Anybody remember the odd top-down platformer Bounder (opens in new tab), released in 1985? How about the platformers starring Monty Mole (opens in new tab)? How about anything else by British developers Gremlin Graphics for the ZX Spectrum?
You don’t? Neither did I, until recently, when publisher Pixel Games UK started pushing a massive back catalog of old ZX Spectrum games to Steam (opens in new tab) spanning a variety of developers from the golden age of British computer game design on what, for many older gamers from the UK, was their first PC. Little-noticed, Pixel Games UK has been pushing out old games to Steam, consistently, for years now, but a recent burst of activity has seen dozens more added.
We’re talking fairly cool games here, ones like puzzle game Pimania (opens in new tab), which on release in 1982 could win you an actual, physical golden sundial (opens in new tab). Others were beloved, like the Hungry Horace (opens in new tab) games. Yet more, like shooter Penetrator (opens in new tab), made their way well outside the UK and were ported to the Commodore 64 and TRS-80 in other countries.
Sold in 1982 by Spectrum Computing’s eponymous Clive Sinclair (opens in new tab), may he rest in peace, the ZX Spectrum became the best-selling home computer in the UK. For many it’s the machine that kicked off the British games industry, the font that led to the later success of some of today’s most famous developers.
