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