WEEKLY DOSE OF GAMING NEWS: Scout The Stray, Beep's Escape, It Returned to the Desert
We’re just about to wrap up the month of February, and time is just passing by in a flash. Thankfully, in game releases, things slow down just a bit for us to catch some exciting titles. Always got something for everyone in the retro sphere, that’s for sure.
Paying tribute to the classics is one of the best ways for budding game devs to show their appreciation, showcase their skills, and exercise their imagination. We got a few love letters to retro gaming this week worth checking out.
First, we’re looking at a very familiar-looking game that’ll get the good old dog workin’. Scout the Stray for the Commodore 64 is a maze bass game that, as players take on the told-off, you guessed it, a stray dog who’s out to collect bones while avoiding being caught by some evil-doers.
LC-Games has been hard at work with its title, and it now includes in-game music, along with a few updates and fixes to make playing far more enjoyable. Finding bones on the run is no easy task, so it's good that we won't have any trouble helping out good old Scout. In terms of the game, each stage is a randomly generated maze with all the necessary bones scattered around.
Each level ends once you find all the bones, and in total, the game has 32 increasingly difficult levels, with the speed of the chasers increasing more. So it's intense! Definitely a dog-eat-dog world out there. So make sure Scouts stay safe if you decide to pick this game up.
It's time to hop into the indie side of retro gaming, especially for those who swear by the PC master race. If you're on steam right now, you can check out Little Martian Games and their later release, Beep's Escape. It just oozes old school and according to the creator, it's a not too subtle nod to the ZX spectrum games of the 1980s and particularly the Dizzy Franchise of Action Adventure Games. Yes, indeed. You get them feels just by looking at the aesthetic.
You take control of Beep, a brave robot on a mission to escape from the strange Tech facility with just your wits and the items around you. If you’re the kind of gamer who enjoys old-school platforming, puzzles, and helpful NPCs, you might be up for the challenge. When it comes to both retro looks and feels beeps, escape definitely checks those boxes and checks them well. So check it out!
Now we look at a tribute to an all-time classic, which released an old-school console in the eighties, but now finds its home on PC. Thanks to TimRachor, a fun re-imagining of It Came from the Desert just dropped on Steam, and it has a nice touch to its title. It Returned to the Desert. Oh, it absolutely did, and it’s just unnerving as it was back then.
The tactical combat and story-driven adventure game take you to the desert town of Glint Rock, where a meteor crash is causing a stir that might involve some giant mutated ants later on, spoiler warning, for anyone who hasn’t seen the eighties movie. Like any tactical game, you’ll recruit a party, prepare for combat, and use your time well just to survive what could be a literal ANT-pocalypse? Freaky stuff I tell ya.
If you’re curious, the game features retro pixel art, an atmospheric soundtrack, free saving, and multiple difficulties. It’s a very modern take on an almost 40-year-old game. So if you’re here for all the Monster Madness, check it out on Steam.
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