There are retro-inspired games, and then there are games that take the whole thing considerably more seriously. KABOOMANIA is out now, and while you can happily download it on your PlayStation 5 or Xbox you can also fire it up on an actual Commodore Amiga, like this one I am looking at right here.

Fancy Factory has launched its new maze-bomber simultaneously across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, iPhone, iPad, Amiga 500, Amiga 1200, and CD32 – that is literally the best platform list I have ever seen my friends.

KABOOMANIA takes the classic maze-bomber setup and builds a new game around it rather than simply remaking one of the obvious inspirations, although, well, still Bomberman. There are 1,000 handcrafted levels spread across five themed worlds, a collection of enemies with different behaviors, plenty of explosive power-ups, and a four-player local battle mode for the inevitable arguments on the sofa.

The visuals are similarly committed to those 16 bits. KABOOMANIA runs at an authentic 320×256 resolution and uses the 128-color AGA palette of the Amiga 1200. The Amiga 500 hasn’t simply been left out either, with Fancy Factory producing a dedicated 32-color version specifically for the older brother.

From PS5 to an Amiga sitting under a CRT

It’s the platform spread that makes KABOOMANIA particularly interesting, though. We see plenty of modern games designed to look as though they could have appeared on 16-bit hardware, but considerably fewer are actually designed to run on that hardware at the same time.

Fancy Factory says the game was originally born on real Amiga hardware before being expanded onto modern platforms, rather than being created for current systems and subsequently squeezed backwards onto Commodore’s machine.

That means you can effectively choose whether you want to play KABOOMANIA on a PS5 connected to a giant modern television or dig an Amiga 500 out of the loft and experience it much closer to the way nature intended.

There is also a physical boxed Amiga edition on the way following the game’s successful Kickstarter campaign. That version will include an actual box, manual, and disks, although Fancy Factory says release details will be announced at a later date.

Yes, actual disks. Now, did the missus throw out my external drive?

Chris Huelsbeck provides the soundtrack

The commitment to the Amiga doesn’t stop with the graphics, either.

KABOOMANIA features an original soundtrack from legendary composer Chris Huelsbeck, whose credits include Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, Apidya, and Katakis.

Rather than simply using the same audio files across every version, the soundtrack has been produced in two different forms. Modern platforms get a fully arranged version, while the original Amiga releases include a hardware-appropriate ProTracker MOD conversion produced by Huelsbeck’s longtime collaborator Fabian Del Priore.

It’s a lovely detail, particularly if you grew up during the Amiga era and remember just how important its music was to the personality of so many games.

Amiga community stalwart Amiga Bill has already offered perhaps the most succinct review possible, saying: “…it’s rad! Triple A quality!”

KABOOMANIA is available now for €9.90 / $9.90 across its various platforms. A free modern demo is available through Steam, while anyone wanting to see how the proper Amiga 1200 version performs can grab a demo from itch.io.

The soundtrack is also available separately and contains 14 tracks covering both the arranged and original versions.

More of this sort of thing, please.

The post New game gets simultaneous release on PS5. Xbox and, er the Amiga – what a time to be alive appeared first on The Escapist.