Running on Empty

Running on Empty

T.F.A.N.C.S. · 2022 · RPG, 1990's, Retro, Pixel Graphics, Arcade

PC
Positive96% · 25
Best price
$3.99
lowest tracked $1.59
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Steam
Standard Edition · Steam
$3.99
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About Running on Empty

Running on Empty is a minimal yet deep post-apocalyptic role-playing game with resource management mechanics (in 64x64 retro pixel graphics!)

Your sole mission is to retrieve the package from the place far away.
Go through the cruel world.
Run between settlements, help residents, deal with raiders to complete the mission.

Features

  • Managing your resources to survive in the wasteland
  • Multiple ways to finish the story
  • Leveling up your skills with skill points
  • Randomly generated maps
  • 3 Factions to support or oppose
  • Steam achievements
  • Gunfights, sniping enemies, picking locks, hacking terminals...

It is highly recommended to read the game manual before playing.
(It's available on the side bar at the right part of the store page and the library page)

What Steam players say

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

Recommended Dec 24, 2025
Great little game -- an 8-bit cross between [i]Oregon Trail[/i] and [i]Fallout 1/2[/i], clearly made with love. I stumbled on the original game-jam version on Newgrounds awhile back, and enjoyed it enough to want to support the developer. Solid core gameplay loop, with combat and RPG elements, a [i]killer[/i] soundtrack, and super-detailed pixel art with a great sense of style (seriously -- the dev went to the trouble of modelling [i]dust and reflections on the screen of your not!Pip-Boy[/i], and the laserfire effects are some of the best I can remember seeing in 8- or 16-bit). That being said, I do have a couple of nitpicks, mostly related to how certain information is communicated. [list] [*] This is definitely a work in translation, and some of the dialogue -- particularly the new material related to the factions -- can read a little stilted. It's never enough to stop you from figuring out what you need to do, but it does stand out. [*] It's not stated anywhere in the manual, but you can change resolution from the settings menu ("Escape" from the main game window). The default 64x64 resolution is cute and nostalgic, but I'm old and eyestrain is real, particularly consid…
1 found this helpful
Recommended Jul 14, 2026
Oregon Trail but on Game Boy and for furries. 100% worth it.
Recommended Jun 27, 2026
its pretty difficult i have never played one of these games before but i really do like it
Recommended Mar 14, 2026
Loved it
Recommended Feb 22, 2026
it is a very game (honestly i enjoy it)
Recommended Feb 20, 2026
Running on Empty is a compact yet impressively layered post-apocalyptic RPG developed and published by T.F.A.N.C.S., built around survival tension, player choice, and systemic depth hidden beneath a deliberately minimalist presentation. At first glance, its retro 64×64 pixel aesthetic suggests something simple and nostalgic, but the moment you begin navigating its harsh wasteland, it becomes clear that the experience is far more intricate than its visuals imply. The game places you in a desolate world with a clear overarching objective—retrieve a distant package—but the journey itself is shaped by unpredictable encounters, scarce resources, and the constant pressure of survival. The structure revolves around traveling across a series of procedurally generated maps, each filled with potential threats, opportunities, and branching decisions. Movement is never trivial. Every step consumes resources, and every detour could either reward you with valuable supplies or push you closer to starvation. Food, ammunition, equipment durability, and medical items all play critical roles in determining how far you can safely venture. The game’s survival systems are not superficial meters to be p…

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