When the Amstrad CPC Took Us to the Far Reaches of Space
We fire up those old CRT monitors, slide in the disk, type RUN", and blast off. The Amstrad CPC was home to a library of legendary classics, but some titles had the incredible ability to truly launch us into another dimension. For those of us who spent endless hours wearing out our joysticks on those massive keyboards, space was a limitless playground filled with wild dreams and truly mind-blowing concepts.
Here is a very personal top 3 of the most unforgettable and completely crazy space games from that era. Do you remember them ?
1. Zox 2099 : Loriciels' Double Gameplay Experience
Two Games in One : Space Combat and Infiltration
We are starting strong with Zox 2099, a Loriciels creation that pushed many CPC 6128+ machines to their limits. What I loved about this game back then was how it delivered two completely different gameplay experiences.
First, you were behind the controls of your spaceship, flying through deep space with one mission : destroy waves of enemy ships until you could finally dock with a space station. And then, everything changed ! The game suddenly switched into a base exploration phase. You had to avoid armed guards while trying to rescue 4 people. To be honest, I cannot even remember anymore if we were saving our family, our friends, or random hostages, but the tension was absolutely real !
After countless attempts, you eventually learned where the secret passages hidden inside the walls were located and found ways to outsmart the guards. Once your team was rescued, you had to launch back into space, and that was when the shooting phase became brutally difficult : enemy ships moved twice as fast, missiles filled the screen, and you needed true Jedi-like reflexes. Everything happened against that legendary black Amstrad background that forced you to focus on every single movement, accompanied by an absolutely fantastic soundtrack. Incredible memories.
💾 I always loved that gameplay transformation. Very few games managed to combine space shooting and infiltration so naturally on the Amstrad CPC.
2. Netherworld : The Ultimate Psychedelic Trip
A Mind-Bending Adventure Through a Parallel Dimension
For those who experienced it, Netherworld was probably one of the strangest and most surreal experiences of the entire generation. You were trapped inside a nightmarish parallel dimension aboard your spaceship, and your only way out was to collect as many diamonds as possible before the timer ran out and the level could be completed.
On paper, it sounds pretty familiar. But once you were playing, it was absolute madness ! You controlled a strange pulsating orb-like spaceship through a universe filled with dragon creatures shooting bubbles and flying bones that could drain your health bar in seconds. The developers pushed the craziness even further by adding fake power-ups that, instead of helping you, sent you straight to game over. Every screen required exploration, secret passage hunting, and a little bit of luck to survive.
Picture my childhood back then : I would watch an episode of Star Trek, continue with Cosmos 1999 on television, and finish the day by launching Netherworld on my CPC. It was a guaranteed one-way ticket into the Universe with a capital U. Those were truly amazing times, right ?
3. Exolon : War on an Alien World
Surviving on a Hostile Alien Planet
We finish with an absolute classic that kept countless players glued to their screens. In Exolon, you take control of Vitorc, a soldier stranded on a hostile alien planet. The game is a run and gun adventure where you move from left to right across around one hundred screens divided into 5 major zones, until reaching a teleport device.
Your character, equipped with a pistol and grenades (with very limited ammunition, because otherwise it would be too easy), had to clear the path by destroying turrets, blocking machines, and relentless enemies while collecting armor upgrades.
But what truly stayed with me was the game's visual atmosphere. You explored these unknown worlds with the endless darkness of space stretching behind you. The developers managed to create beautifully colorful planets and sparkling stars that created a stunning contrast with the blackness of the universe. You genuinely felt lost among the stars, surrounded by that incredible sensation of isolation millions of miles away from Earth. A truly unforgettable gaming moment !
💾 Exolon was one of those games where you sometimes stopped for a few seconds just to admire the scenery. The colorful planets against the black space background truly made you feel like you were lost in the infinite universe.
The Final Word : Pixel Nostalgia, Yesterday and Today
Looking back at those endless space exploration sessions, I have to admit that I am no longer exactly a kid anymore (the 1984 generation has collected quite a few hours on the clock !). But the most amazing part of this journey is knowing that thousands, and probably even millions, of players shared those same magical moments in front of their monitors. Those static screens and handfuls of colorful pixels literally shaped our imagination as gamers.
For everyone who loves these little trips back in time and wants to revive more legendary memories from that era, here are two more classic adventures worth revisiting :
- Take a look back at the furry saga that conquered the Amstrad with Skweek and Super Skweek.
- Rediscover the joy of total destruction with our memories and history of Rampage on the Amstrad CPC 6128+.
You can definitely count on me to keep digging up more stories from our childhood. I still have plenty of unforgettable games waiting in the archives, and I cannot wait to share those memories with you !
💬 What about you ? Which Amstrad CPC space game left the biggest impression on you ? Share your memories in the comments, I absolutely love reading your stories from that era !
