Exterminator in the City: The Game
A free 16-bit platformer set in the real San Gabriel Valley: stomp through Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, and Glendora — then follow the money down to the city under Pasadena. Two talking bosses, earnable weapons, medals, secrets, and a complete comedic conspiracy story. Built in spare hours by the exterminator who runs this site.
▚ HOW TO PLAY ▚
← → move · ↑ / W / Space jump · X / J / K fire · ▼ / S crouch or dive · P pause. On a phone, the buttons sit below the screen. Bounce off pests' heads to chain combos, and shoot the trash cans — they are not just set dressing.
About This Game
Built one city at a time, in spare hours, by the exterminator who runs this site. Level 1 is Pasadena — Craftsman houses, dusk over the San Gabriels, City Hall at the end of the street. Level 2 is Arcadia, where KING RAT holds the flamethrower and five rat traps are the fastest way to change his mind. Level 3 heads up Myrtle Avenue in Old Town Monrovia, past the movie-palace marquee and the painted bear. Level 4 climbs into the Glendora foothills, where the termites have organized.
Then there's level 5. In 1934, a mining engineer named G. Warren Shufelt told the Los Angeles Times he had mapped a city of tunnels under this valley — built, he said, by lizard people — and got laughed out of town for it. This game takes his side. The final level goes down: through the service tunnels, past the dig he left behind, into a city that never went dark. Somebody down there has been funding the pests. Josh would like a word.
What's in it:
- Two talking bosses — a Rat King with a dental plan, and a Termite King whose crown itches. Both have speeches. Neither expects a man this calm.
- Earnable weapons — flamethrower, rocket launcher, rat traps — plus stomp combos that celebrate harder the longer you keep a chain alive.
- Medals on every level, a SPOTLESS mark for perfect single runs, per-level best times, and an itemized service ticket after every clear — deaths are billed as CALLBACKS.
- Secrets — a golden pest hiding in every level, trash cans that are not just set dressing, eyes in the dark that notice how you behave, and a locked god-mode for whoever finishes everything the game asks of them.
- And one thing that only happens on a certain day of the week. That's all you get.
Every pest in the game is one this valley actually deals with — the pest guide covers the real versions. Free, no accounts, your best run saves on your device. One more run.
Quick Answers
Quick Answers.
Is the game really free?
Completely. No accounts, no purchases, no email gate — it's a game I built for fun about the valley I work in. Your best run and medals save in your own browser.
Does it work on phones?
Yes — touch controls appear under the screen on mobile, and it plays in any modern browser. Nothing to download.
How long does it take to beat?
A first run through all five cities usually lands somewhere around an hour, depending on how often the Termite King gets you. Chasing every medal, the SPOTLESS marks, and the god-mode unlock takes considerably longer.
Is the lizard-city legend real?
The legend is. In 1934 a mining engineer named G. Warren Shufelt claimed he had mapped a network of tunnels under this area — the Los Angeles Times covered it, diagrams and all — before he was laughed out of town. Whether the tunnels are real is another matter. The game has opinions.
What's the secret god mode?
There's an unlockable mode that changes how the whole game plays. The unlock condition: finish everything the game asks of you. Everything.