Green Herb Engine PSX

 

Developer: t0fuzzer

Release Date: TBA

Graphics: 3D

Genre: Survival Horror

Players: 1 or 2

 

 

Description

The Green Herb Engine is a game engine for the original PlayStation (PSX) that aims to replicate the look and feel of the original Resident Evil. Its long-term goal is to provide a foundation for creating a classic survival horror experience, reminiscent of the genre-defining titles released on Sony’s 32-bit console.

At the moment, most of the available information comes from a series of videos published by the developer on YouTube, where progress is showcased on a regular basis. In addition, the developer maintains a Patreon page, where supporters can receive updates, gain access to more detailed information, and even test the engine depending on their subscription tier.

 

Extra Info 

Based on the footage shared so far, the engine already allows players to control Jill Valentine using her original PS1 model, moving through environments that closely resemble the iconic Spencer Mansion. Several enemies have also been implemented, including Hunters and Tyrants, which can be seen roaming the environment, chasing the player, and attacking to deal damage.

Player movement appears to closely match the original game, successfully capturing the distinctive feel of classic survival horror controls. However, some elements are still incomplete: certain enemy animations are missing, and their behavior has yet to fully replicate the complexity of the original AI.

The developer has clarified that the use of assets from the original game is temporary, meaning that original characters, enemies, and environments are expected to replace them in the future.

The engine also includes several debug and performance indicators displayed on screen. These include the engine name, a real-time FPS counter (consistently running at around 30 FPS), animation sequence data, enemy AI states, and character health values.

One of the most impressive aspects shown so far is the camera system, which accurately reproduces the fixed camera angles of the original Resident Evil games. As the player moves through specific areas, the camera dynamically changes along with the background, closely mimicking the classic presentation style.

Sound has also been implemented, with the engine already capable of playing audio, including music from the original title.

 The Green Herb Engine is still a work in progress, but it already demonstrates a strong understanding of the technical and artistic foundations behind classic survival horror on the PlayStation. If development continues at this pace, it could eventually become a powerful tool for creating new experiences inspired by the golden age of the genre.

 

Recent Experiments

In a recent Patreon post, the developer shared one of their latest experiments: rendering two Tyrants on screen simultaneously. While there is no detailed performance data available yet, a screenshot suggests that it is technically possible, although further optimization may be required.

Another notable experiment involves the use of masking techniques, allowing sprites to appear correctly in front of 3D characters. This is a key feature for accurately recreating the visual layering seen in the original games.

 

Some questions to the Developer 

 

Coop mode possible?

Funny you ask — I actually have a TCP networking layer already working via DuckStation injection, so the groundwork is there. Co-op is deep in the backlog but it's definitely something I want to explore down the line. But for local co-op with secondary joystick. Absolutely yes to that.

Wait this is amazing. There's so much that could be done if completed! How long did it take you to get this far?

Thanks! Research started very long time ago, then on off. Then simple things, then gradually improving. Early engine ideas started April 2022 when I managed to load Jill's head.

I wonder if you can make an Alone in the Dark: the New Nightmare demo with this same engine.

I have been analyzing this game, and of course I played it, very nice lightning effect there with flashlight. From what I can tell they created two version of prerendered backgrounds, the normal and illuminated version, and light is just unmasking the illuminated background + lightning effects. While this is not part of Resident Evil engines, I would be possible to work on this. I am very curious what community has say on these topics. Thanks!

Very impressive. What sdk are you using? And about how much time did this take to implement?

I am using all glory original PsyQ 4.6. Old compiler. This is result of many years of research, of course I was off a bit too, dayjob you know. But I took deeper dive at R3000 assembly and C, and then started experimenting more and more. The animation thing was a big blocker for me, once I got to understand this, it became much easier. Never thought I get that far actually....

this on the githubs?

Not yet, its planned at some point, I will release soon tool to build custom iso based on orignal game assets and my engine. So I dont get too much of Capcoms attention

 

Media

Official Download Links

Patreon - YouTube - Reddit

When PS1 Homebrew Disappears: The Hidden Problem No One Talks About

One of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of any homebrew project is its distribution, and long-term preservation, on the internet. It may seem like a minor issue, but the reality is that some homebrew projects are at risk of disappearing at any moment, potentially becoming inaccessible to everyone.

