Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The Ultimate Stuntman delivers a relentless mix of action and puzzle-solving, challenging players to adapt to rapidly shifting objectives. From the moment you step into the Stuntman’s shoes, you’ll pilot cars, boats, gliders, and dune buggies across seven distinct worlds, each composed of four high-octane stages. With the clock ticking down in every level, the sense of urgency remains palpable, pushing you to master both driving precision and strategic turret fire.

Overhead-view stages underscore the game’s racing roots: you weave through enemy fire, dodge environmental hazards, and race against time to reach the finish line. Limited turbo boosts add a layer of resource management, forcing you to decide whether to use your speed burst early to escape pursuers or save it for a last-second dash. In glider segments, altitude control becomes your greatest ally, letting you soar over obstacles or dive beneath them for shortcuts—though misjudging your height can send you crashing.

Side-scrolling levels alternate between on-foot platforming and airborne strafing runs. On foot, you’ll scour sprawling stages for colored keys to unlock end-of-level forcefields, taking down ground troops and automated turrets as you go. The glider segments flip the formula: you stay aloft, lining up shots on encroaching enemies while carefully navigating narrow passages. Both variants keep the action fresh and demand quick reflexes.

Climbing stages introduce a vertical challenge, pitting you against skyscraper façades under a strict time limit. Armed with a movable reticle, you blast incoming androids before scaling each section, culminating in rooftop boss duels against Mega Slug, Techno Beast, or the Sand Yeti. Finally, the bomb disposal rounds serve as mental palate cleansers—a tense puzzle where every cursor move reduces a chip’s countdown number. A single misstep forces a restart, trimming precious seconds from your fuse timer and testing your problem-solving under pressure.

Graphics

The Ultimate Stuntman’s visual style balances bold color palettes with clear, readable sprites. Each world boasts its own thematic backdrop—snowy peaks, desert canyons, neon-lit cityscapes—ensuring you never tire of the scenery. Vehicles and character sprites are well-defined, with enough detail to distinguish between cars, boats, and gliders at a glance.

Animation is smooth across most stages, particularly during overhead driving segments where parallax scrolling adds depth to highways and waterways. Boss sprites stand out with unique designs: Mega Slug’s metallic sheen, the glowing circuits of Techno Beast, and the grizzled fur of the Sand Yeti all showcase crisp detailing despite hardware limitations. Explosions, turbo trails, and muzzle flashes pop against the backgrounds without causing slowdown.

On the downside, some side-scrolling sections can feel slightly busy, with enemy sprites sometimes obscuring critical platform edges. However, clever use of contrasting colors and transparent overlays keeps the action legible. During bomb disposal puzzles, the simple chip-and-wire graphics prioritize function over flair—appropriate for a moment of calm in an otherwise frenetic experience.

Story

At its core, The Ultimate Stuntman offers a classic “rescue the scientist” plot: Dr. Evil has kidnapped the brilliant Jenny Aykroyd, and only the titular Stuntman stands between her and a life of captivity. While narrative cutscenes are sparse, each world’s backdrop and level objectives reinforce the stakes, from infiltrating Dr. Evil’s ocean base to storming his mountain fortress.

The game’s story is told primarily through brief mission briefs and in-game dialogue, which keeps exposition concise and focused. You get just enough context to understand why you’re racing hovercrafts, leaping across rooftops, or delicately unsoldering bomb chips—without bogging you down in lengthy cutscenes. This brisk storytelling aligns well with the game’s adrenaline-fueled pace.

Villains and bosses carry distinct personalities in their design, if not through extensive dialogue. Each android lord you face on the rooftops feels like a milestone on your rescue mission, culminating in a showdown against Dr. Evil himself in the final three-stage world. While purists may crave deeper character development, the lean narrative serves its purpose: it propels you forward through seven worlds of diverse challenges until Jenny Aykroyd’s freedom is secured.

Overall Experience

The Ultimate Stuntman stands out for its ambitious blend of gameplay styles, making each world feel like a fresh test of skill. Whether you’re tearing down highways, navigating airborne gauntlets, or piecing together bomb-disposal puzzles, the game consistently raises the stakes and keeps you invested. Rarely does an action title manage to mix driving, platforming, and puzzles so seamlessly.

Difficulty ramps up at a steady clip. Early worlds serve as tutorials in disguise, while later stages demand pixel-perfect driving lines, split-second shooting accuracy, and razor-sharp puzzle logic. The occasional trial-and-error moment—especially in bomb disposal—can frustrate, but overcoming these hurdles rewards you with a true sense of accomplishment and progression.

Fans of classic action games will appreciate The Ultimate Stuntman’s relentless pace and variety. Its responsive controls, inventive level design, and tight integration of multiple gameplay modes set it apart from single-genre competitors. If you’re seeking a retro-style challenge that keeps you on your toes from start to finish, this high-octane rescue mission is well worth the ride.

Retro Replay Score

7/10