Gaming News — 16 bit

We tone things down a little as you wrap up things this month and start April. Well, we won't be featuring anything too explosive. We're still looking at some pretty dynamic retro games that'll keep you wanting more. And no, we're not slowing things down, don't worry. From Rogue Light to Platformer to Tech Space Adventure, we're covering all our bases this week, so sit tight.

PLANET B

We got the four in one, and anyone looking forward to anything coming out on the Sega Mega Drive. The game Planet B is a 16-bit Roguelike RPG that offers just what any fan would expect, a unique run every time. Fabrice Fernandez, Hieu-Khai Bui-Quang, and Emmanuel Rousseau are leading in developing this title, and things are looking great with randomly generated content; players can explore dungeons, collect items, and go through a story with a different experience every time. Just like any good roguelike.

Currently, there isn't much info on planet B, but given the love for the genre, you can best believe we'll be following up.

CRACKY

Now it's time to look at a new game for the Amstrad C64, Plus4 and ZX Spectrum. Yeah, that's a lot of consoles, but we're looking at an intriguing game. Cracky is an arcade platformer where you collect all the stars while avoiding deadly baddies and other dangers you'll definitely come across. Cracky is a new title with an old-schooled book and feel. Written by a Japanese developer Infuto who habitually releases games on many eight-bit platforms. This one is his 13th release, and we can expect many more by the look of things.

The game objective is simple, clear each level by collecting all the stars without getting killed. As for the reason why it's called Cracky. While some parts on the game's floor literally crack when you walk over, creating holes in the platforms. To make things even more challenging, there's no jumping. So on most levels, you must use the cracks to your advantage or fall from the stars. So if you're in the market for a non-jumper platformer with a quirky twist, then it's time to get Cracky. 

GNOME RANGER & TIME AND MAGIK

Now for an adventure in text, retro style. Developer Csabo, together with Pigmy are doing old-school fans of the genre, a solid by reporting the classic text space adventure games of Gnome Ranger and Time and Magik over to the Commodore Plus4.

For those unfamiliar, Gnome Ranger is a text adventure game designed by Peter Austin and released by Level 9 in 1987, many, many moons ago. A year later, we got a sequel entitled Ingrid's Back, which further explores the series. As for Time in Magik, you got a trilogy of interactive fiction games by the same studio.

Level Nine first released the individual games separately from 1983 to 1986. The trilogy came out in 1988, with all three games revised, expanded, and rereleased together as a compilation by Mandarin Software. When it comes to text Adventures, Level 9 of the Gnome Ranger franchise, we're among the first to popularize the genre. It's nice to see the same games getting more love in 2023. Once the Commodore Plus Port comes out, we'll make sure to let you know. 

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