So, I spent last Saturdat at PLAY Expo Blackpool and that is the main subject of this week’s episode. I cover everything from the journey and motorway services to the weather…. And of course, the event itself, who I saw, and, importantly, the games I checked out and played. Shownotes Planckman 8 Bit Space 2 Overencumbered in Another World…

Does your heart still yearn for that uniquely desolate atmosphere pioneered by games like King's Field? Well then, pay attention: a new dark fantasy RPG called Verho – Curse of Faces could be about to fill that void. Developed by Kasur Games and published by CobraTekku Games, it promises merciless battles and hidden paths within a gloomy world where a deadly curse makes showing your face a death sentence.

Now this is how you run a Kickstarter. The campaign for the 2026 annuals covering legendary magazines like ZZAP! 64 and CRASH didn't just meet its £15,000 target—it absolutely smashed it, and with 18 days left to go! Clearly, the passion for these classic 8-bit magazines is alive and well. The team is offering four publications: ZZAP! 64…

Fantastic news for anyone who spent their formative years glued to the gorgeous worlds of 16-bit adventures—we're talking the absolute classics like Chrono Trigger and A Link to the Past. That era was defined by deep stories and beautiful sprite work, and now a new contender is poking fun at the whole genre. Jaggy Snake Games has just announced that the demo for their unique…

I don't know about you, but my retro collection is less like a hobby and more a carefully managed obsession. Looking for a particular game is often stressful, even if you enjoy the thrill of the chase. Tracking sales across a dozen sites, trying to figure out if a rare Amiga game is a good deal, and maybe even maintaining a list -- perhaps on a spreadsheet -- to keep track of prices and availability so you can strike when the deal is best for you.

Stop the presses! This is absolutely massive news for anyone who remembers staying up way too late staring at a green screen, desperate to find the next wonderkid and finance them with a cheeky sale. For us who were utterly obsessed with the 97/98 edition of Championship Manager, this is a huge moment. The dedicated folks behind ManagerOld have just released…

Following on from my earlier update today, as promised, here is a video look at PLAY Expo Blackpool. Specifically, this is the main room (I omitted to take video of the trade room, but you can see a snap from it below). As I explained in our latest newsletter: Walking into the main room of the event is insane. Divided into coin ops (no coin required!) and classic computers, there is also a serious bank of LAN action, where the games of choice appeared to be DOOM and Counter Strike.

Hello! Quick update on what is coming up: Immediately (i.e. later today), some images and video from PLAY Expo Blackpool. Raspberry Pi DOS PC project: aiming to get the second half of this project -- the OS and running games -- complete this week BBC Model B project: the gear is here, it just needs me to remove the damaged PSU components.

If you're anything like me (someone who grew up dragged by their dad to every airshow just to get a glimpse of aviation history) then the name MicroProse and the arcade flight sim B-17 Flying Fortress are pure nostalgia gold. MicroProse -- the company that defined 16-bit flight sims for a generation -- has pulled the silk off an absolutely massive expansion of the…

Just when you thought your list of essential remasters was complete, Revolution Software drops a bombshell that should make any adventure game fan—or indeed, anyone who lived through the golden age of point-and-clicks—sit up and take notice. They’ve officially lifted the lid on Broken Sword - The Smoking Mirror: Reforged, a "faithful reimagining" of the second game in their multi-award-winning series.

Stop what you’re doing and clear your schedule. MicroProse—the legendary name behind classics that shaped my childhood, like Dune II and so many others—has just announced that Dying Breed is OUT TODAY in Early Access on Steam. If you were a fan of that golden age of RTS games, the era of Command & Conquer (which you can…

I was 10 feet away from John Romero, and you probably weren't (although there's a fair chance you were closer...) I live - by road - between 130 and 163 miles from the Norbreck Hotel in Fleetwood, Blackpool, the venue for this weekend’s PLAY Expo event. An early start should have got me there by 10, giving me 5 hours before heading home to pick up my children from a dance class.

