Turrican

Turrican ranks among the most ambitious action platformers of the transition between the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, and on the Atari ST it proved that this computer, too, could handle fast action with dozens of enemies on screen at once. The player controls an armored warrior fighting through vast alien complexes full of machines, creatures, and traps, shooting in all directions and collecting power-ups that change the type and strength of his weapon, from spread fire through a laser to a wave shot that passes through walls.

A key mechanic is the character's transformation into a ball, which can roll through narrow tunnels and unleash a devastating beam that sweeps the entire screen — a feature that became a hallmark of the whole series and the solution to many spatial puzzles on the way to the next checkpoint. The levels combine horizontal and vertical exploration, hidden passages, and boss fights, so the game rewards patient memorization of enemy layouts as much as quick reflexes and precise jump timing over pits and lava. Controls on the ST are precise and the action flows briskly, the maps are sprawling and full of side paths leading to bonus weapons, though the sound falls short of the richness of Chris Hülsbeck's famous compositions from the Commodore 64 and Amiga versions, where the music was among the most praised elements of the game.

At the time, Turrican was received as one of the most impressive action games on both 8-bit and 16-bit platforms and became a model for a whole wave of run-and-gun platformers, including its own sequel and numerous spiritual successors on later consoles as well as modern retro remakes. It still works today thanks to its dense sci-fi atmosphere, density of content, and satisfying feel of shooting and destroying the environment, though the difficulty, sprawling levels, and flood of enemies will challenge even experienced retro players unfamiliar with similarly old-school games.

Why play it: For the dense sci-fi atmosphere and satisfying shooting feel that made Turrican a model for a whole generation of run-and-gun platformers - though the difficulty will test even seasoned retro players.