Remastering three classics from Apogee Software for a new age

techradar.com:

Very much under the radar, Emberheart’s excellent remasters of classic Apogee side-scrollers are one hell of a treat.

These are respectful recreations of iconic shareware games Crystal Caves, Secret Agent and Monster Bash from the company that preserve the feel of the slightly archaic platformers while enhancing them all considerably with quality-of-life features. upgraded visuals and even brand-new levels for experts to enjoy.

Each title has also shipped with an easy-to-use level editor and full Steam Workshop support, so the old-school fun never has to end.

It’s a testament to the enduring playability of these somewhat ignored platform games that their communities are thriving with new levels to play; there’s absolutely no shortage of stages on Steam Workshop for any of the games, covering all imaginable levels of challenge.

Emberheart developer Primož Vovk recalls the somewhat humble origin of their own interest in Apogee titles(opens in new tab). “I grew up with Apogee games, and those which I have remastered were some of the first ones I played," Vovk explains. «Crystal Caves was the fourth PC game I ever played on our first Intel 486 PC, and I must have finished the shareware version too many times. It holds a special place in my heart.”

Many modern players can say much the same, with the shareware era bringing to prominence many titles that would otherwise have vanished. 'Play now, pay later' gave rise to such iconic shareware as the first episodes of the avowed classics Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Vovk, though, retained a fondness for something much more simplistic, producing a mock-up of an updated Crystal Caves on Twitter.

“It didn’t get that much response, but it caught the attention of 3D Realms’ George Broussard, who