Wizball

A bouncing ball, a gray world without colors, and strangely unintuitive controls — Wizball confuses you for the first few minutes, and then it grabs you and won't let go. It's one of the most original games on the Commodore 64 and an early gem from a studio that later became famous across the board.

Instead of a classic shooter, here you tackle something unusual: you control a bouncing ball and your goal is to return the colors to a world that has fallen into gray. You collect colored droplets, mix shades, and gradually color the individual parts of the game world. On top of that, your ball gradually upgrades — you gain better handling, an accompanying helper, and weapons, so what was originally hard-to-tame movement becomes an elegant, powerful tool. That unconventional goal and the system of gradual empowerment make Wizball a game that practically didn't exist on the 8-bit until then.

Behind the game stands Sensible Software, a studio that later became famous for titles like Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder. Wizball, from 1987, belongs to their early period and even then showed their sense for originality and a colorful, distinctive style. The game earned strong critical acclaim and the status of a cult classic among connoisseurs of the platform.

Culturally, Wizball is a reminder of a time when developers could afford to experiment and search for new game ideas instead of repeating established patterns. Its idea of coloring the world, the unusual physics of movement, and its distinctive humor made it a game remembered precisely by those who were looking for something on the 8-bit other than another platformer or shooter.

The difficulty of the controls is today the biggest barrier — until you tame the ball, it hurts for a while. But whoever persists will be rewarded with a unique experience and will understand why Wizball holds such a devoted position among fans.

Why play: Original, colorful, and unexpectedly clever action from the future stars of the British scene — a cult classic for anyone looking for something different on the C64.