2026

Dust off your joysticks

We’re all still cold with winter and barely into the new year, yet the Atari ST scene has already tried to warm us up by delivering three brand-new games, with one even taking advantage of the STe. As if that wasn’t enough, Jonathan Thomas has also been teasing us with his next project over on X, and if you don’t know who that is, shame on you - go and play Pole Position or Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge immediately.

So here we are, it’s still only January, and I’m genuinely thrilled by the Fuji passion 2026 is already bringing. Yes, I used AI to create the logo as I cannot draw. Don't dwell on that too much, because there are three cracking games that you should play. Let's take a quick look at each before you click the download links...

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Babaliba, by Carles Oriol

This is a remake of the original ZX Spectrum game published by Dinamic Software back in 1984 (I love their Atari ST games!!). Sadly, I suspect this game never really made its way out of Spain, as it’s one I’ve never encountered before. The Atari ST version retains the look and feel of the 8-bit original, but with bugs squashed, visuals improved, and a map added to help you survive the maze (you'll need it).

We play as Johnny Jones, a fella with a big nose, dropped into a top-down labyrinth that will feel instantly familiar to fans of Sabre Wulf or Feud. Ignoring his rather large nose, the goal is to explore, find treasure, use keys to unlock new sections of the map, and deal with monsters using screen-clearing bombs. All while trying (I think) to rescue a princess along the way. Just don’t hang around after dropping one of those bombs!

You can download the game from his GitHub page and also follow him on X.

This is so authentically Speccy, and wow, Johnny really does have a big nose!

PuckMan, by Laurent Gaillard

The first Atari STe game of 2026 is a fresh spin on the little yellow pill popper. Everything you desire is here: that gorgeous retro theme, frantic ghosts chasing you around the maze, tight responsive controls, and smooth gameplay that feels like the arcade experience. Laurent has even added overscan support, using the top and bottom borders to stretch the display ratio, which makes it feel more like a proper arcade cabinet in this respect. And yes, it’s STe-only as the Blitter and DMA audio are also put to excellent use.

No need to play solo as both 1 and 2-player modes are supported, which my daughter absolutely loved. I feel this plays very much like the original and easily ranks as one of the best "Pac-Mans" I have tried on my Atari. Just don’t forget to hit 'C' to insert coins, and then press keys '1' or '2' to choose the number of players.

You can download Pac... sorry... PuckMan from his itch.io page.

PuckMan is a screen-filling beauty for the Atari STe.

Vlak, by Baky

Finally, we have a 1993 MS-DOS take on the classic Snake formula. Once again, I've not seen this one before, but the core of the game is instantly familiar - it's Snake! Only this time, we are a train, gobbling up objects instead of just fruits. Each pickup adds a wagon, and as your train grows, the challenge comes from avoiding crashes - not just with walls, but with yourself (as I often find out). Once the level is cleared, an exit opens up, letting you move on to the next screen, where things get trickier on a harder screen.

The download is available from Atari Portal.

Hilariously addictive, but very hard after the opening level. Be warned!

Sleepwalker

Nightwalker

Imagine me in 1993, a dedicated Atari STe fanatic, but my beloved computer wasn’t valued nearly enough by the commercial gaming world, and its enhanced hardware remained largely ignored. So when Ocean promised an STe-powered platformer, I was ecstatic, imagining a vibrant world of exploration and adventure with extra colours, smooth scrolling, and sampled sounds. Then I got my hands on a cracked copy (99.9% sure it was Flame of Finland), and I was gutted. I wanted a platformer to be a platformer – run, jump, explore, pick up bonuses, and so on. No, it's more like Lemmings, and I hated that with a vengeance (sorry, not sorry).

For Sleepwalker, we take on the role of Ralph, a desperate dog whose owner, Lee, suffers from sleepwalking and might wander into all kinds of hazards. We must guide him safely through a gauntlet of different levels. Not only do we need to keep him alive, but we cannot let him wake up, or the shock kills him (good, I say!).

As Ralph, we rush to clear away any obstacles, some easy, some dangerous (this part weirdly reminded me of Highway Encounter). As you do this, you're opening up a pathway for the idiot kid, but you may still need to give him a (ahem) gentle kick in the right direction. I guess it’s a mix of puzzle-solving, wrapped in a slapstick package - with the ever-present tension that one wrong move could see Lee tumble into disaster.

As you can see, Sleepwalker does indeed share a bit of its DNA with Lemmings. However, I guess it’s more of a distant cousin you don't like, and, even though we're not digging holes or erecting ladders, you still manipulate the environment to steer Lee away from hazards. The challenge comes from being quick on the joystick and remembering the level map, all whilst thinking ahead to react and redirect Lee.

Sleepwalker is technically stunning, demonstrating the Atari STe with amazing graphics, sounds, and brisk hardware scrolling. Sadly, that means nothing when the game is doggy-do-do. Plus, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it's a cheap Lemmings in disguise. Only this time, we're stressing over a child. Something I do in life, and not what I desire from a game. Playing Sleepwalker is like being on unpaid babysitting duty!

It may have been for Comic Relief, but the only relief I got was switching off my STe and going to bed.

• Experience my version of 1993 with the same disks - Flame of Finland (download at Atari Legend).
• The best way to play Sleepwalker is using a hard drive, thanks to Peter Putnik.
• Sleepwalker is now listed in the Atari STe enhanced games list!
• Silly tidbit time... I decided to play Sleepwalker after a poll that I posted on X. While it didn’t quite go as planned (ahem), I would like to thank everyone who voted. Follow me on X.

So, we begin, and straight away, the first level is huge and easy to get lost in.

The next level looks really nice, with a bit of a Pitfall feel to it.

Irritating game!! This stupid kid is really annoying me...

...so, I left him and went exploring!

Lost the will to carry on here. So I let him die, for a laugh. Why not!

Once again, I left him to go exploring. I like to wander, me.

The daft look on my face as I realised games were supposed to be fun!

And after all that stress and hassle, the stupid kid is still asleep!!

(check out his big toes lol)