Boulder Dash - 30th Anniversary Reviews

A familiar face appears again! It's crazy just how good Commodore 64 games still hold gamers interest after 30+ years. Easy to play, difficult to master, fun and frustrating, this game has all the qualities that lets gamers of all ages and mastery enjoy. Glad to see that these games are still enjoyed today.

Nice little game as i bought the special edition it included some extra levels. As a big fan of the old boulder dash my expectations were pretty high for a reboot like game. Too bad there is no original included So +Joystick and input in general is fine +Levels are mixed and well done + can be challenging in later levels + nice menus + fine for strategic thinking + can be played if you got not too much time to play in general + extra worlds like 8 bit are quite nice + nice for kids too + a lot to unlock + replayablility is good, if you want 3 stars in each level + easy medium and hard mode -can be a bit hectical sometimes (timer) -Graphics are not realy good- not saying that i don´t like the main character- I think the jewels are not well done the stones and the enemy design is also not fine all in all its truely more a mobile game for Handys and Smartphones... but even there were finer graphics. - collision querry issues - bad presentation - level are sometimes a bit short - bad rock physics if i can talk about physics - sound output is a bit unspectacular as well - feels sometimes a bit like a free to play game or pay to win - can be boring fast - no real nostalgic feeling - If you get hit by a rock or a enemy its only Oh oh and you get reseted- not very well done 18€ for it are still o.k. but i would not pay more. I would say its a nice game but it has to much bad aspects and feels a bit rushed I can not recomment caused by that, but its fun.

Very good professional looking remake of the old classic. Somewhere close after 1984 I used to play Boulder Dash for Commodore 64. By that experince I knew also falling gem is lethal and I hated that feature. In this version it is not, which is a good update to the logic since you can collect those, it is only logical you can collect those as falling too. I can tell this game attracts children too who are used to mobile games and Minecraft. The most important thing this lacks to be much more entertaining is a local co-op of two players like there was in Emerald Mine for Commodore Amiga. Also I was disappointed I could not remap digital USB joystick to work with this. It just feels weird to play with keyboard or joypad. I wonder why there is no Steam Cloud save feature for this. To ensure your scores and progress are automatically saved in case of reinstall.

The original was better. For some reason this version seems to have the time limit cut in half or worse. I always find myself rushing to finish the level before time runs out. I don't remember the original being like that.

Yes I recommend the game. One needs to be fast in the higher levels. Beautifully made and ever so clear AND there is a relax mode it will allow the 3 stars too.. Give it your all and go for it!!

I bought this hoping it'd be a faithful recreation of the 1980s Boulder Dash that I knew and loved on the Commodore 64. Sadly, I'm to be dissapointed with this half-hearted attempt which, while keeping (ravaging?) the basic formula that made the original so enjoyable, adds elements I'd expect to find on yawn-worthy facebrick games (all it's missing is the "share this on your wall" functionality honestly). What added to the dissapointment was the frustration at the vague and overly sensitive controls, not to mention the left-to-move & right-to-"grab" cluster{censored}. Future buyers, wait till it's in the bargain bin for at least an 80% discount - but, until then, go grab a copy of VICE and the original Boulder Dash.

Ah the memories , Playing Boulder Dash on a crappy portable TV in my bedroom on my trusty Commodore 64 :) Boulder Dash is back . [u] This is a modern interpretation of a classic [/u] It has all the basics that made Boulder Dash great , but they added power ups and made the game over reliant on them . Falling diamonds don't kill you by default . Luckily there's a "Hardcore Mode" with no power ups , and falling diamonds kill you , just like the original . This should be the default setting , to me anyway . There are more creatures too , as well as the old favourites - fireflies , butterflies and amoebas . There are unlockable characters as well , but take too long to unlock - I just ignored them . I'd give normal mode 6/10 ( it's too easy ) and hardcore mode 8/10 .

