Ziggurat has quietly built one of the more interesting retro catalogues in modern publishing, and a new newsletter is doing a decent job of reminding everyone just how deep that well goes — with a Humble Bundle sale currently putting a chunk of it back in the spotlight.
The publisher notes it has now released more than 125 titles, spread across straight re-releases, more involved remasters, and entirely new entries in legacy franchises. It’s an approach that has seen everything from faithful modern ports of games like Killing Time and M.U.D.S. through to remasters such as BloodRayne and Enclave HD, and newer projects like Slave Zero X that expand on older ideas rather than simply preserving them.
Remember these?
Rather than focusing on the usual headline names, Ziggurat’s latest push draws attention to games that may have slipped from memory — or never been on many players’ radar in the first place.
One of those is Advent Rising, the ambitious 2005 action-adventure shooter built around gunplay, melee combat and superpowers, as humanity fights back against an alien race intent on wiping it out. It’s a game that was big on ideas, even if it never quite found the audience it wanted at the time.
Elsewhere, Return of the Phantom offers something very different: a point-and-click adventure inspired by The Phantom of the Opera, complete with rotoscoped visuals, investigative puzzle-solving, and a story that jumps between timelines as you attempt to stop the Phantom’s reign of terror.
Wetlands leans heavily into late-90s sci-fi mood, mixing rail shooter action with a future where humanity has been forced underwater. Its blend of hand-drawn animation, early 3D visuals and cyberpunk-inflected storytelling has earned it cult status over the years.
A few more classics
Rounding things out are two titles that wear their eccentricity proudly. Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess is a 1989 oddity built around psychic powers, ritualistic progression and surreal world design, while Last Rites delivers straightforward, fast-paced FPS action rooted firmly in old-school reflex shooting.
The Humble Bundle sale tied to these games is set to run for a few more days, making this a rare moment where some of Ziggurat’s more obscure releases are easier than usual to revisit — or discover for the first time.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
