Robo Gems might just be your next Commodore 64 obsession. KD Software has released a fast-paced, two-player competitive platformer for the Commodore 64 and C64 Ultimate, available both digitally and on cassette.
Robo Gems keeps the premise refreshingly simple: two players race around compact arenas, collecting as many gems as possible before the timer runs out. The tension comes from how those arenas are laid out, with hazards, power-ups, and terrain quirks all carefully positioned to constantly force you into split-second decisions. It’s pitched as “fast, colorful, and full of arcade energy,” and from the footage and screens, that doesn’t feel like marketing fluff.
Each map layer in environmental slow zones, like water, bubbling lava, or poisonous fog, all of which drag down your movement speed only while you’re standing in them. Step out, and your speed snaps back to normal instantly, which opens up some interesting risk–reward routes: do you slog through a toxic patch to snipe a gem first, or take the long way around and hope your opponent overcommits? KD Software leans on this interplay to keep matches feeling punchy and tactical rather than just “who can mash directions the fastest.”
The game has been out for a little while now, and early players are comparing it to classics like Bomb Jack. Better yet, there’s a free demo, which lowers the barrier to giving it a shot. For a new Commodore 64 release in 2026, the mere fact that people are debating it at all says retro gaming is alive and well.
If you’ve got a real machine or a modern C64-compatible setup, Robo Gems looks like an easy pickup to test friendships and reflexes alike, one frantic gem grab at a time.
Source: itch.io via Indie Retro News
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