A zombie charges from the left. A ninja appears on the right. Your pistol is running low on ammunition, and the only thing standing between you and a very unfortunate dinner is a pig swinging a frying pan. Welcome to Bacon May Die, where the fighting is ridiculous, the enemies keep coming, and your bacon is always in danger.
In this fast-paced 2D beat ’em up game, you play as Bacon, a surprisingly dangerous little pig battling waves of zombies, angry animals, ninjas, skeletons, and other strange creatures. Punch, kick, slash, shoot, roll, and dash your way through increasingly chaotic fights. Along the way, collect coins, unlock outrageous weapons, change your pig’s appearance, and prepare for boss battles against enemies such as Stomper and Pumpkin.
What makes Bacon May Die so enjoyable is how much you can accomplish with just a few controls. One moment you’re knocking enemies across the screen with a baseball bat; the next you’re firing a rocket launcher, dodging an explosive enemy, or fighting beside a friend in local co-op. The goal is to survive the madness, improve your fighting skills, and see how far your pig can go.
About Bacon May Die
Bacon May Die was created by SnoutUp Games, an independent developer based in Lithuania and also known for Iron Snout. Both games feature pigs in fast-paced combat, but Bacon May Die expands the formula with larger areas, firearms, equipment progression, vehicles, and cooperative play.
Poki lists the browser game’s release as March 2019. The game is available to play online for free on desktop, phone, and tablet. A separate PC edition was released on Steam in April 2021, and some extra modes or features can differ between platforms.
The First Rule of Bacon May Die: Never Stop Fighting
Enemies approach from both sides of the screen, so standing still and attacking in one direction is a quick way to get surrounded. Instead, move toward nearby opponents, strike before they reach you, and turn around whenever another enemy approaches from behind.
The combat combines melee attacks with ranged weapons. Short directional inputs let you attack nearby enemies, while holding the direction toward a target fires your equipped gun. Jumping helps you reach or avoid threats, and rolling gives you another way to escape a dangerous position.
Defeating opponents helps you progress through waves, earn experience, and collect coins. As the fights become more crowded, choosing when to attack, dodge, or shoot becomes more important than simply pressing buttons as quickly as possible.
Bacon May Die Controls – Single Player and 2 Player
The controls are based on direction rather than a traditional collection of separate attack buttons. That makes them easy to learn but surprisingly versatile.
| Action | Player 1 | Player 2 (Co-op) |
|---|---|---|
| Move and Melee Attack Left | Left Arrow | A |
| Move and Melee Attack Right | Right Arrow | D |
| Jump | Up Arrow | W |
| Roll / Dodge | Down Arrow | S |
| Fire Ranged Weapon | Hold Left or Right Arrow | Hold A or D |
| Dash | Double-tap Left or Right Arrow | Double-tap A or D |
Playing on mobile? Tap the left or right side of the screen to attack in that direction. Swipe upward to jump, downward to roll, or sideways to dash. Hold the appropriate side to shoot with a ranged weapon.
More advanced moves become available as you gain access to throwable weapons and active skills. For example, the game describes grenade throwing as holding Up and pressing backward relative to the direction you’re facing. Some active skills use a Down-plus-Forward input while rolling.
Know Your Enemies: From Shroomie to Skelington
Bacon May Die doesn’t rely on a single type of opponent. Different enemies attack in different ways, and some are much more dangerous when mixed into a crowd.
Forest – Zombies, Ninjas, and Unexpected Trouble
The Forest is home to a particularly strange collection of enemies. Shroomie may look like a harmless mushroom, but it is still another opponent trying to interrupt your attacks. Hedge, the hedgehog enemy, creates a different threat, while Ninja opponents make the action more demanding.
You’ll also encounter enemies such as Hogster, whose aggressive behavior makes positioning especially important. Zombies and their explosive relatives, called Bombies, can appear as part of the wider enemy roster.
The Forest is a good place to practice keeping opponents on one side of your pig rather than allowing the entire crowd to surround you.
Snow – Cold Weather, Snowmen, and Angry Bunnies
The snowy area introduces its own collection of enemies, including Snowmen, Snowballs, Bunnies, and even hostile Christmas Trees. These opponents give the winter setting a playful appearance, but their attacks are still dangerous.
Use rolls and jumps to maintain space, particularly when several enemies close in together. The contrast between the cheerful winter scenery and the frantic fighting is part of the game’s humor.
Dungeon – Skeletons, Spiders, and Bone Throwers
In the Dungeon, the enemy lineup includes Skelington, smaller Skeletonlets, Spiders, and Bone Throwers. This area changes the feel of the fights with enemies that can pressure you from different distances.
Watch for incoming projectiles as well as melee attackers. When an enemy can threaten you from farther away, closing the distance recklessly is not always the best option.
