’80s Nostalgia
Do you love the 80s? The music, the cassette tapes, the movies, the teenage angst? Well Commander ’85 might be the game for you.
Due to release later in the year, the developers have launched a Kickstarter campaign where funds will help increase the scope of the game. Here at Ladies Gamers we were very grateful to receive a demo of the game to provide some early first impressions.
Insert 80s Music
On the main menu you’re greeted with a creepy rendition of Daisy, Daisy. Sorta setting the scene for that 80s horror vibe. So already my interest was peeked.
Commander ’85 feels like that ’80s film I never saw from my youth but wish I did. The demo begins at a crime scene with police honing in on the coroners report that the cause was ‘suicide.’ Or was it? We then see a box containing the Commander ’85 computer before cutting to happy ’80s music and a young chap riding home. It then cuts to you in the first person perspective, your character is being shouted as by his mum for spending too much time on his computer. Kinda brings back some flashbacks to my youth. From there you play the game.
World Class Hacker
The aim seems to be that you need to hack into the school computers to change your attendance on grade. But instead I mostly ended up exploring the bedroom and taking in all the retro aesthetics. Commander ’85 plays like a sort of point and click first person adventure. You click to an area you want to look at like the cassette player or TV and you interact with items in the area. Of course you’ll spend most your time in front of the Commander ’85 computer. An AI gives you some loose instructions on how to hack into the school computer which seemed a little odd but here we are. Hell, even the user manual which you can flip through gives you tips on hacking.
Demo Thoughts
To begin with I found the demo quite complicated. Although I still remember my time childhood with the Amstrad computer it didn’t help me become a proficient hacker on the Commander ’85. I had a ton of fun interacting with the environment. Drawing random doodles on my sketchpad and hunting round the bedroom for ’80s references. Before I knew it the hacking stuff on the computer started to grow on me. Reading the manual in game also helped too. Once I figured out how to hack into the school computer, the computer started doing weird things so I went bed. When I woke up you look out the window to observe a nuclear explosion. Is this a dream? By the time the demo concluded I was certainly intrigued by the plot and where the story may go next.
The game is being produced on a tiny budget for a game of this caliber. While the graphics look a little rough at this stage. The music and ’80s nostalgia is through the roof. Here’s hoping the final game will allow you to buy that also.
Further Info
The final game is promising a game with adventure, Sci Fi thriller (in the ’80s), survival elements and a hacking simulator. On top of that it will have unique solutions to its puzzles as well as multiple endings.
It certainly looks to be something very different. I do love ’80s music and nostalgia. So this will certainly be one on my radar.
Commander ’85 is an independently developed game by The Moonwalls and published by Ultimate Games S.A. It is due to be released in Autumn 2020 for PC, PS4, X box One and Switch.
Check out the Kickstarter here if you want to learn more. The campaign is still running till May 9 2020 (4:57 PM CEST). The funding needed is for €5,246, and at the time of writing this, 234 backers have funded Commander ’85 for €3,745.
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