Space Station Silicon Valley

A space station filled with cybernetic animals, where the only way forward leads through taking over their bodies. Space Station Silicon Valley was one of the craziest and most inventive titles on the Nintendo 64, a game full of dry British humor and an idea so original it is hard to find a match for it. You control a microchip capable of jumping from one robotic creature into another.

Behind the project stood the Scottish studio DMA Design, the creators of the Grand Theft Auto series, who here too demonstrated their fondness for sprawling environments and original systems. The game came out in 1998 and its premise was brilliantly simple: as a crashed robot with its crew reduced to a tiny chip, you take over the bodies of animal machines, each of which has different abilities.

And that is precisely where its magic lies. A mouse slips through small openings, a dog runs fast, various animals can jump, fly or destroy, and you have to combine their skills to solve spatial puzzles and advance further. The game thus mixes action, logic and platforming exploration into a distinctive blend held together by infectious humor and imagination.

Culturally, Space Station Silicon Valley is further proof of just how creative and daring the DMA Design studio was even before its most famous work took over the world. The game remained more of a cult affair than a mass hit, but among those who came to know it, it earned a lasting place in the heart.

Today it is a sought-after curiosity for collectors and proof that the N64 also produced games that defied any pigeonhole. Its inventiveness is still entertaining.

Why play: For the unmistakably crazy idea of taking over the bodies of robotic animals and for the British humor of creators who did whatever they pleased.