Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Chart Attack delivers a diverse buffet of retro gameplay experiences, spanning Gremlin platformers and adrenaline-fuelled racing challenges. The platform games each bring a distinct flavor to the compilation: Cloud Kingdoms offers slippery ice physics and vertical exploration on the Commodore 64/128, while Shadow of the Beast tests your timing and reflexes through its hauntingly atmospheric levels on the Spectrum and Amstrad. Impossamole injects humor and gadget-driven puzzles, and Ghouls ’N Ghosts demands patience with its notoriously tough but rewarding combat sequences.

Switching gears to the racing selection, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge brings high-speed touring car thrills with tight cornering and time-attack modes. Supercars ups the ante with multiple tracks, weather effects, and a variety of sports machines to master. Both racers feature intuitive steering and a satisfying sense of speed, capturing the arcade spirit without oversimplifying controls. Whether you’re drifting hairpin turns in the Lotus or blasting down straights in a Supercar, the handling remains engaging and responsive.

The real strength of Chart Attack’s gameplay lies in its balance between challenge and accessibility. Newcomers to vintage titles may find Shadow of the Beast’s difficulty punishing or Ghouls ’N Ghosts relentless, but the compilation thoughtfully includes adjustable lives and password systems to ease progression. For platforming purists, the precise jump arcs of Cloud Kingdoms and the inventive level design of Impossamole offer hours of exploration. On the racing side, the choice between single-player time trials and split-screen head-to-head adds replay value for both solo gamers and couch competitors.

Overall, Chart Attack feels like a lovingly curated time capsule. The gameplay in each title remains faithful to its original mechanics, yet the modern wrapper—complete with save states and rewind features—means you can experience or revisit classic Gremlin action with far less frustration than in the ’80s. Whether you’re aiming for a perfect run in Impossamole or shaving seconds off your Lotus Esprit lap time, the compilation caters to both veterans and newcomers.

Graphics

Visually, Chart Attack celebrates the hallmarks of 8-bit and 16-bit eras without trying to mask their limitations. Cloud Kingdoms shines with vibrant color palettes and smooth horizontal scrolling on the Commodore hardware, though occasional sprite flicker is inevitable. Shadow of the Beast impresses with its large, detailed character art and parallax backgrounds on the Spectrum, evoking a dark fantasy world that still holds up as an artistic achievement decades later.

Impossamole and Ghouls ’N Ghosts showcase an evolution in pixel craftsmanship. Impossamole’s cartoonish style is boosted by bright, crisp sprites and whimsical environmental details, while Ghouls ’N Ghosts’ gothic castles and undead enemies are rendered with moody shading and fluid animations on supported platforms. These titles gain additional clarity through the compilation’s built-in filters, letting you choose between authentic CRT simulation or a clean, sharp display for modern screens.

On the racing front, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge offers flat shaded 3D road stretches and simple but effective roadside details, creating a convincing sense of speed at 50+ frames per second. Supercars elevates the presentation with billboarding trees, roadside spectators, and rudimentary weather effects, enhancing immersion. Both games benefit from widescreen support and smooth frame pacing, a far cry from the slowdown and teardrop issues of original hardware.

Chart Attack’s interface wraps these retro visuals in a polished menu system, complete with animated previews and box art galleries. The ability to toggle scanlines, pixel-perfect scaling, and custom aspect ratios ensures that each game’s graphics can be enjoyed how you remember them—or rediscovered with newfound clarity. Graphical options are intuitive, and switching between games feels seamless, preserving the aesthetic integrity of each title.

Story

As a compilation, Chart Attack doesn’t offer a single overarching narrative, but each game brings its own mini-saga. Cloud Kingdoms casts you as a wandering hero climbing icy spires to liberate skybound realms. The minimal text is offset by evocative level names and an ethereal soundtrack that hints at cloud-bound mysteries. The result is a light but memorable storyline that complements the platforming challenges.

Shadow of the Beast plunges players into a dark mythos where you rescue a kidnapped loved one from demonic overlords. The storyline is thin on exposition, yet the haunting visuals and foreboding music deliver a sense of desperate urgency. Impossamole flips conventions on their head: you don a mole’s mask to outwit an evil genius, turning each stage into a playful cat-and-mouse chase. The tongue-in-cheek humor and level introductions give this title a quirky narrative charm.

Ghouls ’N Ghosts places Sir Arthur in a classic knight-versus-undead scenario, tasked with defeating Lucifer’s legions to rescue a princess. The tale is straightforward and delivered in bite-size snippets between levels, allowing the game’s punishing difficulty to take center stage. On the racing side, narratives are virtually absent, but the thrill of beating the clock or outpacing rivals becomes its own story—one you script each time you load a new track in Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge or Supercars.

While there’s no unified campaign tying these six games together, the compilation’s front end gently nods to Gremlin’s heritage with nostalgic artwork and short retrospectives. These vignettes provide just enough context to appreciate each title’s place in gaming history, turning Chart Attack into more than a mere side-by-side collection: it’s a curated journey through varied tales of heroism, speed, and pixel-perfect adventure.

Overall Experience

Chart Attack stands out as a thoughtfully assembled homage to Gremlin’s golden age, offering both depth and accessibility. The compilation interface is user-friendly, with quick loading, robust save states, and customizable visual and audio filters. Whether you’re a retro enthusiast seeking authenticity or a modern player curious about gaming’s past, you’ll find something to appreciate in the seamless presentation and faithful emulation.

The variety on offer keeps sessions fresh: platform aficionados can tackle the frosty heights of Cloud Kingdoms then leap into the nightmarish corridors of Ghouls ’N Ghosts, while racing fans can switch from the precision driving of Lotus Esprit to the turbo-charged drifts of Supercars. The adjustable difficulty settings, rewind feature, and optional guided controls help bridge the gap for less seasoned players, without diluting the core challenge that made these titles classics.

Audio enhancements are subtle but impactful: remastered chiptunes and digitized sound effects breathe new life into each game, and the compilation’s built-in jukebox mode lets you savor your favorite tracks outside of gameplay. Coupled with box art galleries, developer interviews, and historical extras, Chart Attack doubles as an interactive museum exhibit.

In summary, Chart Attack is a must-have for anyone intrigued by late ’80s and early ’90s platformers and racers. Its combination of iconic titles, modern conveniences, and archival materials delivers not just nostalgia, but genuine entertainment value. Whether you aim for perfect high-score runs or simply want to experience the evolution of Gremlin’s design philosophy, this collection hits the mark with style and substance.

Retro Replay Score

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