — game info

Platforms
Windows, Linux / SteamOS
Steam Deck
Verified
Player modes
Single-player
Controller
Full controller support
PC Game Pass
Not included

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

Recommended Feb 2, 2018
[h1]EDIT:[/h1] [i]With the lowered price, I have decided to change my review from Not Recommended to Recommended. I still believe that Intrusion Protocol could do with some more work, but it's not a bad game. I'll let you decide whether this game is worth your time or not.[/i] [b]Intrusion Protocol[/b] is a short but challenging platformer where you race against a timer to reach a goal. Although difficult, the solid controls and mechanics make Intrusion Protocol quite fair. However, this game doesn’t offer much more than a short platforming challenge. [h1][u]Positive:[/u][/h1] [list] [*]Simple but good platformer. There are few rules, the controls are easy to master, and the levels are fair for the most part. Since the controls and mechanics function well, most mistakes feel like they were my own fault. Each level is based on a countdown timer. Small pips add 5 seconds, some enemies remove 5 seconds, others speed up the countdown, and some objects insta-kill you, forcing you back to the last checkpoint. So polish up your platforming precision, because there is more than enough time to finish each level if you refrain from making too many mistakes. [*]The different coloured ball t…
7 found this helpful
Recommended Jun 1, 2024
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2 found this helpful
Recommended Aug 22, 2026
Intrusion Protocol is a small retro platformer with a pretty simple idea behind it. I play as a computer virus trying to get through an enemy network and recover important data, but instead of giving me a normal health bar, the game makes time my health. Every level gives me a countdown, and the things around me can either help me gain time or quickly take it away. I like that because it gives the platforming a constant sense of pressure. I am not just trying to reach the end. I am trying to do it before the clock runs out. The controls are simple and that is important here because the game is deliberately difficult. I can move, jump and use the momentum of my movement to get around the different obstacles, and the game expects me to learn the layouts rather than slowly work my way through them. Moving enemies drain my remaining time, while some stationary hazards can kill me immediately and send me back to the last checkpoint. Once I understand how a section works, I can start improving my route and getting through it faster. I like that the challenge is mostly about learning the level and improving my timing. The level design is where the game works best for me. There are plent…
Not recommended Nov 9, 2025
"Intrusion Protocol" is one of literally thousands of retro 2D platformers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere... and I'm not kidding. Searching for "platformers" on the Steam store page yields over 17,000 results! Is this one of the best of those? Absolutely not. This is a very lazy, minimalist/ugly looking puzzle/action/reflexes "platformer" (more like a 2D sideview maze, think Echo or something) where you control like a cog and get chased by another cog... what's remarkable is that someone thought this would be a good idea for a video game. Platforming is an old, mostly dead genre, and this lacklustre experience, while it doesn't have an upfront cost, isn't saving the genre... it's no surprise this failed to capture any attention from gamers in the era of immersive 3D gaming. The graphics here are particularly awful, so bad that it actually stands out as one of the worst looking games on Steam. Quite an accomplishment. It's a big contributor to the failure of the game to attract gamers despite having no up-front cost. Gaming is a primarily visual medium, and if developers want to succeed, they must understand that it's not an…
Recommended Nov 2, 2025
Игра 'Intrusion Protocol' - это динамичный roguelike шутер с видом сверху, где вы взламываете вражеские системы и используете их же оружие против них самих. Геймплей затягивает с первых же минут, благодаря адреналиновой боевой системе и постоянной необходимости адаптироваться к меняющимся условиям. Каждый забег уникален, сгенерированные уровни и случайные усиления делают каждую попытку свежей и не дают заскучать. Графически игра выполнена в минималистичном, но стильном пиксель-арте, который отлично передает атмосферу киберпанка и технологической опасности. Саундтрек бодрый и энергичный, идеально подходит для динамичных перестрелок. Несмотря на реиграбельность, игра может показаться немного сложной на первых порах. Но если разобраться в механиках и выработать свою стратегию, удовольствие гарантировано. Рекомендую всем любителям roguelike и шутеров, которые ищут хардкорный, но увлекательный опыт.
Recommended Jun 28, 2024
Short and perfectly difficult.

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