Here we are with another rather impressive looking homebrew, and it's 'Zak McDruken Saves The Chickens' from RetroSouls Team for the ZX Spectrum. A game that not only has fantastic graphics while also having a clever use of color attributes, but it's also very enjoyable while also remaining a challenge as you try to solve some of the puzzles throughout each of the many levels. Certainly a game that's worthy of a feature, both on this website, and throughout twitter(x).
While there is very little to go on from the website, Gentlemen's Pixel Club (YT) who also did a video linked here, couldn't have said it any better. "This isn’t just nostalgia – it’s brand-new 8-bit gaming in 2025! RetroSouls are back at it again, proving the Spectrum isn’t just alive - it’s still clucking. Expect quirky puzzles, retro charm, and plenty of 🐔 chaos as Zak McDrunken does his best to save the day (and the chickens). Whether you’re running this on real hardware, emulators, or a MiSTer FPGA, you’re in for a treat. From tricky level design to laugh-out-loud moments, this is one indie retro release you don’t want to miss".
literally fullscreen scrolling, some parallaxed layer, no colour clash, animations, speed .. even Atari ST is speechless.
ReplyDeleteWell, scrolling is made in character resolution (8 pixels at a time, respecting 8x8 block boundaries), and sprites are moving by 8 pixels too and have black outlines and are not drawn with OR but by direct storing of values (so no overlapping and no color clash). So, speed is given in that situation. Nevertheless, great game!
DeleteA shocking revelation ...
Deletehttps://retrosouls.itch.io/ringo
https://retrosouls.itch.io/plyukzx
Take a look at their portfolio and you'll understand.
Actually sprites are moving by 16 pixel.
DeleteWow, what a thing!!!
ReplyDeleteImagine if this had come out in 1986...!!!
Today we'd most likely have games on the Spectrum 128, or even better, the Scorpion 256, that would even be superior to many DOS and Mega Drive titles !!!
Fantastic job, looks like a modern game, just imagine seeing this in the 80s, running on a real speccy.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how they did that, no color clash and full screen, but it seems you nailed it, THERE'S color clash, it just not obvious...
ReplyDeleteClever.