Screenshot of Osotos
Japanese developer Inufuto’s latest multi-format game, Osotos, was released a few days ago. It’s a platform game in which you must collect stars and move blocks around, which serves the dual purpose of killing enemies and bridging gaps between platforms. You can download Osotos from Inufuto’s site in cassette format, or alternatively, a disc image can be obtained from CPCRulez.
Below is a 4½ minute preview video that you can also watch on YouTube, which demonstrates how awesome the game is so far. Of course, everyone wants to know when SonicGX will be released, and the answer is – when it’s ready. NoRecess has suggested a possible release by the end of 2025, but this is definitely not a strict target or deadline.
Preview of SonicGX on YouTube
Dark Knight: Shadow of Madness
Screenshot of Dark Knight: Shadow of Madness
Another game featuring Batman has been released for the Amstrad CPC – but it’s not from Ocean, or BG Games, for that matter! This one comes from Mananuk, who has already released a few games for the CPC, although it’s definitely not officially endorsed by DC Comics. It’s called Dark Knight: Shadow of Madness, and the storyline is that a group of terrorists has unleashed a virus on the city and kidnapped a team of scientists who have the capability to create an antidote. The first level features platforming action as you try to rescue the scientists, while in the second level, you have to drive a vehicle and collect ten bombs left by the terrorists, while dodging oncoming traffic.
Dark Knight: Shadow of Madness can be downloaded from itch.io, and it seems likely that physical copies will also be released by PlayOnRetro at some point.
Screenshot of Coloco
A new game called Coloco by Tuxedo Games has just been made available for downloading. It was originally released for the ZX Spectrum in 2020, and physical copies of the Amstrad CPC version could be purchased, although they have since sold out. Now all CPC fans have the opportunity to try it out!
Coloco’s gameplay is quite similar to Lunar Lander. On each of the 30 levels is a pilot who has managed to crash his rocket, and you must guide yourself through each level to rescue the pilot and return him to your starting point. It isn’t easy, as the controls are quite sensitive and you have to use your thrusters carefully to maneouvre yourself through narrow gaps and avoid crashing into walls.
I never heard any news about the physical edition of Coloco when it was released, so it’s great that it’s now available for everyone to play. You can download Coloco from Tuxedo Games’ site.
Trasgo
Screenshot of Trasgo
It’s fair to say that Spanish Amstrad CPC games have a reputation for being tough. Take, for example, Abu Simbel Profanation, Army Moves and its sequel Navy Moves – especially on a green monitor! Well, if you found them to be insufficiently challenging, 21bloques has released a new game called Trasgo that aims to test the abilities of the most accomplished CPC gamers.
You are a young elf named Trasgo, and you have to rescue your family from an ancient curse. Trasgo is a simple platform game, but the screens are full of deadly obstacles. You don’t have any energy, but you do have infinite lives, and when you light a torch, it acts as a restart point when you lose a life. However, getting from one restart point to the next is certainly not easy at all!
Screenshot of Urok
Tartessos Games has released their second game for the Amstrad CPC (the first one was El Culto, released in December last year). There is a legend that a malevolent being who ruled the world in times gone by is buried at the top of a hill to the west, and he has been waiting for the right moment to return and take revenge... This is a platform game in three parts, with the second and third parts requiring you to enter a password before you can play them. Unlike El Culto, the graphics use the CPC’s four-colour Mode 1 rather than the more colourful Mode 0.
A few people have commented that the game bears strong similarities to the Game Boy game Gargoyle’s Quest. You can judge this for yourself by downloading Urok from itch.io.
Three new games have just been released in quick succession:
Goldorak
Zisquier, Éric Cubizolle (aka Titan) and Pulsophonic have been working on and off for the last year and a half to bring you this space shoot-’em-up for the GX4000 and Plus machines. Yes, it’s a cartridge game inspired by the Japanese anime of the same name, and it features very smooth scrolling and digitised speech, and it makes good use of the enhanced palette. The game, along with all the graphics, can be downloaded from Éric Cubizolle’s site.
Pulzar
Latvian developer Snauts has converted a second game from the ZX Spectrum to the Amstrad CPC, following on from Zlalox, which was released for the CPC only two weeks ago. Pulzar sees you trying to escape from the Galactic Police by entering the titular Pulzar – a series of swirling circular patterns that you must not touch. The only direction of movement is clockwise or anticlockwise, and dodging the swirls becomes increasingly tense as you progress! You can download Pulzar from itch.io.
Transversion
Dave Moore has converted the ZX Spectrum 16K game Transversion to the Amstrad CPC. It was originally released by Ocean in 1983 – one of their earliest releases. You are captain of the Eliminax, and you have entered the Galactic Grid to clear it of alien pods. Each screen contains a pattern of pods, and you manoeuvre your spaceship over the pods to clear them. However, the Guardians are armed with lasers that move along the edges of the screen and fire at you. With the playing area being relatively small, the action is quite frantic as you try to dodge the laser beams! Transversion can be downloaded from GitHub; look for the ‘Releases’ section once the page has loaded to download it.
