Octbuster puts you in an 80s video store as an octopus, with over 10,000 VHS tapes on the floor as real physics objects, and every single cover generated by hand-written code rather than by AI.

It climbed eight places this week to #35 on a 100% rating.

Chart credential: riser, +8 to #35 on the Steam 250 weekly chart, scoring 7.27 from 41 reviews at 100% positive. Released 27 October 2026 by Alex, published by I love my friends.

Key features

Eight arms, and four of them are your legs

Each tentacle is a separate arm you aim and reach with, so you scoop whole piles at once rather than grabbing tapes individually. Four arms carry at the start and the other four are legs — so every new carrying arm costs you a leg.

That trade is the best idea in the game. Most tidy-up games upgrade capacity for free; making it a genuine cost turns an upgrade screen into a decision. And the legs stick to walls, which is how you reach the rest of the store.

Ten thousand tapes that actually exist

Every tape is a physics object sitting in a real pile, not a sprite on a grid. The shelf shuffles over to make room as you slide tapes home.

A kitten workforce

You earn a kitten army that wanders the store, sits on props you place, and once put to work carries tapes to the right shelf. Play music and they dance. You can pet every one of them, as many times as you like, even with your arms full.

No generative AI, stated plainly

The developer says every title and cover on those tapes was made by code they wrote, with no generative AI involved.

That line is doing real marketing work right now — the same week Drawquarium’s “Art Is Human” trailer went viral. Worth noting the distinction, though: this is a claim about procedural generation versus generative AI, which are different things, and the developer is being precise rather than slogan-writing.

What to expect

41 reviews is a very small sample even at 100%. This is a small, charming game with one strong mechanical idea, co-op multiplayer, Steam Workshop support and Twitch chat integration.

Windows and macOS, $8.99 with 25% off.

Where to find Octbuster

• Buy on Steam — $8.99 (25% off)
• A free demo is on the store page
• Windows and macOS. Online co-op, Steam Workshop, full controller support

Frequently asked questions

Does Octbuster use AI art?

No. The developer states that every tape title and cover was generated by code they wrote themselves, with no generative AI.

How many tapes are in Octbuster?

Over 10,000, each one a physics object rather than a sprite.

Is Octbuster co-op?

Yes, it supports online co-op multiplayer.

Why do you lose a leg for each arm?

You have eight tentacles. Four start as carrying arms and four as legs, so expanding your carrying capacity costs you mobility — the legs also stick to walls for reaching higher parts of the store.

How much does Octbuster cost?

$8.99, discounted 25% from $11.99 at the time of writing.