72. Tiny games

Wine poured and snacks at the ready, Andy and Diego open by debating the merits of some gloriously odd Indian inspired snacks, with a quick mention to Andy's new Commodore 64 project, before turning to an 8bit MMO world that somehow links everything from a Commodore 64 to basically anything. They also raise an eyebrow at the revived Commodore brand's new privacy focused phone and gawp at a sealed Super Mario Bros for the NES selling for an incredible sum. On the games, Andy brings Luft Gears for the Game Boy, a moreish spaceship management sim from Game Brewery he proudly backed on Kickstarter. Diego fires back with two, the deceptively tricky block pusher Lock and Toad (Mega Drive) from Safety Stoat Studio, now open source, and Petal Panic (Commodore 64), a neat little demo by Piggy 18 with tunes from the Chiummo Brothers.

Andy is back after a long stretch away, settling into a new house and confessing he might be a hoarder of old consoles, while Wiedo sits this one out and Diego holds the fort. Between pigeon related window mishaps, the pair catch up on the revived Commodore brand, the Commodore 64 Ultimate going back on sale, a new Neo Geo, Lego versions of classic machines, and the close of the MSX Dev 2025 competition, won by the bike racer Neon Horizon. On the games, Andy brings Sherwood for the Commodore 64, a Robin Hood flip screen exploration romp from Griffinsoft. Diego answers with two MSX picks, the time travel platformer Chrono Runner (MSX) from the MSX Italia Association, and Shift (MSX) by Haplo, a tidy black and white puzzler spanning 44 rooms.

In this long-awaited reunion episode, Andy, Diego, and Wiedo catch up after months apart — swapping stories of Hollow Knight Silksong obsessions, an endless Baldur's Gate 3 co-op, tabletop D&D deep dives, and Wiedo's Guardian-featured Quake Brutalist Jam 3 maps. The trio then dives into the GB Compo 2025, each bringing two picks. For the Game Boy, Wiedo tackles climbing platformer Mount Crymore and champions the competition's deserving winner OrmBlok, a fiendishly addictive Tetris-meets-Snake hybrid, while Diego recommends atmospheric noir mystery Abyss and Andy gets hooked on deck-building board game Ningami 2. For the Game Boy Color, Diego embraces the chaotic punishment of survival platformer Dropblox! and Andy explores the eerie point-and-click world of Fun Video Store. The episode wraps with the crew debating their Game of the Year picks and crowning a surprise winner.

In this special episode, Wiedo welcomes guest co-hosts Rob (King Octavius) and Mr. Sparkle to suss out Earthion, Yuzo Koshiro's jaw-dropping 2024 shoot-'em-up that squeezes every last drop of power from the Megadrive. The trio bond over their shmup origin stories—from rental-game rage-quits to recent conversions—before diving into Ancient Corporation's visual spectacular. They're blown away by pseudo-3D ship intros, mind-bending color cycling, and that glorious moment when a giant robot hand rips through your ally's capital ship. Rob gushes about theatrical destruction sequences, Mr. Sparkle drops advanced tactics about weaponizing V-Fire option pods for point-blank carnage, and everyone agrees the adaptation pod upgrade system is brilliantly addictive. Between debating whether you can tank too many bullets, lamenting 50-minute run times, and wishing for a proper practice mode, they land on the perfect verdict: it's a four-star shooter wrapped in five-star presentation that would've melted minds in 1993. All wrapped up with community resource recommendations for aspiring bullet-dodgers.

Back together at last, the crew kicks off this episode with a surprisingly heated debate over what really counts as a sandwich—are crackers allowed, does it have to be square, and can you get away with a “convertible” one-slice version? From there, we catch up on life outside the mic: Wiedo finally unveils his custom-built bike and dives into the long-awaited Silksong, Andy thinks about packing in the CRT and moving on to the RetroTINK 4K, and Diego steps out of his gaming backlog long enough to play his first ever bass gig in front of an audience.On the games front, Wiedo brings us the colorful Hungry Huey (Gameboy Color), a demo puzzle gem that mixes Bejeweled-style chaining with slime-feeding chaos, Andy straps in for the roguelike chaos of Blind Jump (Gameboy Advance), and Diego spotlights Emu’s Massive Hunt (VIC 20)—a jump-and-collect platformer that proves the little Commodore still has some life in it.