Why does this happen with homebrew projects and not with regular games? The answer lies in the distribution model. While commercial games are usually available through official platforms like Steam, homebrew titles rely on wherever the developer chooses to upload them. Depending on the developer, a project may be hosted in one or several places (some more reliable than others). Another key factor is the community distribution behavior. Commercial games are frequently reuploaded across the internet, often driven by piracy. Homebrew projects, on the other hand, are rarely mirrored, as they are typically free and users assume they will always be available through official channels.

The problem is that not all platforms last forever, and not all developers remain active to maintain or reupload their projects. This is especially critical in niche scenes like PS1 homebrew, where projects are often distributed as standalone builds without centralized hosting. Imagine a developer who uploads their project to a file hosting service like Mega, and for whatever reason the file gets removed. Not only is the developer’s work at risk of being lost, but an entire community loses access to a piece of its shared history, in a scene where the goal is to keep the platform alive even decades later.

This reflection isn’t purely hypothetical. There are already real cases where PS1 homebrew projects may have been lost forever and it’s likely that many more have disappeared without being documented or even noticed by the wider community.

A major example is the shutdown of PSXDEV, once one of the most important hubs for the PS1 homebrew community. The forum was full of technical information, discussions, tools, and also hosted numerous homebrew projects created by its users. While many of those projects were fortunately mirrored elsewhere, others depended entirely on that platform. When the forum went down, those projects effectively disappeared.

We don’t know how many projects have been lost, but we were personally aware of one specific case: version 2.0 of Snake PSX. While version 1.0 was still available on the official page, the improved version had vanished. We reached out on Reddit to see if anyone had a backup of the lost version, but initially, there was no success.

However, about a month later, something unexpected happened. The original developer of Snake PSX, rubixcube6, came across our post. Fortunately for everyone, he provided a new download link for version 2.0, along with the source code and project assets. He also updated his official page to include the latest version.

We’d like to give a huge thanks to rubixcube6 for restoring his project and for sharing its full source and assets, helping keep the PS1 homebrew community alive and growing.

We invite you to check out the game and give it a try. We’ve also previously covered this project, so feel free to revisit our earlier article: Snake PSX.

A Small Dilemma

To close this article, we’d like to share a reflection about project preservation and distribution.

A key question arises: should this website provide direct download links ourselves (for example, via file hosting services)?

There are two situations to consider.

The first is when a project is already available through official channels. In this case, we believe it is not appropriate to redistribute it ourselves. Not only would it be unnecessary, but it could also reduce traffic to the developer’s official pages and diminish their visibility. Developers deserve recognition and control over how their work is shared, and part of our role is to direct users toward those original sources. We see ourselves as a bridge between users and the homebrew community, not as a replacement for the developers’ own platforms. Providing alternative download links could unintentionally weaken that connection and reduce engagement with the original creators.

The second scenario is when a project is no longer available through official means. This is a very different situation. One of the main goals of this website is to help preserve PS1 homebrew projects. For that reason, we keep backups of the projects featured on our site in case their original sources disappear. If a project becomes unavailable, our first step is to try to contact the developer. However, if no response is received after a reasonable amount of time, we believe it is ethical to host the project ourselves to ensure it is not lost. 

Every project is part of the history of the homebrew scene, especially for PS1, where the community continues to grow. Losing these works would mean losing part of that history. In such cases, preservation becomes more important than strict distribution control. Under those conditions (no official access and no response from the developer) we commit to keeping these projects alive for the community.

Preserving these projects isn’t just about access, it’s about protecting the history of a scene that is still being written.

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If you're interested in more stories like this and want to stay up to date with the PS1 homebrew scene, feel free to check out our YouTube channel, where we’ve recently shared gameplay of Tetrade, a Tetris-style game for PS1.

Don’t forget that you can follow us on Twitter (X), check out our collection of games on Itch.io and join our Reddit community!

GeoDash PSX: A Geometry Dash Demake Built for the Original PlayStation

The PS1 homebrew scene continues to prove that there’s still plenty of room for surprises. One of the projects we covered a few weeks ago (a Geometry Dash-inspired clone) now finally has a playable demo, and it comes with a lot of new features.