Boss Battles: Stomper and Pumpkin
Ordinary enemy waves test how well you handle crowds. Boss battles test whether you can keep fighting while a much stronger opponent controls the screen.
Two of the game’s named bosses are Stomper and Pumpkin. Both are major progression targets, with their own boss health bars and dedicated achievement goals.
When a boss appears, change your approach. Don’t rush in with the same nonstop attacks you use against weaker enemies. Watch its movement, avoid getting trapped nearby, and use short opportunities to deal damage before moving out of danger again.
A ranged weapon can help maintain distance, but ammunition is limited. If you use every shot too early, you may have to move closer to continue dealing damage. Maintaining a safe balance between melee attacks, ranged fire, and dodging is usually more effective than relying entirely on one technique.
The Weapon Collection Is Half the Fun
Few fighting games let you choose between a serious-looking firearm and a weapon as absurd as a sausage or a toilet plunger. Bacon May Die embraces both.
The arsenal contains traditional weapons such as Bats, Swords, Axes, Katanas, Shotguns, Revolvers, and Miniguns, alongside much stranger choices like the Toaster, Bee Cannon, Eyeball Launcher, Candy Cane, Foam Finger, Pan, and Chainsaw.
Some weapons are designed primarily for close-range fighting, while others fire bullets, rockets, bees, ice shards, or other projectiles. You can experiment with different combinations as more equipment becomes available.
Notable Weapon Unlock Goals
Several weapons are tied to specific accomplishments. Some examples of recorded unlock requirements include:
- Revolver: Reach 10 ranged kills.
- Uzi: Reach 25 ranged kills.
- Shotgun: Reach 50 ranged kills.
- Minigun: Defeat 200 enemies.
- Katana: Reach 250 melee kills.
- Lightsaber: Reach 400 melee kills.
- Chainsaw: Deal 25,000 total damage.
Meeting a weapon’s progress requirement may still leave you needing to select or purchase it from the relevant menu. Requirements and availability can also depend on the game edition.
One useful detail: the game itself describes many melee weapons as mostly cosmetic. That means choosing a frying pan over a sword is often about how you want Bacon to look and fight, not necessarily about gaining a huge statistical advantage. Ranged weapons, skills, and other upgrades provide different tactical options.
How to Shoot Without Running Out of Ammo
When you have a ranged weapon equipped, hold the direction toward your target to shoot. This is particularly useful against enemies you would rather defeat before they get close.
However, guns use ammunition, so holding the button continuously isn’t always a good idea. The combat system also rewards close-range fighting: ammunition can be recovered through melee combat and defeating enemies.
A reliable rhythm is to use your gun against dangerous distant threats, return to melee against safer opponents, and save ammunition for the next difficult group. This approach helps you avoid becoming helpless when a stronger enemy appears.
Different weapons also encourage different habits. A Shotgun rewards fighting at closer range, while a weapon such as a Bazooka encourages careful shot selection. More unusual choices, such as the Bee Cannon or Toaster, make experimenting with ranged combat especially entertaining.
Throw Grenades, Use Skills, and Control the Crowd
As the combat gets busier, special attacks and throwable objects add new possibilities beyond basic swinging and shooting.
The game’s throwable selection includes a regular Grenade, a Snowball, and even a Banana. These give you additional ways to interrupt or deal with opponents when a normal melee combo isn’t enough.
The skill collection also contains named moves such as Anvil Drop, Saw Roll, Rocket Rain, Sword Throw, and Bee Attack. Other upgrades focus on attributes like Crit Hits, Crit Damage, and Roll Speed.
Skill access depends on your current unlocks and game mode, but the broader idea is simple: when normal attacks struggle to control a crowded screen, look for ways to improve your damage, movement, or ability to strike several enemies.
Bring a Friend – Or a Pet Chicken
You don’t have to protect your bacon alone. On Poki, Bacon May Die supports local two-player co-op, allowing two people to fight together on the same computer.
Player 1 uses the arrow keys, while Player 2 uses WASD. The controls are independent, so you can attack enemies approaching from different directions and help prevent either pig from getting surrounded.
Co-op works best when both players pay attention to positioning. If you stand directly on top of each other and attack the same target, enemies approaching from behind may get too close. Instead, cover both sides of the battlefield and help your teammate when the crowd shifts.
The game also features helpful pets. The most recognizable is the chicken companion, a tiny but surprisingly aggressive follower that joins the fight with its beak. Certain editions also feature other followers, including a penguin.
Pets add both practical help and another layer of absurdity to the battlefield. A pig fighting zombies with a sword is already funny; a chicken helping defeat them makes it even better.
Make Bacon the Most Fashionable Pig in Battle
Winning fights is only one reason to keep collecting coins. Bacon May Die also offers extensive character customization, allowing you to create a pig that looks completely different from the basic fighter.