Well, if you thought you’d seen everything a Rubik’s Cube could possibly do, think again. Cubios, Inc. and Spin Master are about to shake up the puzzle world—literally and figuratively—with the Rubik’s WOWCube. This isn't your dad’s puzzle toy. It's being pitched as a handheld smart device and gaming platform, and it goes on sale on October 9 with a price tag of…

One of the indie developers I spoke to at the PLAY Expo Blackpool event was YouTuber bl3i, the guy behind PlanckMan, an incredible simple and compelling retro style game for Steam. As you may have read in this week's newsletter, I spoke to a bunch of indie developers at PLAY Expo Blackpool. I'm going to be featuring each of their games over the next few days, but I wanted to kick this off with the simplest one of them all, a neoretro title called PlanckMan.

How a radical design built entirely from PCBs challenges the way we think about consoles and consumer electronics Consumer technology has long followed a predictable formula. Inside, there’s a printed circuit board (PCB) packed with chips, connectors, and wires. Outside, there’s a casing—plastic, metal, or sometimes wood—designed to protect the electronics and give the device its finished look. But what if the casing wasn’t needed at all?

Here’s a news flash that's "purr-fect" (groan) for anyone who misses the glory days of the 16-bit shoot-'em-up: Beyond The Pixels is getting ready to drop its debut title, Astro Burn, and it looks like a cat-tastic (oh, come on!) blast of retro action. Who are Beyond The Pixels? This London-based studio is the brainchild of HaZ Dulull…

Another retro drop has landed for current gen consoles and PC -- this one is a bit of a cult classic for PlayStation fans: Fear Effect. I've just learned that classic PlayStation game Fear Effect was shadow dropped on all the digital gaming platforms a few weeks ago, along with news of a physical edition for Switch and PlayStation 4/5…

Fans of Super Nintendo Entertainment System role-playing games will be thrilled to know that they can get this without first randomly generating a character. Bitmap Books has opened pre-orders on its forthcoming book, The Definitive Book of SNES RPGs Volume 1. We love Bitmap Books titles at Gaming Retro -- see our review of Game Boy: The Box Art…

It really was just a matter of time before the LEGO Game Boy was capable of actually playing genuine Game Boy titles, wasn't it? I was pretty excited to read about the arrival of the LEGO Game Boy when it was announced earlier this year. While not a fan of the console first time around, I'm still a retro gamer, and as I have a couple of originals, I thought it would be good to have a brick-based…

In this week's podcast, we're having a look at the new Raspberry Pi 500+, the all-in-one desktop computer that suits retro computing fans perfectly. Along with the latest retro gaming news, there's also a look ahead to the PLAY Expo Blackpool 2025 event -- which I'm really looking forward to! ⁠Raspberry Pi 500+ can be your ultimate retro computer⁠

Well, here's a little blast from the past for you, courtesy of the HAMSTER Corporation, the people behind the Arcade Archives. This time, they're digging up something truly monumental: Namco's very first in-house developed arcade game, the brick-breaker with a twist, Gee Bee! What's all the buzz about? If you're scratching your head wondering what Gee Bee is, I don't blame you.

1982 classics Galaga, Pac-Man Double Feature, Dig Dug, and Xevious are coming to the Atari 2600+ and 7800+ on cartridge in November 2025! Four new games are coming to the Atari 2600+ and 7800+ later this year, with licensed arcade classics Galaga, Pac-Man Double Feature, Dig Dug, and Xevious launching on 21st November. The games are physical releases, and run on the Atari 2600+, Atari 7800+, and the original Atari 7800.

The annual Blackpool PLAY Expo is this weekend (October 4-5) and promises to be the biggest retro gaming even in the UK this year. Here's what's on… I'm leaving the house at 7.30am on Saturday to start the 2.5-hour drive to Blackpool. The reason? Well, of course it's to attend PLAY Expo Blackpool, the biggest retro gaming event I will have ever been to.