Sumo Digital is bringing 90s Amiga mascot Zool out of retirement later this month
In "brand-new reimagining" Zool Redimensioned.
Eurogamer fans of a certain age, prepare for a swift punch to the nostalgia nubbin; Sumo Digital is resurrecting 90s Amiga mascot Zool for a new platform adventure on PC.
Zool, also known as the ninja of the Nth Dimension, returns later this month in Zool Redimensioned, a "brand-new reimagining" of the old-school, Gremlin-Graphics-developed platform series that's been "rebuilt from the ground up for modern audiences".
"Help Zool jump, spin and shoot his way across eight alien worlds, taking down menacing bosses and saving the universe from the nefarious influence of Krool," explains the developer on Zool Redimensioned's Steam page. "Beat your speed run times, discover secrets hidden across every level, or go back in time and play the original classic game."
Zool Redimensioned - which is more specifically the work of Sumo Digital Academy, a "talent development programme" run by Sumo that's "focused on creating new pathways into the games industry" - promises to retain the spirit of the 1992 Amiga game while introducing a range of quality of life options.
There're checkpoints, entirely redesigned boss fights, achievements, a level select screen, accessibility options, and more. But those looking for an experience closer to the original can take on the "true hardcore challenge" of Ultimate Ninja mode or, somewhat peculiarly given Zool's Amiga origins, play the Mega Drive version, which released in 1993.
Whatever your preference, Zool Redimensioned - which is said to have been created with guidance from the game's original developers - comes to Steam later this month, although a specific release date is yet to be given. Tangentially related, today was the day I discovered, after nearly 30 years of believing otherwise, Zool is a leathered-up gremlin and not, in fact, some kind of inexplicably green-limbed ant.