The project developed by fvciprian now also has an official name. Previously referred to as “Geometry Dash PSX,” it is now called GeoDash PSX. It’s a rhythm platformer clearly inspired by Geometry Dash, but with one key difference: it’s written in C and runs natively on the original PlayStation. 

Far from being a simple recreation, the project rebuilds the core mechanics from scratch to fit 1994 hardware, something that already represents a significant technical challenge. 

The level select screen stands out with a clean and visually appealing design. Players can navigate through different tiles, each representing a level using simple geometric shapes. When selecting a level, its name appears in the bottom-left corner, giving quick feedback before starting.

At the moment, the available levels are:

• Stereo Madness
• Back on Track
• Polargeist
• Dry Out

(The remaining slots are currently labeled as “Unknown”.)

The gameplay stays very close to the original. The cube moves automatically to the right, and the player must jump at the exact moment to navigate platforms and avoid spikes, otherwise it’s instant death. All the core mechanics are present, including jumping, physics, death handling, coin collection, gravity changes, and more. Recreating this kind of fast-paced, timing-based gameplay on PS1 hardware is no small task, especially given how precise everything needs to feel.

 

That said, the flying sections could still use some visual improvement, as the player character doesn’t look as polished in those moments. Still, considering this is an early demo, there’s clearly room for refinement.

 

We also encountered a bug during one of these flying sections: it’s possible to exit the portal that should return the player to normal gravity, allowing the level to be completed in an unintended way.

Once a level is completed, the game displays a green results screen confirming your success. From there, you’re shown several stats, including:

• Completion time
• Number of attempts
• Death count
• Coins collected

At the bottom, players can choose between two options: replay the level or return to the level select screen which, realistically, means jumping into another run and spending hours trying to master it. The game also includes an autosave feature, meaning your progress is stored automatically.

Overall, the demo delivers a surprisingly faithful experience, successfully capturing the feel and rhythm of the original game. Despite some rough edges and early-stage limitations, GeoDash PSX already shows strong potential and stands as an impressive example of what can be achieved on PS1 hardware.

Projects like this continue to push the boundaries of the PS1 homebrew scene, proving that even decades-old hardware still has plenty of untapped potential when approached with modern ideas. 

If you’re interested in trying the game, you can check out the game page here: GeoDash PSX

And if you want to see how the project has evolved, you can also read our previous article covering earlier footage before the demo: New Progress with Visual and Gameplay Improvements

Don’t forget that you can follow us on Twitter (X), check out our collection of games on Itch.io and join our Reddit community!

Unity Is Finally Coming to PS1 — A Huge Leap for Homebrew Development

For years, developing games for the original PlayStation has meant one thing: working close to the hardware, dealing with low-level code, and building systems almost from scratch. It’s a process that demands both technical knowledge and a deep understanding of the console’s limitations, something that has kept PS1 homebrew relatively niche compared to modern development.

That’s why what’s happening now feels so significant.

A new tool is pushing the boundaries of what many thought possible: bringing a modern game engine workflow to one of the most constrained consoles of its generation. And if it delivers on its promise, it could mark one of the biggest leaps the PS1 homebrew scene has ever seen. 

To understand the impact, it helps to look at how games are typically made today. Modern developers rarely start from scratch. Instead, they rely on powerful engines like Unity, Unreal Engine, or Godot. These tools handle a large portion of the heavy lifting, from rendering and physics to scene management and asset workflows, allowing developers to focus primarily on gameplay logic rather than low-level implementation.

In contrast, developing for retro consoles has traditionally been a very different challenge. Systems up to the sixth generation (including the original PlayStation) often require developers to work much closer to the hardware. While later consoles made use of languages like C, which helped standardize development to some extent, much of the work still involved understanding the system’s architecture in detail. Going further back, into fourth-generation consoles and earlier, things become even more complex, often requiring direct use of Assembly and a deep knowledge of individual chips.

This is precisely why what’s happening now feels so significant. After similar advances were seen in the Nintendo 64 homebrew scene (check out Pyrite64), many assumed that something comparable wouldn’t be possible on the PS1 due to its tighter technical constraints. But that assumption may no longer hold true. A developer known as Bandwith is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with a new evolution of his existing tools. Known for his YouTube channel focused on retro game development and for previous PS1 projects, Bandwith had already introduced PSX Splash Edit, a tool that allowed developers to export Unity-built scenes to the PS1. That alone was already a remarkable achievement, and it was even used in projects like Sauna PSX.

