Moley Christmas

$2.99

Release Date:: Dec 22, 2022
Developer:: Gremlin Graphics
Publisher:: Pixel Games UK
Platforms:: Windows

Action Full controller support Family Sharing Single-player Steam Cloud

About This Game

Originally released on a cassette tape that came with the Christmas edition of the ZX Spectrum magazine Your Sinclair in 1987, this oft-forgotten entry in Gremlin Graphics' Monty Mole series of challenging platformers saw players once again take on the role of the intrepid subterranean mammal, this time trying to get the very game you are playing to the duplication plant so it can be out for Christmas! Now, relive those days in this remastered emulated version.

Gameplay

Guide Monty through a series of challenging levels, jumping, climbing, dodging bizarre enemies and collecting useful items.

First, at Gremlin's offices find the printout of the game's computer code, then it's on through the Mastering Plant to have the code turned into a master cassette tape. Next is the Duplication Plant to turn the master tape into enough tapes for all the issues of Your Sinclair! Err... well... at least eight copies anyway. Then hitch a lift on the M1 back to London, and finally to the newsagents to pick up a copy of Your Sinclair.

This enhanced version introduces a number of modern features to this retro classic, including:

Saving/loading the game at any point
Support for most modern game controllers
Full control remapping
Image scaling and smoothing options

Screenshots

User Reviews

Overwhelmingly Negative

1 user reviews

Positive

User #858132 english

28 min at review

Not Recommended

A curious addition to the Monty Mole series, Moley Christmas was (originally) released as a free promotional demo to be bundled with Your Sinclair magazine in (I believe) 1987. It was never meant to be sold as a standalone product and anyone hoping to get a full experience out of it will be sorely disappointed - it can be played through in literally 2 minutes and almost certainly not worth the €3 asking price on its own. The net experience will probably last about 10-15 minutes as you try to fathom your way through each screen by way of trial and error. Gamers who play this without understanding the context may struggle to understand what the heck is going on. Screen 3 in particular requires a crucial tid-bit of information from the original magazine (designed to be cut out as a cassette inlay): specifically, you need EIGHT tapes to proceed. Plus points? Well, it's an interesting insight into (or throwback to, depending on your age) the UK gaming journalism industry of the 1980s (a...