Author: Danny Neleman

PLAION REPLAI has announced that four officially licensed arcade classics are set to arrive on November 21, 2025, for Atari’s 2600+ and 7800+ consoles. The line-up includes Galaga, PAC-MAN Double Feature, Dig Dug, and Xevious, all fully compatible with the original Atari 7800 hardware. The collection is part of PLAION’s “Unlock 1982” initiative, highlighting a landmark year in arcade history. In 1982, PAC-MAN first made its way to the Atari 2600, while Galaga lit up U.S. arcades, and Dig Dug and Xevious debuted in Japan. More than four decades later, these releases bring that moment back to life in cartridge…

Rayman is stepping back into the spotlight with a new cartridge release that looks both backward and forward. To mark the 30th anniversary of Ubisoft’s limbless hero, retro hardware company ModRetro has partnered with Ubisoft to reissue the Rayman Game Boy Color version as a physical cartridge. It is not just a celebration of the past but also a way to bring the handheld title back into circulation for collectors and retro fans. This new edition is not a digital port or a simple emulation package. Instead, ModRetro is producing cartridges that work on original Nintendo hardware. That means if…

On October 9, The Legend of Steel Empire will launch digitally for PS4 and PS5, giving PlayStation players their first chance to experience this cult shoot ’em up classic. The game already made waves on Nintendo Switch, where our review at Retrolike praised its blend of modern polish and faithful design. We scored it 8 out of 10, noting its strong atmosphere, accessible gameplay and challenge that shines once the difficulty is raised. From the ’90s to Now Originally released in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive under the names Empire of Steel in Europe and Koutetsu Teikoku in Japan,…

It is hard to pinpoint exactly why gamers worldwide gravitate toward the creations of the nerd-chic creatives Goichi Suda (SUDA51) and Hidetaka Suehiro (SWERY65). Their games were never technical marvels or big sellers, but they gained cult status. And understandably so. Now, they are banding together under the White Owls Inc to bring us Hotel Barcelona. In my mind it is as if Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy) and Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn) decided to team up to do a project together (side note: Kevin Smith once even daydreamed publicly about this in an interview). Creators like…

Jaleco is back! With the wave of re-releases and retro revivals, it stayed awfully quiet around Jaleco. It may not be the first publisher people think of when talking about games that deserve a comeback. The same was once true for other publishers whose libraries only resurfaced through specialised “lost-and-found” IP houses like Piko Interactive and Qubyte. From a preservationist’s view they’ve done solid work, bringing both quirky and obscure titles back into the spotlight. Jaleco is still an odd one in that respect. It was a major publisher and developer in the late ’80s and early to mid-’90s, yet…

Square Enix’s HD-2D series has quietly become the go-to treatment for reviving classic JRPGs while keeping their soul intact. With Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake the studio finishes the Erdrick arc started by last year’s Dragon Quest III remake, and packages the first two adventures into a single modern release. That means players can now experience the origin stories and the early worldbuilding of the franchise in a single sitting, with visuals, UI and some mechanical upgrades designed for contemporary play. Start at the beginning If you got introduced to the Dragon Quest franchise later on, say with…

Ever since the release of Season 1, the anime adaptation of the manga series, Demon Slayer has been the flag carrier for anime culture. It also stands as Japan’s bastion of hope on the backdrop of the worldwide popularity rise of South Korean pop culture. Juggernaut of Japanese pop culture In just a few years, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has grown into a cultural juggernaut. The manga has sold over 220 million copies worldwide. Of these, 164 million were sold in Japan and 56 million overseas. That places it among the best-selling manga of all time. In 2021, Aniplex,…

Mattel and Limited Run Games revealed a new He-Man title today. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction is being developed by Mike and the team, and it aims to blend the characters and settings of the 1980s cartoon with hand crafted combat, large sprites and arcade style action. The pitch is straightforward. You take control of Eternia’s heroes; He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms and others, and face off against Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and the cultists bent on completing an ancient ritual. The ritual revolves around the Dragon Pearl, a plot device that threatens to plunge Eternia into darkness…

Developer Chorus Worldwide announced Aggelos 2 this week, positioning it as the upcoming sequel to the retro‑styled 2D Metroidvania Aggelos. The new entry is targeting a 2026 release across PC and console platforms. The original Aggelos delivered tight pixel artwork, side-scrolling exploration, and layered progression across maps. Aggelos 2 appears set to expand the scope of the first game with more traversal upgrades, a deeper narrative ar, and richer world connectivity. The early visuals released by Chorus showcase enhanced tile lighting, character animation with subtle shading, and smoother transitions between regional biomes. Gameplay promises complex element puzzles integrated into combat…

In 2020 Piko Interactive and Qubyte struck a strategic alliance to bring Piko’s large 200 plus game license collection to consoles. Over the last five years we have seen a steady stream of retro titles resurrected from Piko’s vault. Qubyte handled porting and publishing for single titles like Rage of the Dragons NEO. Most releases, however, arrived in collections such as Breakers Collection, Top Racer Collection and the VISCO Collection. For the Qubyte Classics Beat’em Collection, Piko and Qubyte took a number of misfit titles that did not fit the usual strategy of bundling by original developer or franchise, and…