Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

You do not buy The Story So Far: Vol 4 for a smooth, unified ride. You buy it because one title can lose you and another can immediately pull you back in. Ghostbusters, Aliens, Wonder Boy, The Eidolon, Back to the Future, and Quartet give you six separate starting points, which makes the collection feel more like an evening of game-hopping than one game to master.

That can be genuinely refreshing when you are in the mood for short bursts and quick changes of pace. The first hour is likely to be spent testing the waters: try the name you know best, switch when its particular demands stop landing, then see whether another selection fits your mood better. A compilation earns its keep when that freedom turns a dead end into a reason to keep exploring the box.

The trade-off is commitment. There is no reason to expect the included games to build on one another, and no single style of play ties the package together. If you want to learn one ruleset, chase one goal, and feel steady progress, this scattershot format can become frustrating. Treat it as a sampler and it makes sense; expect six games to merge into one grand experience and it will not.

Graphics

The pictures change from game to game because this is a six-game collection rather than one continuous world. On Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC, you are moving between separate casts, places, and screens instead of returning to one familiar set of characters and locations.

Story

Despite the title, The Story So Far: Vol 4 does not offer one continuing narrative. Its “story” is the lineup: six distinct games gathered under Elite Systems’ compilation banner.

The licensed names give the box immediate personality. Ghostbusters, Aliens, and Back to the Future arrive with familiar associations, while Wonder Boy, The Eidolon, and Quartet broaden the selection beyond that trio. That is enough to make choosing a game feel more inviting than picking from a row of anonymous titles.

Do not come in looking for links between those worlds or a final chapter that brings them together. Each game stands on its own. The payoff is variety and recognition, not a shared plot.

Overall Experience

This is a solid retro compilation idea with a very honest bargain: six games, six chances to find something that sticks. Its strongest quality is flexibility. If one selection feels too demanding or simply fails to grab you, you are not stuck with it; another game is waiting without leaving the package.

It is harder to recommend as a must-own than as a useful bundle. The lack of a common gameplay style or narrative thread means your enjoyment will rise and fall sharply with the individual games. That unevenness is part of the period charm, but it also means the collection is better for browsing than for a single-minded weekend session.

If the broader series interests you, The Story So Far: Vol 3 is a natural companion piece. Vol 4 is worth your time when you want a compact cross-section of late-1980s game selection and are happy to let the next title, rather than a single campaign, decide what you play next.

Retro Replay Score

5/10