Author: Danny Neleman

For outsiders to the Amiga scene, both now and back then, Apidya might not immediately ring a bell. But the 1992 game created by German developer Kaiko built up quite the cult following. The bar Kaiko set for itself was high: creating a shmup that could compete on all levels with the great arcade shooters of the time. The general consensus was that they succeeded. Apidya was welcomed with rave reviews, generally scoring somewhere between an 8 and a 9.5. 34 years after the original release, members of the original team have banded together to remake Apidya, including original programmer…

Spanish indie developer Dos Estrellas has revealed Estigia, a turn-based sliding puzzle game set deep within a decaying Greek underworld. Its most unusual feature might be what isn’t there: the entire game is designed without tutorials, dialogue or written menus, allowing it to be played without any form of translation. In Estigia, you play as a recently departed soul arriving in the Greek underworld without a coin to pay the ferryman. With the easy route across the Styx off the table, the soul has to make its own way through eleven regions before eventually reaching the court that will decide…

If there has ever been a game that you didn’t know you needed but definitely need to experience, it is Future Knight. It quietly flew under the radar, but knowing that the studio responsible is Studio Koba, it shouldn’t be a total shock that, at least, this game should be something unique. Studio Koba’s legacy is one stapled to the indie retro-like canon with Narita Boy and Haneda Girl. The Spanish Touch It is starting to become a trend that Spanish studios create such inherently ‘Japanese’ games that it is almost funny. A month ago, Spanish compatriots Undercoders dropped Denshattack!,…

Solo developer Baardmoeder has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Turbo Turbo, an arcade hybrid combining retro racing with on-rails shooting. The project grew out of an earlier prototype for a game based on the 1980s M.A.S.K. franchise that never made it past the pitch stage. Developer Sjors Jansen originally created a short M.A.S.K. game concept using the same technology behind his Incremental Retro Racing. After the proposed licensed game failed to materialise, Jansen reworked the idea into an original game and pushed the concept considerably further. The result is Turbo Turbo, described by Jansen as a fusion of Out Run…

If you’re a Sega fan with a soft spot for analog watches, you may want to set a reminder. As of August 5, there’s just one day left before Sega opens pre-orders for three officially licensed console-themed watches. The collection consists of three different models inspired by the Dreamcast, Sega Saturn and Mega Drive. Each watch features the respective console logo and incorporates elements of its controller layout into the dial. One curious detail is that, despite only being sold in the US and Canada, all three watches are based on the Japanese versions of the consoles rather than their…

One of the added benefits of going on vacation to the Canary Islands was the huge number of tax-free electronics import stores. From my early teens to well into my twenties, I’d scour these shops looking for not-so-legal “X-in-1” cartridges for the Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Mega Drive. I must have been around 15 when I stumbled across a 5-in-1 cartridge with mind-bending box art featuring several games. The fact that the box was plastered with spaceships and techno sci-fi creatures immediately made it a must-buy. The side of the box listed Tatsujin, Forgotten Worlds, King of…

After giving Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars a successful modern revival, Revolution Software is bringing its celebrated sequel back for a new generation. Red Art Games has announced physical editions of Broken Sword – The Smoking Mirror: Reforged, which will launch for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on February 19, 2027. Eddie reviewed Shadow of the Templars and awarded it with a 9/10, so you can imagine we are pretty hyped about this release as well! George and Nico Return Originally released in 1997, Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror once again follows American tourist George…

QUByte has a knack for picking projects for its QUbyte Classics label that are so niche and specific you can’t help but wonder what the ROI is. Biomechanical Toy feels like a game aimed at an audience that grew up with Spain’s often underappreciated recreativos culture. Thousands of arcade cabinets populated the bars and cafés that were, and still are, an inherent part of Spanish social life, occupying the time of kids and young adults while parents and family indulged in the country’s vibrant nightlife. Spain’s Forgotten Arcade Gem Spain has always been a hotbed for bedroom developers, first making…

Blaze Entertainment has announced that it will increase the retail prices of Evercade cartridges and the Super Pocket handheld across the UK and Europe from July 2026. According to CEO Andrew Byatt, the decision comes after the company spent a prolonged period absorbing higher manufacturing and logistics costs. For European customers, the recommended retail price of standard Evercade cartridges will increase from €24.99 to €29.99, while the Super Pocket handheld will rise from €59.99 to €69.99. UK pricing will increase from £19.99 to £24.99 for cartridges and from £49.99 to £59.99 for Super Pocket. One notable change is that Blaze…

After River City Saga: Three Kingdoms, Arc System Works once again places the heroes of the Kunio-kun universe in the setting of Chinese cultural heritage, this time adapting the almost 500-year-old Journey to the West. Just like Three Kingdoms, all the familiar characters “play” a role in this epic tale as if it were a stage production. While the beat ’em up gameplay remains largely the same, the series has now succumbed to the plague that is the roguelite genre. That probably sounds rather biased, and admittedly it is. I simply don’t think every legacy franchise needs to become a…