An awesome looking hi-res 3D game for the ZX81 was just released.
"Cosmic Payback" was originally created for the ZX Spectrum, but developer John Connolly found a way to implement it on a ZX81, too. Which is quite an achievement, because "Cosmic Payback" is a 3D action-puzzle game with a bouncing ball, requiring a little bit of visual detail, meaning it would be near impossible in only 64x48 PLOTzels, let alone 32x24 characters.
Whatever Z80 assembler code wizardry is going on only Mr. Connolly knows - but the result is nothing short of stunning. It looks like an actual 3D game, as opposed to some character-based approximation, it's reasonably fast, certainly smooth, and plays really nicely. The game has 15 levels of bouncy grid-maze action, set on a planetary surface made of different types of floor-tiles, including portals, moving ground, and more. Your goal is to collect gold - and save humanity!
"Cosmic Payback" can be freely downloaded (see link below), requires 16KB memory expansion, and supports ZXPAND joystick.
Here's a video of "Cosmic Payback" on Villordsutch's YouTube channel (2025-06-22):
Go to the game's itch.io website for more information and download:
https://connosoft.itch.io/cosmic-payback-zx81
Also check out the ConnoSoft's other projects at:
