Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story

TITLE: Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
PUBLISHER: Digital Eclipse
DEVELOPER: Digital Eclipse
PLATFORMS: Nintendo Switch, PS4 / PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2024 (It’s out right now!)

We had been looking forward to Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story for a while, so when the opportunity presented itself to take the Yak’s game for a spin, we weren’t going to say no!

Right off the bat, this second release in Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master Series ticks all the boxes, including very importantly, the nostalgia inducing and retro gamer boxes. If you are unfamiliar with Jeff Minter, that’s fine, this title will acquaint you (or reacquaint you if you had forgotten) who Jeff Minter is, and what this Llamasoft business is all about. For anyone that’s a Gen X’er, we’d be quite surprised (Ed: and appalled) if you hadn’t heard of the Great Yak and/or played any of his games over the years!

With the pedigree of Digital Eclipse, it was never in doubt that they would create a treasure-filled archive of Jeff Minter’s body of work in their uniquely interactive documentary, just as they did with their amazing titles, The Making Of Karateka and Atari 50.

The gameplay in Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story offers a unique and engaging experience that allows players to delve into Jeff Minter’s creative evolution and explore his extensive catalogue of games. Players can play through 42 Llamasoft games released between 1981 and 1994, providing a comprehensive look at Minter’s work. And before you ask, no, the Atari Jaguar game, Defender 2000, is not included in the list of playable titles. Neither Jeff nor Atari own the rights to Defender, which is a shame. Oh yeah, for those with superhero hearing, you may also notice that Llamatron 2112 sounds a tad different. Again, this was due to a couple of things, one, certain sounds had to be replaced due to licensing, and two, there were multiple versions of Llamatron 2112, each with differing sounds and effects.

This interactive documentary game not only showcases Minter’s classic games but also contextualizes them with archival material, video interviews, photos, quotes, and magazine articles. By playing these games chronologically, players can witness the evolution of Minter’s design skills and creative process in real time.

The gameplay experience varies depending on individual preferences and familiarity with retro gaming, but the controls do feel like second nature. Players can expect to encounter a diverse range of titles, from career-defining hits like Iridis Alpha to more experimental and creative games that reflect Minter’s unique style. The game offers a mix of short and longer gameplay experiences, catering to different levels of interest in gaming history.

Overall, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story provides an unmatched journey into the mind of one of gaming’s most distinctive figures, offering a blend of entertainment, historical insight, and appreciation for Jeff Minter’s contributions to the gaming industry.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – If you are a Jeff Minter fan, then this is a MUST HAVE title!

Disclaimer: Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story Steam review code supplied by Digital Eclipse

Gridrunner. Revenge of the Mutant Camels. Tempest 2000. Llamatron. In the British gaming universe of the ’80s and ’90s, nobody made games like Jeff Minter.

Revealed in the Day of the Devs showcase, Digital Eclipse’s Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is an interactive documentary coming to PC and consoles in 2024. Play the history of one of the weirdest, wildest game developers to ever exist — a man who loves shooters and sheep, lasers and llamas!

PS: We are looking forward to playing the (never released) Konix Multi-System – Attack of the Mutant Camels ’89!!

Journey back in time to an era of cassette tapes, photocopied zines, and README.TXT. An era in which a kid with a Commodore VIC-20 and dreams of radioactive sheep could become one of Britain’s best-known game makers. A virtual museum of design documents, playable games, and all-new videos tell the fascinating story of a true independent game designer.

FEATURES

Four “interactive timelines” tell the story of Jeff Minter and Llamasoft through archival photos, design documents, playable games, and more historical artifacts.
Over an hour of all-new video featurettes from Paul Docherty, director of the upcoming documentary film Heart of Neon.
Game library features 42 classic games from 8 different platforms, including the unreleased Konix Multi-System hardware.
The all-new Gridrunner Remastered updates the classic game’s graphics and sound, while still running on the original Commodore 64 code for 100% accurate gameplay
Two of Jeff Minter’s innovative “light synthesizers,” Psychedelia and Colourspace, are fully playable with all-new console controls.
Save, load, and rewind your gameplay at any point, plus other quality-of-life features.
Supports English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Japanese.

INCLUDED GAMES

Sinclair ZX81
- 3D3D
- Centipede
Commodore VIC-20
- Abductor
- Andes Attack
- Deflex V
- Gridrunner
- Hellgate
- Laser Zone
- Matrix: Gridrunner 2
- Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time
- Ratman
Commodore 64
- Ancipital
- Attack of the Mutant Camels
- Batalyx
- Gridrunner
- Hellgate
- Hover Bovver
- Iridis Alpha
- Laser Zone
- Mama Llama
- Matrix: Gridrunner 2
- Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time
- Psychedelia
- Revenge of the Mutant Camels
- Revenge of the Mutant Camels II
- Rox 64
- Sheep In Space
- Voidrunner
Sinclair Spectrum
- City Bomb
- Headbangers Heaven
- Rox III
- Superdeflex
Atari 8-bit
- Attack of the Mutant Camels
- Colourspace
- Gridrunner
- Hover Bovver
- Turboflex
Konix Multi-System
- Attack of the Mutant Camels ’89
Atari ST
- Llamatron: 2112
- Revenge of the Mutant Camels
- Super Gridrunner
Atari Jaguar
- Tempest 2000
Reimagined
- Gridrunner Remastered