The MSXdev scene is no stranger to variety, but this year’s competition is reaching new extremes. While some developers are pushing the limits of tiny 16KB ROMs, the duo of Casper Croes & Pixel Phenix has swung for the fences with Soul Trapped, an MSX2 adventure housed in a massive 14MB NEO ROM. In fact this is so unusual for the competition it also features MSX-Music and mouse support, with a helpful manual that should help you get started… hopefully.
MSXdev25 Ends with a Bang: Tom Martin Unveils ‘Isa Brave: Underworld Keys’. The marathon MSXdev25 competition has officially reached its closing stages, and it’s going out on a high note. The 50th and final(?) entry of this year’s incredible run is Isa Brave, a punishingly polished Arcade game developed by Tom Martin for the MSX. A game in which the MSX competition says "Do not let the cheerful tune and cute graphics trick you, this is a really hard game, as we had a few this year that homage the 80s on the skill required from the player to complete them. Glory and treasure awaits in the underworld for those that have the will to take them."
If you have a MSX then read on! As I've just found out through Twitter that the previously announced 'Space Bash: Contact!!', a spiritual successor to Jaleco’s legendary RodLand, has come out of development and been released for all to enjoy. Developed for the prestigious MSXdev’25 competition, this title swaps the fairy land of the original for a bizarre alien world, promising an experience that is faster, more challenging, and—as the developers put it—significantly "crazier."
Homebrew developer sisko_MSX has officially released Syrion II – The Six Stones of Nefertiti, a brand-new exploration platformer for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. This sequel follows the developer's previous 2025 hit, Syrion - The Time of The Dragon, continuing the journey of the heroic protagonist as he moves from the mythical Valley of Ecos into the sun-scorched lands of ancient Egypt. To coincide with this news, Saberman has provided the latest gameplay footage.
Team Moritz has released a new Amstrad CPC conversion of Kamaleon70's Punch Chess, originally released for the Atari VCS. This game offers an action-packed twist on the traditional board game where players control Knight Hans, whereby he has to hit the approaching pieces. Built using Jonathan Cauldwell's MPAGD engine, this high-score chaser features music by SUTEKH/EPYTEOR and supports both keyboard and joystick controls.
In a record-breaking year for the retro community, developers Norakomi and Wolf have entered a fantastic looking game in the MSX dev competition. Titled as 'Neon Horizon'. This high-octane 3D scrolling racer has just been registered as the landmark 40th entry in the MSXdev25 contest, setting a new standard for the long-running homebrew competition. Set against a sprawling cyber-noir backdrop, Neon Horizon casts players as a lone rider in a race for survival. The game draws heavy mechanical inspiration from classic 3D racers, tasking players with navigating treacherous futuristic landscapes.
A frantic race against time has arrived on the Amiga ported over from a brilliant C64 homebrew with this new retro-inspired puzzle-platformer from LC-Games. In this new platformer, a massive interstellar vessel has been overrun by hostile alien entities. The invaders have systematically deactivated the ship’s supply batteries, cutting off the propulsion systems and leaving the crew drifting in the void. Players step into the oil-stained boots of Mike, the ship’s resident mechanic. Unlike typical space heroes, Mike isn’t armed with laser blasters or plasma grenades. Instead, he must rely on his agility and technical know-how to navigate the ship’s treacherous power rooms and return the power to the spaceship.
Recovering the Past: "Caleb Adventure" Brings Retro Heroism to the MSX! Retro gaming fans have a new mission: infiltrate the castle of Baron Buuu-hahaha and reclaim a stolen legacy. In the newly released title Caleb Adventure, players step into the shoes of a hero on a deeply personal quest. The villainous Baron Buuu-hahaha has absconded with Paulo’s prized MSX cartridge collection, hiding the loot deep within his Castle. It is up to you to navigate the treacherous halls and recover the stolen hardware.
I'm sure many of you especially Amiga owners, will remember the brilliant 1990 Adventure game ' The Secret of Monkey Island, by Lucasfilm Games. But did you know a developer by the name of Joachim Ljunggren in collaboration with Andreas Larsson is working on bringing this incredible game to the Commodore 64? Well, going by the latest website update including some teased videos and hand drawn artwork, this might just happen!
If you've ever heard of Covert Bitops then you would've known they released the fantastic action adventure game ' Hessian ' for the C64 in 2016. A game which blew us away with over 667 screens with specialized AI enemies found throughout that must either be avoided or shot at. Well as of this moment we have learnt Covert Bitops are still working on a game called Steel Ranger 2 which is looking just as impressive!
If you enjoyed Taito's Bubble Bobble in the Arcades or at home, then you'll be pleased to know that not only can you still download Dave Retro Forge's graphically superior version of 'Bubble Bobble Remastered' for the C64, or 'Bubble Bobble: Lost Cave', which is a true spiritual sequel to that classic arcade game. But as of today, geon3 has released 'Bubble Buddies' for the Commodore 64. A reimagination of Bubble Bobble, arguably the best c64 game ever according to geon3.
While I can't stand Puzzle games ( I'm not very good at them ), I've recently come across a new game that has been released by Paulthetall called 'Wizznic'. A game that the developer describes as an opensource puzzle game, which has been original created by the awesome Dusted for Windows and Linux, ported over to the Amiga. To coincide with this early news story, there's a screenshot below and a video soon from Saberman.
I've just been given the heads up in my email that Tukinem has released a demo for the upcoming Commodore Amiga game called 'Orbital Mission'. A game in which you play as an elite special unit known as AMIGA, part of the COMMODORE civilization, and must put a stop to a barbaric civilization known as ATARI, residing in a distant galaxy rich in hard coal resources. To coincide with this news, provided below is a couple of screenshots and a gameplay video soon.
The news just keeps on coming, as if Defender of the Crown and Deuteros coming as a remake to your PC wasn't enough to whet your appetite, then you might be interested to learn as thanks to a heads up from Saberman through Facebook, you can now download the latest Commodore Plus/4 game of Randoom by Csabo, Epy, SukkoPera and Unreal ; a brand Arcade puzzle game in which you need to clear all the squares throughout 31 fun packed levels to win the game!
We haven't featured a PC remake of Ian Bird's Amiga/Atari ST Strategy game Deuteros for awhile, especially as a number of announced remakes of this classic game have been announced and then dropped never to be seen again. Thankfully it looks as if Tony Cheetham has taken to the task, as he has recently announced the first playable milestone of a new PC remake called ' Deuteros Resurrected '. An unofficial, but faithful pixel-for-pixel remake of the original Amiga game by Ian Bird