Flash News

Eye of the Beholder is getting a rather unusual second life. BtD, an experimental engine created by Moon Bunny, reimplements the 1991 dungeon crawler as a true 3D first-person experience with smooth, continuous movement instead of the original game's grid-based steps and 90-degree turns.

This isn't simply a remake with prettier graphics. BtD reads the original DOS Eye of the Beholder data files, retaining the game's dungeons, puzzles, scripts and underlying content while interpreting them inside a modern Unity-based engine. No original game assets are distributed with the project, so you'll need a legitimate DOS copy of Eye of the Beholder to use it.

The developer says considerable effort has gone into keeping the original logic intact, including writing a virtual machine capable of processing the game's original level scripts. Enemies have received some modernisation too, including pathfinding better suited to unrestricted 3D movement.

BtD originally entered open beta in May 2026, and the project has recently started attracting fresh attention after footage of it resurfaced online. If you've ever wondered what Eye of the Beholder might have felt like had Westwood's dungeon been freed from its invisible grid, this is probably about as close as we're going to get.

Apparently blackjack was getting far too comfortable with modern hardware.

Deck of Time is a new humorous card game created for MS-DOS, combining blackjack with a deliberately 1990s PC aesthetic and enough weirdness to ensure nobody mistakes it for serious casino software. The game was created by RubenRetro for the second MS-DOS Club DOS Game Programming Contest, whose theme this year is time travel.

Underneath the jokes is a genuinely old-school DOS game. Deck of Time is written in C, uses Allegro 4.2.3, requires only a 386 or faster, 4 MB of RAM and VGA graphics, and will run under MS-DOS 5.0 or later. In other words, your forgotten beige box in the attic may finally have an important job again.

The game takes the familiar blackjack formula and wraps it in a much less familiar presentation involving time-themed nonsense, an intimidating dealer and multiple outcomes. There is even an intentionally retro-style age check, because apparently getting into a DOS blackjack game in 2026 should involve proving that you survived enough of the 1990s to understand the references.

Deck of Time was published on 11 September 2026 and received an update on 16 September. A downloadable DOS version is available, along with a Windows x86 build, but you can also play the whole thing directly in a modern browser through itch.io.

So yes: we have reached the point where people are developing completely new blackjack games for MS-DOS again.

Nature is healing.

Pararena has landed on Playdate, bringing John Calhoun’s Macintosh hoverboard game to a new handheld audience. Released on 14 September 2026, this independent port by Konstantin Popov adapts the original artwork for Playdate’s screen. It follows the release of the source code for Pararena 2.0, originally published by Casady & Greene, under the MIT licence.

The premise is wonderfully odd: two hoverboard riders chase a ball around a bowl-shaped arena, trying to throw it into their respective goals. Gravity complicates the steering, while boosting, braking and knocking your opponent aside keep things lively. Holding the ball too long or throwing it out earns a foul, with three fouls awarding your rival a point.

The port includes six computer opponents, five leagues, quick matches, a tournament and a practice mode, alongside instant replays, statistics and records.

Pararena for Playdate is available on itch.io for US$2.50 or more.

Until 20 September 2026, a US$4 Macintosh Classics for Playdate bundle also includes Popov’s port of Continuum, Brian and Randy Wilson’s gravity-driven space game. Two opportunities to revisit Macintosh gaming without clearing desk space for an old beige computer.

The Sega Master System has another homebrew to explore: Oriflame, an arcade puzzle game from ArtOfAltair, published on itch.io on 7 September 2026. Inspired by Adventures of Lolo and classic arcade design, it challenges players to climb 50 floors of the Tower of Hope, solving puzzles, confronting enemies and lighting fires to reach the summit and restore its beacon.

This is not simply a modern game wearing an 8-bit disguise: Oriflame is a genuine Master System ROM, playable through an emulator or on the original console using a compatible flash cartridge. The developer describes a “gameplay first” approach, deliberately working within the hardware’s strengths and limitations. It is an independent production, with no involvement from Sega.

Available for US$9 or more, the download includes the game, an instruction manual containing controls, rules and passwords for every level, plus soundtrack files in VGM and MP3 formats.

Sony’s original grey PlayStation is getting the LEGO treatment. Revealed on 3 September 2026, LEGO PlayStation (72306) is a 1,911-piece, near-life-size recreation of the console, complete with a brick-built version of its original controller. Designed for builders aged 18 and over, it is a display model rather than a working games machine.

The nostalgic details go beyond the familiar shape: the controller plugs into the front, while mechanical Open and Power buttons add something to fiddle with. Hidden inside are two removable dioramas celebrating Gran Turismo and Ape Escape, featuring a miniature racing circuit with tiny cars and a scene incorporating the monkeys’ distinctive helmets. Both can stay concealed or be displayed separately.

The set costs £139.99 / €159.99 / $179.99, with LEGO Insiders early access starting on 1 October 2026 and general availability from 4 October. The finished console measures approximately 26 × 19 × 6 cm—a manageable slice of PlayStation nostalgia for the shelf. The startup sound, unfortunately, is yours to provide.

Developer GammaCorrection has shared a preview of Jacob’s Elevator, a homebrew game in development for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In the accompanying Reddit discussion, the creator confirmed that the project is being programmed in assembly language.

There is a touch of oddball humour, too: when a commenter compared a tree character to Zelda’s Deku Tree, the developer clarified that this is the “Wise Mystical Tree”, a distinct character.

The finished game is planned as a free release on itch.io, with the option to play directly in a web browser. For now, however, this is a development preview rather than a launch: the announcement gives no release date, and Jacob’s Elevator is not yet listed on the developer’s itch.io profile.

Announcement: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogamedev/comments/1wa02yp/jacobs_elevator_a_homebrew_for_nes/