The Monty Mole Collection Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "Modern Monty Mole Maniacal Manoeuvring" 🐻‍❄️ @pixelgamesuk #GameDev #IndieGame

The 8-bit home computing platforming scene is something of a golden era to a lot of people. Filled with extremely challenging games, great music, and a very ‘British’ sense of humour (and social commentary).

Whilst I have played Monty Mole - many years ago - I associate the games more with Rob Hubbard’s astonishing score than the gameplay itself, and so I was keen to delve into this collection and experience them for the first time, on a modern system.

The collection features the following games:

Wanted! Monty Mole, Monty on the Run, and Auf Wiedersehn Monty as well as two bonus games, Moley Christmas, and Sam Stoat: Safebreaker.

Most of the games have different versions, with not only Spectrum and C64 versions of each one available where applicable, but also easy / hard modes for some, as well.

Playing through each game, the versions can be so wildly different that it almost feels like these are entirely separate from each other, although I’m sure that players will have personal memories on which stands out as the best!

There are also modern quality of life options available, these are excruciatingly tough games after all, and having the luxury to save and re-load, rewind time etc. really makes a difference here, and takes away a lot of the pain of some very difficult timing / platforming elements. On top of this, there are also various CRT filter options as well, not my thing – but great to have for a more nostalgic vibe, if that’s how you roll.

Considering the low-price tag of this collection, I was really impressed with the games included and the overall presentation. The games run perfectly, and there’s enough elements that are tweakable to fit your personal approach to the games. Admittedly, these games are all very much of their time, and this is the original experience, so there’s no modernisation in terms of the sound or visuals, but that’s exactly what these games are about – allowing people to revisit classic titles of a bygone era.

SUMMARY

Worth the price of admission for Rob Hubbard’s music alone!

My Pick? Monty on the Run on the C64.

Nintendo eShop Link 🔗

The Monty Mole Collection | Nintendo Switch download software | Games | Nintendo