The customization system includes separate slots for Head, Eyes, Neck, and Body. Combine hats, glasses, necklaces, clothing, and other accessories to create anything from a silly-looking farm animal to a heavily armed warrior.
You can experiment with different combinations and create outfits in the game’s workshop. The developer advertises more than 100 weapons and outfit items to unlock, giving you plenty of goals beyond simply defeating more enemies.
Coins and progress-based unlocks are important here. Keep fighting, complete available challenges, and revisit the equipment and customization menus to see what you can afford or equip next.
Waves, Shops, and Progression
The action is organized around enemy encounters and wave progression. As you defeat opponents, you gain experience, coins, and progress toward new equipment.
Depending on the area and mode, you may encounter friendly NPCs who offer useful services. These include equipment selection, healing, pet interactions, and travel options. When the game prompts you near one of these characters, press Up to interact.
The named environments include the Forest, Snow, and Dungeon, giving the fighting more variety than an endless stretch of identical scenery. Some areas and challenges require progress before they become available.
The central attraction is still the combat. Whether you’re pushing through another wave, testing a new weapon, or preparing for a boss, each attempt gives you a reason to improve your technique and collection.
Seven Fighting Tricks That Actually Make a Difference
- Keep enemies in front of you. Move and change direction frequently so a crowd cannot trap Bacon between attacks.
- Learn to roll. Press Down when an incoming attack makes standing still dangerous. Rolling also helps reposition your pig.
- Don’t waste all your ammo. Use ranged attacks for distant or particularly dangerous enemies and rely on melee when it is safe.
- Watch explosive opponents. Enemies such as Bombie are better handled with some distance between you and the target.
- Use jumps and dashes deliberately. Double-tapping a direction helps you move quickly, while jumping provides another way to handle pressure.
- Save stronger attacks for crowded moments. Skills and throwable items are more useful when several enemies are causing problems at once.
- Try co-op positioning. When playing with a friend, guard opposite sides of the screen instead of both chasing the same enemy.
Why Bacon May Die Is More Than a Funny Pig Game
The bright cartoon style, unusual enemy designs, and absurd arsenal make Bacon May Die easy to recognize. But its appeal goes beyond the jokes. The directional fighting system is responsive, the pace increases as enemies crowd the screen, and each successful dodge or combo feels rewarding.
There is also a genuine sense of progression. You can pursue harder waves, improve your equipment collection, work toward specific weapon unlocks, unlock more clothing, and experiment with co-op strategies. The game gives you room to develop skills even though its basic controls take only a few moments to learn.
And sometimes the funniest moment is an unexpected one: a zombie flying across the screen, a chicken attacking an enemy twice its size, or Bacon winning a fight with a household object that was never meant to be a weapon.
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Bacon May Die FAQ
What is Bacon May Die?
Bacon May Die is a 2D beat ’em up action game where you control a fighting pig named Bacon. Defeat waves of enemies, unlock weapons and outfits, survive boss battles, and try to progress farther.
How do you play Bacon May Die on Poki?
Use the arrow keys to move and fight. Press Up to jump, Down to roll, and Left or Right to attack. Hold a horizontal direction to shoot when using a ranged weapon.
Can two people play Bacon May Die together?
Yes. Poki supports local two-player co-op on the same computer. Player 1 uses the arrow keys, and Player 2 uses WASD.
How do you shoot in Bacon May Die?
Equip a ranged weapon and hold Left or Right to fire in that direction. In co-op, Player 2 holds A or D to shoot.
How do you dash in Bacon May Die?
Double-tap the direction you want to move. Player 1 double-taps Left or Right, while Player 2 double-taps A or D.
Who are the bosses in Bacon May Die?
Two named bosses are Stomper and Pumpkin. They provide tougher fights than ordinary waves and are also associated with achievement goals.
What areas are in Bacon May Die?
The game’s established environments include Forest, Snow, and Dungeon. Different areas introduce different enemy types and scenery.
How do you unlock more weapons?
Keep fighting and earning progress toward weapon-specific goals. For example, some weapons require a certain number of melee or ranged kills, while others are linked to total damage or experience. You may also need coins to obtain equipment.
Can you customize your pig?
Yes. You can change Bacon’s headwear, glasses, neck accessories, body clothing, and other outfit elements. The workshop lets you experiment with different combinations.
Is there a pet chicken in Bacon May Die?
Yes. The chicken is a helpful companion that can join your battles. Other followers may be available in certain editions or areas.
Is Bacon May Die free to play?
Yes. You can play the browser version for free on Poki without downloading the game.
Who created Bacon May Die?
Bacon May Die was developed by SnoutUp Games, the creator of Iron Snout and other pig-themed action games.
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