[h1]The New generation from Boulder Dash - I hoped so much it would be good...[/h1] Oh boy...its really hard for me to write this review for a beloved game "series" i enjoyed back on the old C64. Even some other "Boulder Dash" games which came out over the years were nice and you actually could enjoy them very much. But THIS version (The Steam version)... Is a joke, like quite literally. [h1]Boulder Dash! Well...kinda[/h1] First of all, and this might be the main part of my review, this version is nothing more then the mobile version which came out some years ago. Now people might say "well then its just bad coz its a bad port" or maybe they will say "its just a ripoff" or stuff like. To be honest, it indeed -is- a very very bad port from the mobile version, here the facts why: - It has no ingame store. This might be good for one reason but you might will see later why i count this up. - Normaly, there was a Extra wheel you could spin every 2 hours for free stuff you could get. in this version, its gone. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=763478753 - On the mobile version, the DLCs are only half the price (around 1€). Next to this, i think they "over did" it a bit with the Retro DLC at least, i mean, honestly, i know the old levels from 1984 originals Boulder Dash but why they even putted the ORIGINAL BONUS LEVELS as OWN LEVELS in there? I mean those Levels were not even BIG or something (look screenshot if you dont belive me, srs.) http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=763479255 - You still have to farm a lot stuff for characters and you really need, N-E-E-D a lot stuff for characters. the first one might be quick to get but others, i mean the first needs 5 special stones but the next needs already 50 OTHER special stones small spoiler: [spoiler]EACH character needs special "stones" or stuff to get them. and if the last one needs 500 of its own special stones and you get those ONLY if you find chests and the regular game has "only" 220 stages, happy farming![/spoiler] http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=763478428 - the pricetag. If you look for your mobile for this Boulder Dash version you might find it very quickly - for[b] F-R-E-E [/b]. Exactly. This version is just a PORT from a FREE TO PLAY game. They didnt changed ANYTHING. The only thing is, in the steam version, you can build your own Levels, no extra wheel and the lack of the Ingame store. NO extra start money, youre NOT able to even buy more gold coz there is no store, NO extra wheel you could spin, not even other characters OR more stages, nothing more. Fact I dont recomment this to people who actually have a mobile phone and have the opinion to get the same game for FULL FREE. Its "easier" since you just can "buy" stuff if you want, have the free extra wheel every 2 hours and the dlcs are cheaper. 15€ for such bad port is a exorbitant price if the only thing you get is a Editor, 5€ or maybe 7€ could be worth it but since you only lose a lot stuff and only get a editor, its really not worth such high pricetag if you still remember you could get the full game F-R-E-E... It gives a lot other free Boulder Dash clones which are, already said, FREE to get with Editors and like. So for real, better get the mobile version, there at least you have the opinion to buy the stuff you need to farm for each characters faster and every 2 hours even a "bit" free. I dont recomment it, not even hardcore fans only if they really really want or dont have a mobile phone in their pockets... ---------- ADD EDIT: I posted also my review in the discussion before i was able (coz steam~) to write it here as a real one (you can read the full thread here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/502320/discussions/0/343786650655117122/ ). One user thought this version is better then the mobile version but i just quote myself here and you see: "...no. this version is not better: - you have the same levels. - you still have to buy DLCS which are cheaper on the mobile version. - you dont have the free extra wheel where you get free stuff you need to farm normaly every 2 hours - you might dont have a ingame store ("mirco transactions") but you still were ABLE to buy stuff you need. the only, ONLY way in this game version is to farm like hell. And trust me, you would like to buy at least some stuff (you dont "need" too but some stuff needs long as sample the 500-item character or the one you can only get viva collecting gold~) - the pricetag is way to high for that "mobile port". srs. the only "pros" this version has is - You have a editor. - you get 2 (? i guess) DLCs which you normaly should buy on the mobile instand locked free (still remember the other DLCs cost more on the steam version here) with the normal steam version. - you can play it on keyboard. So is it worth for you 15 bucks just you can play on keyboard? Its a ripoff and even a bad excuse to mark the price that high if you say like "people perfer to play it on PC". that sure might be true but still remember, BOTH version are from the core the exactly SAME GAME. one you get for FREE, the other you have to pay for just youre able to play it on keyboard. You still can play even the mobile version on a XBOX controller at least. So i dont see why the price is set that high. even every freeware boulder dash clone has a editor inside and plays more like a "real" boulder dash. i know the real boulder dash and i even PREFER the original version, so far, than this version."

