100 Million Browser Plays Later: Nitrome Brings the Bad Ice Cream Trilogy to Nintendo Switch and Steam With 4-Player Co-Op
Anyone who spent their school computer lab breaks or afternoon study sessions crowded around a single keyboard in the early 2010s is in for a frosty wave of nostalgia. British independent studio Nitrome has officially announced Bad Ice Cream: Triple Scoop for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. After racking up more than 100 million plays during the golden era of web browser gaming, the beloved pixel-art arcade puzzle series is returning in a fully remastered definitive collection.
The Complete Trilogy Remastered at 60 FPS With Wider Arenas
Originally launched in December 2010 and followed by two sequels in 2012 and late 2013, Bad Ice Cream built its reputation on a deceptively simple arcade loop: players control a rogue soft-serve ice cream cone inside a maze, spit out or shatter lines of ice blocks to trap patrolling monsters, and scoop up every piece of fruit before the timer runs out.
Launching as a flagship release under the studio's Nitrome Classics banner, Triple Scoop goes far beyond a basic emulation wrapper. Every level across Bad Ice Cream 1, 2, and 3 has been rebuilt from the ground up. Nitrome notes that it has preserved the classic stage magic while trimming away frustrating legacy layouts. Even better, the cramped, stuttering browser windows of the past are gone: the collection now runs at a locked 60 frames per second and features expanded widescreen arenas dressed in brand-new thematic environment pixel art.
New Boss Encounters, Exclusive Stages, and Unlockable Flavors
To make this modern console and PC revival worthwhile for veterans and newcomers alike, Nitrome is packing a hefty serving of brand-new content into the compilation:
- Epic Boss Battles: Brand-new boss encounters have been designed to test your ice-shattering reflexes at key milestones across the campaign.
- Exclusive Levels and Devious Traps: Fresh stages introduce new monster types, deadly stage hazards, and rare fruits to track down.
- Expanded Roster of Unlockable Flavors: Alongside fan-favorite classics such as Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Sorbet, Mint-Choc-Chip, Bubblegum, Licorice, and Smoky Bacon, players can complete challenges and achievements to unlock never-before-seen frozen characters.
From Same-Keyboard Nostalgia to 4-Player Couch Co-Op on Switch and Steam
The biggest gameplay upgrade lies in its expanded multiplayer support. While the original browser installments focused on two-player sessions, Bad Ice Cream: Triple Scoop scales its wider arenas up to 1-to-4 player local co-op and shared-screen PvP. Whether you are coordinating ice walls with teammates or accidentally sealing your friends in a corner with an angry monster, it has all the makings of one of the best co-op and multiplayer games to play with friends on the couch.
PC purists will also be glad to hear that Nitrome has kept the signature two-player same-keyboard co-op mode intact, letting two people share a single keyboard just like the old days. At the same time, the release adds full wireless controller support (including DualShock, DualSense, Xbox gamepads, and Joy-Con controllers), Steam Remote Play Together so friends can join online even if they do not own a copy, Steam Cloud saves, and Steam Achievements.
Check Bad Ice Cream: Triple Scoop deals on Allkeyshop→
Release Window and Ultra-Light PC System Requirements
Bad Ice Cream: Triple Scoop is available to wishlist right now on Steam, while the Nintendo Switch edition is actively in development with a specific launch date to be shared soon. While waiting for the release date to drop on Nintendo's hybrid system, you can check out our guide to the best Nintendo Switch games currently available.
On PC, the 2D pixel-art engine ensures that almost any setup or handheld PC will run the collection effortlessly: minimum specifications only call for a 64-bit Windows OS, an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1 GHz processor, 500 MB to 1 GB of video memory, DirectX 11, and a modest 800 MB of storage space.
My Perspective
I lost count of how many study periods I spent elbow-to-elbow with a friend at a single PC keyboard, fighting over WASD and the arrow keys just to grab the last frozen banana in Bad Ice Cream. Getting the whole Nitrome trilogy rebuilt in widescreen 16:9 for four controllers on the Switch couch, without a hint of old browser stutter,is pure arcade bliss.
Keeping that chaotic two-players-on-one-keyboard mode intact on Steam while tossing in forty brand-new levels and boss fights shows the devs know exactly why we loved these games in the first place.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
