Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Monster Pack Volume 1 brings together three distinct Psygnosis titles—Infestation, Nitro, and Shadow of the Beast—each delivering its own brand of challenge and excitement. In Infestation, you pilot a lone spacecraft through bloated alien nests, balancing precise shooting with evasive maneuvers. The top-down shooter mechanics are straightforward but demand quick reflexes and careful ammo management, making each stage feel tense and rewarding.

Nitro shifts gears entirely, placing you behind the wheel of souped-up cars on wild, gravity-defying tracks. The arcade-style racing controls here are delightfully loose, letting you drift around corners and unleash nitro boosts for dramatic overtakes. While the lack of modern physics can feel dated, it captures the old-school thrill of arcade cabinets, ensuring that every corner you hug and ramp you launch off is pure adrenaline.

Shadow of the Beast rounds out the trio with its brutal platforming and combat. You guide the cursed hero Aarbron through surreal landscapes teeming with nightmarish creatures. The controls can be unforgiving—jumps must be impeccably timed, and attacks require precise positioning—but once you master the rhythm, the visceral satisfaction of clearing a screen of grotesque monsters is hard to beat. Overall, the compilation offers a varied gameplay buffet: shooters, racers, and platform-combat are all included, so there’s something to suit players craving different types of action.

Graphics

Though these titles originally debuted on early ’90s hardware, Monster Pack Volume 1 does them justice with faithful emulation and crisp upscaling. Infestation’s neon-tinged backgrounds and chunky alien sprites retain their retro charm, and the weapon effects feel punchy even on modern displays. The color palette may be limited, but the levels are designed with enough visual flair to keep you scanning for hidden power-ups.

Nitro’s tracks pop with bright, almost cartoonish hues, from sun-baked desert circuits to rain-soaked city streets. The sense of speed is heightened by loop-the-loop setpieces and oversized road signs that whiz past in the foreground. While polygon counts are minimal compared to today’s standards, the clean lines and fluid frame rate preserve the sense of velocity that made arcade racers so addictive.

Shadow of the Beast is arguably the star of the visual show, boasting moody parallax backgrounds and monsters rendered with grotesque detail. The richly layered environments—caverns lit by phosphorescent fungi, gnarled forests, crumbling ruins—immerse you in a dark fantasy realm. Some animations may look stiff by modern measures, but the moody color schemes and haunting vistas more than compensate.

Story

Storytelling in Monster Pack Volume 1 ranges from minimal to atmospheric. Infestation expects you to infer the narrative: you’re humanity’s last hope against an insectoid menace, and each wave you clear inches you closer to survival. Its sparse cutscenes and text blurbs are concise, letting the relentless action carry the weight of tension.

Nitro’s narrative is even more lightweight, framed as a worldwide racing tournament with high-stakes bets and renegade drivers. The manual and brief in-game text supply a rough outline—shadowy sponsors, dangerous circuits—but the true focus rests on the thrill of the race. It’s a backdrop that never gets in the way of shifting gears and aiming for that perfect drift.

Shadow of the Beast offers the deepest lore of the three, chronicling Aarbron’s transformation from kidnapped youth to monstrous avenger. Through atmospheric visuals and sparse text, you learn of Maletoth’s dark magic and the hero’s quest for redemption. While dialogue is limited, the oppressive world-building and environmental storytelling create a rich, if enigmatic, tapestry that fuels your drive to push forward.

Overall Experience

As a single package, Monster Pack Volume 1 provides remarkable value for retro enthusiasts and newcomers alike. The variety—shooting, racing, platforming—means boredom rarely sets in. You can chain a high-octane Nitro race into the methodical pattern-matching of Infestation, then unwind (or ramp up) with the punishing thrills of Shadow of the Beast.

The emulation is smooth, with customizable controls and display options that honor the originals while fitting modern rigs. Load times are minimal, and save-state functionality ensures that the toughest sections of Shadow of the Beast no longer feel punishingly long after repeated failures. For players who relish checkpoints and practice modes, this compilation strikes the right balance between authenticity and accessibility.

Ultimately, Monster Pack Volume 1 stands as a testament to Psygnosis’s creative range during the early ’90s. It’s an engaging trip through three distinct genres, each with its own strengths and quirks. Whether you’re drawn by nostalgia or curious about gaming’s formative years, this compilation delivers a captivating, varied experience that’s easy to recommend to anyone exploring retro collections.