The original Boulder Dash was an amazing puzzle game with action gameplay. The graphics were simple but this allowed players to focus on the puzzles. The current version looks messy. The new graphics aren't fun. An option to play with retro graphics (i.e. original) would be appreciated, especially for playing the original levels. The controls (with the game controller) are horrible. The left stick feels loose (too sensitive) and results in moving in the wrong direction too often. This makes playing the puzzle game with precision movement impossible. (I will switch the review to Yes if the game controller support is greatly improved in an update.)

I give this a "meh", bordering on "no". Most of my friends know that I'm a Boulder Dash fanatic. I did the TAS of the NES version, as well as writing the only text guide on Gamefaqs back when I was in high school. So you can imagine that I was very excited to see an official, modernized Boulder Dash game on Steam! Except "modernized" in this case means "mobile game with microtransactions and loot boxes". Not that there are any microtransactions here in this Steam version, but they essentially just took the mobile game and disabled the purchasing of gold bars. They still drop in loot boxes, and you can still use them normally, you just can't buy them with real money here. But just because microtransactions are disabled doesn't mean the game isn't still built around them! At the start of the game, you're given a handful of powerups, which basically allow you to cheat. There is dynamite which can be used to blow up walls instead of having to crush bugs strategically, a time-freeze powerup, a powerup that adds time to the timer, and a powerup that temporarily doubles your score multiplier. The level designers were real jerks and built every level around tempting you to use the powerups as much as possible, as mobile games do. Sometimes they're pretty much required to use if you want to 3-star a level. If you run out of powerups, you have no choice but to farm for them if you still want those 3-star ratings. Also, this edition of Boulder Dash has been highly casualized. Many of the series' standard rules were softened to make the game less frustrating. For instance, falling gems don't kill you (unless you turn on hardcore mode), bugs move much more slowly, you can walk past bugs without dying, diamonds don't get deleted in explosions, magic walls will convert boulders merely sitting on them, and so on. It's not a bad thing, but it doesn't make that big of a difference when the game was already designed to be frustrating to make you buy gold bars. Visually, this game is a disaster. The blocky graphics are not charming, and for some reason, there's all kind of crap in the foreground so it's sometimes hard to tell what's actually a path and what isn't. Also, there is only one music track in the game, a weird elevator-music remix of the classic Boulder Dash theme, which plays constantly regardless of whether you're in the game, the menu, or the editor. I got sick of it after 30 minutes and had to turn on my own music. There's a level editor and steam workshop, which is alright, except that it was obviously designed for touchscreens and is a little unweildy to use with the mouse. It's still very functional, though, and I easily recreated some of the levels from the NES boulder dash. Oh yeah, and the game has about 6 broken achievements. [i]However[/i], despite it all, I'll admit that I'm having a little bit of genuine fun with the game. Being able to play a mobile game, complete with its addictive skinnerbox elements, [i]without[/i] actually being pressured to pay real money is something of a breath of fresh air, and it feels really cool to use the powerups and get away with cheating. I can see myself playing this for 10-15 hours or so, and making a solid attempt to 3-star all the levels, before chucking it in the garbage bin. There is some merit here. Regardless, I kinda don't want to recommend this game to anyone. Achievement hunters can't complete it, and it's awful as a Boulder Dash game since it's unfairly balanced around the powerups. I suppose if you're a Boulder Dash fan, and it sounds fun to see what a mobile game feels like when it's not constantly trying to suck out your soul for money, you might like this a little. 3.5 / 10.