Now, however, the concept has evolved much further.

With his new update, now called PSX Splash 2.0, developers are no longer limited to exporting static or isolated scenes. Instead, they can build complete games directly within Unity and bring them to the original PlayStation. If fully realized, this could mark a major shift in how PS1 homebrew is approached. The tool offers a range of features that significantly expand creative possibilities. 

Developers can monitor memory usage in real time, including RAM, VRAM, and SPU RAM (a crucial aspect when working within the strict limitations of the hardware). It also supports camera movement, object animations, and scene transitions, making it possible to create more dynamic and cinematic experiences.

Character animation is another area where the tool shows promise. Developers can define skeletal structures and implement movement systems such as walking, jumping, or attacking. Interestingly, scripting is handled through Lua rather than C, with dedicated documentation designed to simplify implementation and lower the barrier of entry for newcomers.

Taken together, these features suggest a future where developing for the PS1 may become significantly more accessible without completely losing the technical depth that defines the platform. Tools like this could significantly reduce development time, allowing creators to prototype ideas in hours instead of weeks. More importantly, they lower the barrier of entry, making PS1 development accessible to a much wider audience, including developers already familiar with modern engines. Instead of starting from scratch, creators can now rely on workflows they already understand, and then adapt them to the constraints of the hardware.

The timing of this announcement also adds to the excitement. Bandwith has confirmed that a PS1 homebrew game jam will begin in just six days, potentially giving developers an immediate opportunity to experiment with these new tools and push them to their limits. More details about the event are expected soon.

Looking ahead, there are even more ambitious possibilities on the horizon. The developer has hinted at the potential for expanding this workflow to support Godot in the future, which would further broaden the ecosystem and attract an even wider range of creators.

While it’s still early days, this development could represent a turning point for the PS1 homebrew scene. One that bridges the gap between modern game development workflows and the unique challenges of retro hardware. And if it continues to evolve, it could redefine what’s possible on the original PlayStation.

You can watch the original video for a more detailed explanation of how it was created and how it works: Make your PSX games with UNITY and LUA!

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Secret of Monkey Island Is Coming to PS1 After 30 Years!

Few adventure games are as iconic as The Secret of Monkey Island. Originally released in 1990 by LucasArts (later known as Lucasfilm Games), the game became a defining title for the point-and-click genre, thanks to its humor, writing, and memorable characters. More than three decades later, the game is now making an unexpected appearance on the original PlayStation!

A new PS1 homebrew project by Mark “Happy-Ferret” Bauermeister aims to bring The Secret of Monkey Island to Sony’s classic console. The project was officially announced on April 5, and while it’s still in a very early stage, there’s already a first look available.

At the moment, the only public material is a video on the developer’s YouTube channel showing the game’s introduction running on PS1. The footage shared so far focuses on the game’s introduction. It begins with the title screen, where the main theme plays while the background clouds are already animated, hinting at the visual direction of the port. This is followed by the opening scene featuring Guybrush Threepwood speaking with the mysterious Old Man on a cliff, as he expresses his desire to become a pirate.

The footage reveals a few interesting technical details. The project is currently being tested using DuckStation, with the emulator configured to simulate 8MB of RAM (a notable tweak that hints at the project’s current requirements). Performance is still quite limited, with the frame rate hovering between 5 and 6 FPS, making it clear that this is very much an early prototype. The audio also sounds somewhat off, suggesting that the sound implementation still needs refinement. On the visual side, the game is running at a resolution of 320x239.

Despite these limitations, it’s already an impressive technical effort. Bringing a classic point-and-click adventure like Monkey Island to the PS1 (a system not originally designed for this type of experience) highlights both the challenges and creativity behind modern homebrew development.

It’s also worth noting that the project has already drawn attention from other developers within the PS1 homebrew scene. OldPirate (known for his work on ports like Wolfenstein 3D and Rick Dangerous for the original PlayStation) has reacted to the announcement, saying he’s looking forward to seeing the project move forward.

An alpha version of the project is currently available through the developer’s Patreon (around €4), giving early supporters a chance to try it out. If you’re interested in following the project, you can check out Mark’s work on YouTube and support the development through his Patreon page.

 

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