#CPCRetroDev 2022 results


The results of the #CPCRetroDev 2022 contest were announced in an awards ceremony that was streamed last Friday, which you can watch on YouTube. There seemed to be more of a competition this year, with Penguin Attack, Castaway, Dire Dare and Druid & Droid all battling it out and exchanging positions throughout the ceremony. For a long time it looked like Penguin Attack was going to be the winner, but right at the end, Castaway sneaked ahead to claim first prize!

Here are the results and prizes:

PRO category



UA category (for games developed by students of the University of Alicante)


  • Best UA student game: Half Rest (panetonent) – €200 prize
  • 2nd best UA student game: Abyssal (Cabbage Corp.) – €100 prize
  • 3rd best UA student game: Farming Spirits (Truncado Studios) – €50 prize

Special mentions


  • Best music (awarded by César Astudillo, aka Gominolas): Druid & Droid – €200
  • Best gameplay (awarded by Relevo): Deep, Deeper, Deepest – €200
  • Best artificial intelligence and technical development (awarded by Pablo Ariza): Dire Dare – €200

Sponsored awards


  • Most popular game, as chosen by public votes (awarded by AUA): Deep, Deeper, Deepest – €200
  • Best arcade game (awarded by Arcade Vintage): Penguin Attack – €100 and 5 tickets for the Arcade Vintage museum
  • Most innovative product (awarded by Trusiga): Goatfish 2 (Ervin Pajor) – €100
  • Best multiplayer game (awarded by Genesis8bit): Tiny Deathmatch (Francesc Alcaucer) – €100
  • Best newcomer game (awarded by Ready and Play): Farming Spirits – €80
  • Best “Opera Prima” (awarded by Blast Annual): Be Witched or Be Dead (Hinaman) – €50
  • Best game made in BASIC (presented by AmstradSakis and Somos de Amstrad): Tiny Deathmatch – €60

All of the entries can be downloaded from itch.io.

New reviews


Robert Small has reviewed The Adventures of Bond… Basildon Bond.

I have reviewed three games, all of which were released in the last few weeks:


I’ll try to review some of the #CPCRetroDev 2022 entries soon.

#CPCRetroDev 2022


#CPCRetroDev 10th anniversary logo
The submission deadline for the 2022 #CPCRetroDev contest passed last night, and a total of 42 entries have been submitted. This is the tenth edition of the contest. You can view and download the entries on the itch.io page for the contest. As always, there are a few standout entries from the ‘professional’ developers (i.e. individuals or teams who aren’t students at the University of Alicante, who organise the competition).

Members of the public can take part in voting, although you will need both an itch.io account and a Google account to do this. The winner of the public vote will receive a prize of €200 courtesy of AUA.

CPC Jewels


Screenshot of CPC Jewels
Screenshot of CPC Jewels
ESP Soft has released the third and final instalment of their Columns CPC trilogy. First there was Columns in 2004 (which was also ESP Soft’s first ever release). The second game, Totems, followed in 2012, and now comes CPC Jewels. Most of you should know how to play Columns – columns of three tiles fall from the top of the screen, and you have to match tiles so that three or more of the same tile form a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line.

CPC Jewels can be purchased and downloaded from itch.io – yes, you will have to pay to download the game, but it only costs $1.00 (excluding VAT), and in my opinion, it’s well worth a dollar, even at current exchange rates. If you’re interested in a physical copy on cassette, you can purchase a copy from Matranet for €8.75 – although shipping costs an additional €10.70 for most European countries outside Spain.

Ramiro el Vampiro III


Screenshot of Ramiro el Vampiro III
Screenshot of Ramiro el Vampiro III
Amid all the excitement around the release of Toki, the Mojon Twins released Ramiro el Vampiro III yesterday, just in time for Halloween. Ramiro’s daughter has invited some friends around for a party, but they are hungry, so Ramiro has to forage for mushrooms in the forest.

As with most of the Mojon Twins’ other games, this is a platform game, but there is a clever gameplay mechanic. As you play a vampire, you can only remain in sunlight for a short period – so while you collect the mushrooms, you have to find one as quickly as you can and then find somewhere dark to shelter and restore your energy before you can venture out again.

You can download Ramiro el Vampiro III from itch.io.

Toki released


Yes, the full version of Toki is finally here, and you can download it from AmstradGGP! I say it’s been well worth waiting for. I’ve been playing it for hours and it really is amazing – definitely a candidate for “game of the year”, unless the #CPCRetroDev contest throws up a massive surprise when the entrants are announced next month. Toki is not an easy game, and it took me a while just to complete the first stage, but it’s beautifully presented and very playable indeed. Take a look at the gallery of screenshots below to see how gorgeous it looks.

Screenshot from stage 1 of Toki
Stage 1
Screenshot from stage 1 of Toki
Fighting the boss at the end of stage 1
Screenshot from stage 2 of Toki
Stage 2
Screenshot from stage 2 of Toki
Underwater in Stage 2
Screenshots of Toki

There is also a hall of fame on AmstradGGP’s site. You can e-mail a screenshot or photo showing your high score to GGP (the e-mail address is on their site) and your name and score will be added to the hall of fame.

Toki


Amstrad GGP are due to release their conversion of Toki next Saturday 29th October. It’s been in development for over two years and its release is highly anticipated. However, the French YouTube channel Oldschool is beautiful has managed to obtain the game in advance and has given CPC fans an exclusive preview! You can watch it below or on YouTube.

Preview of Toki on YouTube

New reviews


Robert Small has reviewed two games:

Robert Small has reviewed two games:

Robert Small has reviewed two games:


I have reviewed two games:

Spaceman Kerl on Rescue Mission


Screenshot of Spaceman Kerl on Rescue Mission
Screenshot of Spaceman Kerl on Rescue Mission
Fitosoft has released a new game called Spaceman Kerl on Rescue Mission. It’s a platform-cum-puzzle game that is based on a simple ZX Spectrum game from 2019 called Paracaidista Kerl! Starting at the top of a level, Kerl has to make his way to the bottom by walking off platforms and falling through space. He can make use of drills (to remove platforms) and slabs (to extend them), and he can also collect additional drills and slabs, as well as fuel for his jet pack, but the catch is that in order to collect these items, he has to land on top of them; he can’t collect them by walking into them! This means that there is a fair bit of thinking involved as you try to ration your use of resources.

Spaceman Kerl has been developed using the 8 Bits de Poder RSX library, and it’s a great demonstration of what it is capable of. You can download Spaceman Kerl on Rescue Mission from itch.io.

New reviews


Robert Small has reviewed two games:

I have taken the time to rename the titles used in a lot of the reviews, so that they better match the titles listed on the NVG archive. Generally, the titles are now based on what is written on the game’s inlay (if the game was released commercially) rather than what appears on the loading screen or in the game itself. For instance, the classic that is commonly known as The Island of Dr Destructo is actually titled Destructo on the inlay, and that is the title that is now used on this site. Similarly, the Firebird game Samurai Warrior was previously listed on this site as Usagi Yojimbo.

Amstrad CPC World’s YouTube channel added


I’ve added links to videos on Amstrad CPC World’s YouTube channel on my site. This channel features longplay videos and compilations of some of the best Amstrad CPC games from particular years and genres.

New reviews


Robert Small has reviewed two games: