Villordsutch reviews Karlos on the ZX Spectrum…
On today’s Homebrew Review we take our ZX Spectrum into the deepest, darkest Peru in search of lost Inca idols. Karlos wanders into the great unexplored with nothing more than his trusty hammer and a certificate in Moving & Handling.
Karlos was originally published by the Perspective Group back in 2010, being created by Mayhem, SAM Style, Riskej, Narou. This platform based puzzle game sees you playing the intrepid explorer Karlos in search of hidden Inca idols, but these won’t be easy to find as the previous owners have left numerous traps and pitfalls to make sure you don’t reach your riches. Not only this numerous creatures have arrived in the temple to slow you down even further.
It’s excellent finding a homebrewed game which hits all the correct buttons – it has great graphics, it uses colour amazingly well on the ZX Spectrum, and the puzzles are just the right side of taxing but no so hard that you get frustrated and bored with the game. Mayhem and SAM Style really have made an brilliant Spectrum game here.
Albeit Karlos is available as a free download here, this can require a Pentagon or Scorpion (Russian Clone of the ZX Spectrum) to be handy or your emulator to be able to run it which Spectaculator does. However recently produced over at Bumfun Gaming is a physical release, on cassette, of Karlos which runs on all original ZX Spectrums.
I’d wholeheartedly recommend getting lost in the temples of Karlos; it may be six years old but this game could have been made yesterday it’s that enjoyable and looks so polished.
Rating:- 9/10
Originally published August 22, 2016. Updated June 30, 2023.
