Gyron was developed by released by Firebird Software in 1985 and was something of a bolt out of the blue at the time. Nothing quite like it had been seen before.
You play as a Hedroid and roam a wireframe 3D maze, avoiding towers and spheres, while searching for the exit goal. In other words: you’re just trying not to get squished on your way out…
All 20 screens of Matthew Smith‘s ground-breaking 1983 ZX Spectrum platform game, Manic Miner!
Jeff Minter‘s classic Iridis Alpha is a weird horizontal shoot ’em up first released in 1986 through Llamasoft and Hewson Consultants.
Andrew Braybrook‘s 1987 release, Morpheus, is a strange mix of space shooter and resource management. Management of your ship’s shield’s mostly, which can be prolonged by adding extra generators, or by building up the size of the hull.
Archer MacLean‘s seminal Commodore 64 shooter, Dropzone is like a cross between Defender and, erm, Defender, but with more realistic graphics. And slightly different gameplay. But the principles are pretty much the same: super-fast, super-smooth, side-scrolling shooting. Avoid touching anything – or it’s instant death.
This obscure Commodore 64 classic is one of THE scariest – and most confusing – games of all time. Both in one!
In Scarabaeus you have to explore an ancient Egyptian tomb, chasing ghosts, avoiding zombies and spiders, and eventually making your way to the Pharaoh’s tomb in the centre of the third level.
John Phillips‘ fabulous Nebulus attracted rave reviews when it was first released in 1987, and – to be honest – it still gathers rave reviews now. The Commodore 64 original in particular.
Another hugely memorable Ultimate game (and the official sequel to the hit game Jet Pac), Lunar Jetman was first released in 1983 for the ZX Spectrum.
This incredible “indie” dungeon crawler absolutely drips atmosphere and is bloody terrifying in places! It’s a heck of a challenge too…
Legend of Grimrock plays very much in the mould of Dungeon Master, and other first-person, tile-based RPGs, but it does it so much better than almost all of the others.
Ultimate Play The Game‘s Underwurlde was first released on the ZX Spectrum in 1984 and was the company’s eighth release (actually a simultaneous release with Knight Lore), and the third game featuring the lead character ‘Sabreman’ (Sabre Wulf and Knight Lore being the other two).
The King of Grabs 