diff --git a/src/nostalgia/core/userland/gfx_opengl.cpp b/src/nostalgia/core/userland/gfx_opengl.cpp
index 61e86ab1d..cf006ae4b 100644
--- a/src/nostalgia/core/userland/gfx_opengl.cpp
+++ b/src/nostalgia/core/userland/gfx_opengl.cpp
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ static void initBackgroundBufferset(Context *ctx, GLuint shader, Background *buf
 ox::Error init(Context *ctx) {
 	const auto id = new GlImplData;
 	ctx->setRendererData(id);
-	id->bgShader = buildShaderProgram(bgvshad, bgfshad);
+	oxReturnError(buildShaderProgram(bgvshad, bgfshad).get(&id->bgShader));
 	for (auto &bg : id->backgrounds) {
 		initBackgroundBufferset(ctx, id->bgShader, &bg);
 	}
diff --git a/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.cpp b/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.cpp
index 3dfe0490b..4442d4fc4 100644
--- a/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.cpp
+++ b/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.cpp
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
 
 namespace nostalgia::core::renderer {
 
-[[nodiscard]] GLuint buildShader(GLuint shaderType, const GLchar *src, const char *shaderName) {
+[[nodiscard]]
+ox::Result<GLuint> buildShader(GLuint shaderType, const GLchar *src, const char *shaderName) {
 	auto shader = glCreateShader(shaderType);
 	glShaderSource(shader, 1, &src, nullptr);
 	glCompileShader(shader);
@@ -23,29 +24,31 @@ namespace nostalgia::core::renderer {
 		static const auto errMsgSize = 1000;
 		char errMsg[errMsgSize];
 		glGetShaderInfoLog(shader, errMsgSize, nullptr, errMsg);
-		oxTracef("nostalgia::core::gfx::gl", "shader compile error in {}: {}", shaderName, errMsg);
-		oxPanic(OxError(1), "shader compile error");
+		oxErrorf("shader compile error in {}: {}", shaderName, errMsg);
 		glDeleteShader(shader);
-		shader = 0;
+		return OxError(1, "shader compile error");
 	}
 	return shader;
 }
 
-[[nodiscard]] GLuint buildVertShader(const GLchar *src, const char *shaderName) {
+[[nodiscard]]
+ox::Result<GLuint> buildVertShader(const GLchar *src, const char *shaderName) {
 	return buildShader(GL_VERTEX_SHADER, src, shaderName);
 }
 
-[[nodiscard]] GLuint buildFragShader(const GLchar *src, const char *shaderName) {
+[[nodiscard]]
+ox::Result<GLuint> buildFragShader(const GLchar *src, const char *shaderName) {
 	return buildShader(GL_FRAGMENT_SHADER, src, shaderName);
 }
 
-[[nodiscard]] GLuint buildShaderProgram(const GLchar *vert, const GLchar *frag) {
+[[nodiscard]]
+ox::Result<GLuint> buildShaderProgram(const GLchar *vert, const GLchar *frag) {
 	GLuint prgm = 0;
-	const auto vs = buildVertShader(vert, "vshad");
+	oxRequire(vs, buildVertShader(vert, "vshad"));
 	if (!vs) {
 		glDeleteShader(vs);
 	} else {
-		const auto fs = buildFragShader(frag, "fshad");
+		oxRequire(fs, buildFragShader(frag, "fshad"));
 		if (!fs) {
 			// cleanup shaders that were created
 			glDeleteShader(fs);
diff --git a/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.hpp b/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.hpp
index 0adae2f9b..a556dc4ec 100644
--- a/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.hpp
+++ b/src/nostalgia/core/userland/glutils.hpp
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 #include <GLES3/gl3.h>
 #endif
 
+#include <ox/std/error.hpp>
+
 namespace nostalgia::core::renderer {
 
 struct Texture {
@@ -39,7 +41,8 @@ struct Bufferset {
 	GLsizei eboElements = 0;
 };
 
-[[nodiscard]] GLuint buildShaderProgram(const GLchar *vert, const GLchar *frag);
+[[nodiscard]]
+ox::Result<GLuint> buildShaderProgram(const GLchar *vert, const GLchar *frag);
 
 void destroy(const Bufferset &bufferset);