Space Zot

Zot o'clock

There are two things I love, my family and. No, I meant beer and travelling through the cosmos!! Do you remember when I roamed (and completed) the vast floppy disk universe in Cosmos Chronicles? Yeah, I spent many hours chatting to shady strangers in World's End bar, and loved every second of it.

But there is some bad news: the bar’s about to run out of booze. As an alliance pilot, I’ve been called in to rescue the situation by retrieving precious cargo (beer!) from a damaged freighter somewhere in the Caissel asteroid belt. The fate of every thirsty patron depends on my flying skills, so there’s no time to waste!

Space Zot, coded in 2023 using GFA Basic by Shaoth (the chap behind the brilliant roguelike Nano Cave), is one of those games that looks like one thing but turns out to be another. At first glance, you’d think it’s a shooter, but it leans more towards something like R0x - a game of avoidance? There are no blasters or lasers; your mission is to grab as many beers as possible. As you can imagine, this is a goal I can easily get behind.

Of course, space isn’t just full of free booze; it’s also packed with rocks hurtling down your lovely SC1224 display. You’ll need sharp reflexes to weave through the space junk. By the third level, things get hairy - faster rocks, trickier angles, and a screen so cluttered you’re gasping for breathing room. Thankfully, the controls are tight and responsive, which is essential when survival depends entirely on dodging rather than blasting.

I first played Space Zot on another world, and now I’ve been enjoying it back home on my Atari STe (a pretty bold statement that I hope doesn't confuse anyone). This is a cracking little game, and even if I’m a couple of years late, it comes highly recommended by yours truly. Right, it's time for another beer run...

• There is a free download at itch.io, and Atarimania has a copy too.
• As the Blitter is being used, Space Zot goes into the Enhanced Games list :)
• Hmm, you were confused? Then look at this screenshot from my Cosmos Chronicles quest.

You get points for all pick-ups, especially the beers.

Collect the letters for an extra life.

This was my second attempt, and I reached stage 6. Can you beat me?