Bernie Needs Love is, in essence, a simple and lighthearted platformer in which the player must guide Bernie, a nice but anguished old man chased by death, towards his girlfriend — while avoiding the many hazards of a poorly maintained yet beautiful city and collecting blue 'love-enhancing' pills to make it an extra-special night! In a time of eye candy and accessibility over gameplay and personality, Bernie Needs Love truly stands out from the crowd with its charming retro graphics, lovingly composed chiptune music, and hardcore difficulty level — which are sure to satisfy players who grew up in the 8-bit era.
When the player presses 'Y' on the controller or 'H' on the keyboard, this is the help screen that is toggled in case there is a 360 controller plugged in. If no controller is connected, the keyboard key mapping is displayed instead.