This week, Wiedo and Diego reunite after a five-week Scandinavia road trip—complete with charging stops, supermarket pit-stops, and tales of Finland’s early school starts as summer fades fast. With sore thumbs from too much messaging, Wiedo dives into control hacks (Quake jump on the mouse, keyboard over D-pads) to keep gaming pain-free.On the games front, Wiedo brings along a free Squid Game demake on the Gameboy, while Diego spotlights Yandex comp standouts Cubix and Kubanoid for the ZX Spectrum—a clever, dice-driven, Columns-style puzzler that squeezes surprising depth out of tiny memory.We also gush over the C64 Mini Black, packed with 25 modern homebrew hits like Sam’s Journey, before signing off with Andy still away on holiday.

In this heat-soaked pre-holiday episode, Andy and Diego swap tales of water park nostalgia, snack discoveries, and mysterious fizzy drinks before diving into two challenging retro releases. Diego revisits the Commodore 64 with Mike Mech 2 by Luca Carminati, a tightly crafted single-screen platformer where dodging aliens, flipping switches, and navigating teleporters demands both precision and patience. Andy takes on MS-DOS curios game Alien Intruder from Juan José Martínez, a rescue-and-shoot platformer where time pressure is as deadly as the enemies themselves. In the news, the duo chat about the ZX Spectrum Next’s final Kickstarter run, intriguing rumblings from a revived Commodore brand, and upcoming releases like Copper Storm for the Mega Drive, Neo Geo, and SNES. All wrapped up with community shoutouts before both hosts dash off to their summer breaks.

Today Diego and Wiedo talk about four inventive retro games with clever mechanics and classic vibes. Time Wizard (Atari XL) lets you rewind time to dodge traps and collect hourglasses across 70 cleverly designed levels. Petris (Game Gear, Gameboy Color) brings a pet-themed twist to falling-block puzzles, combining animal parts to build cute creatures across five colorful modes. Plyuk (NES, ZX Spectrum) introduces cloning mechanics for inventive platforming, with distinct visuals and level design on each system. And Prisonela MD (Megadrive) delivers lightning-fast, one-screen platforming where every death resets the room instantly—no loading, no mercy. With sharp controls, brutal traps, and an intentionally chaotic level order, it’s a twitchy trial-and-error experience that keeps you hooked.

Today we chat with special guest Juan José Martínez, developer of retro microcomputer games. Discover Juan's journey into game development for vintage systems, his thoughts on game jams as a solution to scope creep, and his experiences creating titles for classic platforms like the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.Listen to the intricacies of developing games with hardware limitations, the rise of modern expansions like cartridges with extra RAM and ROM, and why some retro communities thrive more than others. Juan shares insights into the appeal and technical challenges of creating authentic retro experiences and discusses how the right game design can shine regardless of graphical constraints.

Andy, Diego, and Wiedo are joined by special guest Dale Coop, who shares insights about his journey into indie game development and his unique experiences creating games for classic hardware.The crew then dives into reviews of modern indie games for classic platforms. Diego brings Gravity Boy (Commodore Plus/4), a clever adventure where you control gravity itself to solve spatial puzzle rooms infested by weird-looking aliens. Wiedo presents Kero Kero Cowboy (Gameboy Color), a Western-themed platformer featuring Kirby-like mechanics of swallowing enemies and shooting them out.Andy shares his experience exploring Deep Dungeon (Gameboy), a surprisingly complex RPG where reading the manual would have greatly helped him navigate intricate combat and inventory mechanics. Dale discusses What Remains (NES), an environmentally-conscious narrative adventure filled with intriguing political messages wrapped in compelling storytelling.