Ever fancied building a retro gadget, but don’t have the necessary fabrication, soldering, and programming skills? This upcoming PC title might be just what you need.
The debut title from Marco Bancale and Luca Marchetti’s Evil Licorice studio, Retro Gadgets is launching on Steam’s Early Access platform on November 30th.
You look up from your cosy little workbench. It’s dark out, what time is it? It doesn’t matter; you’ve been in the flow and are adding the final touches to your latest retro gadget. Just one more line of code, a spray of paint here, a sticker there – it’s done. You power it on… The start-up sound kicks in… the needles on the gauges flutter, and the screen lights up… it’s glorious. It’s ready to share with the world. Now, all it needs is a name.
In the game/simulator you get to make, code, and customize 80s and 90s style gadgets, then share them with the world. Already the playable demo has realised portable consoles, MP3 players, and even 3D printing tools.
Creating gadgets with a tactile interface (you can press buttons, flick switches, twist dials, move joysticks and interact in any way you like), Retro Gadgets also lets you drag the creation beyond the software and let you run it on your PC desktop, with a Windows widget-like purpose envisaged for future updates.
After building and coding a gadget, it can be shared with the Retro Gadgets community. Here, thanks to Steam Workshop integration, the gadget can be downloaded by other players, who can then inspect, reverse engineer, and revise projects to create their own. It’s one part game, one part education tool, with coding support for the Lua code and a built-in editor.
“Being such a niche game, I was expecting Retro Gadgets to be basically invisible during the Steam Next Fest. Well, I was very wrong: the game reached spot #15 in the most popular demos chart and has been downloaded more than 30,000 times! Mind-blowing!”
Marco Bancale
Retro Gadgets will be released in Early Access on November 30th on PC via Steam. Players can wishlist the title directly on its official page, and stay connected via Discord and Twitter.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.