Covering unreleased and cancelled video games, plus prototypes and early versions of games on a variety of consoles and computers. We are a large archive dedicated to preserving games that were never released to the public. Sharing history and stories from the developers, assets and more before it is too late.

We are a non-profit digitisation project, aiming to digitally preserve software and history which would otherwise be lost for good. If for any reason there is anything that you do not wish to be on the website, please contact us for removal.

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Batman Returns

Last updated: by fgasking

1993 Gametek

Platform: Atari ST (also Commodore 64 – See link below)

We have had a detailed page on the cancelled C64 development for quite some time – but hadn’t realised that an Atari ST edition once existed until flagged up by Ross Sillifant.

Batman Returns was previewed in ST Action issue 63 back in June 1993, and showed a number of screenshots of the game in progress. The game was being developed by Denton Designs, where according to the article, John Heap was the programmer, with Ally Noble and Dawn Jones on graphics, and with Fred Gray on music.

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The game was initiated in October 1992 according to the article, and was due for release in September 1993. Oddly though, the film was released in July 1992, and it seemed quite late for the game, where usually games were developed to co-incide with the film release. Continue reading →

Posted in Atari ST, Reviews | Leave a comment

Citizens: Backwater Affairs

Last updated: by fgasking

1994-1996 Microprose Software

Platform: PC

Also known as: Little People

Inspired by Activision’s Little Computer People, Citizens: Backwater Affairs originally started out as a game called Little People, before it was renamed due to the name being taken already by Fisher Price.

Everything starts with the tragic event of you dying in a road accident, where you then enter the afterlife and taken on the job as a caretaker for a small world under a dome called Backwater.

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According to lead artist Terry Greer, the idea was that you would be given tasks to do, such as helping a character get a new job. You would do this by changing that character’s statistics to have an affect on the final outcome. Terry gives a detailed account on his own page about the game here.

The game was felt to be ahead of its time, and as a result – management within Microprose didn’t fully understand the game or its appeal. Eventually it was cancelled, and a few years later The Sims appeared which did very similar things, much to the frustration of the original team.

Continue reading →

Posted in PC, Reviews | 1 Comment

Wardner

Last updated: by fgasking

1988-1993 NEC

Platform: PC Engine

Toaplan’s Wardner is a side scrolling platformer, similar in some ways to Ghosts n Goblins, and was ported to a number of platforms over the years. One version that never saw release was on the PC Engine (A NES edition also never made it, which you can read more about over at Unseen64).

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Development was announced back in 1988, originally as a hucard release, and but would never see release. Later the game was moved to CD-ROM format, but was cancelled after too many delays, even though it is suggested that the game was fully complete. Continue reading →

Posted in PC Engine, Reviews | Leave a comment

Riamel: Black Prophecy

Last updated: by fgasking

1994 Steve Postma

Platform: Commodore Amiga

Riamel was a follow up to Lords of Time, which was created by Steve Postma back in 1994. A very exciting RPG that would span 3 disks, but sadly didn’t seem to get experienced as it should have been.

For years, a demo has been floating around, but even that was quite obscure and not within the usual channels to download and check out. Within the demo, it talks about how you can send off for a full copy of the game – though it seems that it may never have reached any hands.

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Darren Gurney was doing some detective work back in 2018 regarding Lords of Time, contacting David Joiner regarding the title as his Faery Tale Adventure game was very similar. He created a post regarding his findings. Continue reading →

Posted in Amiga, Reviews | 1 Comment

Resolution

Last updated: by fgasking

1988 Nexus

Platform: ZX Spectrum

Fairlight is a title which brings back extremely fond memories for me on the Commodore 64, which was a brilliant isometric game created originally on the ZX Spectrum by the genius Bo Jangeborg.

I always thought it was a shame that we didn’t see a lot more from Bo, though there could have been more with the release of Resolution, a game that was due for release on the Nexus Software label in 1988 and mentioned in numerous magazines.

Rather than an isometric fantasy game, Resolution was to be a strategic, horizontally scrolling shooter, where the player tried to save the world from a manic mining corporation determined to destroy all the Earth’s natural resources. Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, ZX Spectrum | Leave a comment

Duster

Last updated: by fgasking

1991 Image Works

Platforms: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and PC

Yet another title caught up in the collapse of Mirrorsoft in late 1991. A title created by Realtime Software, known for both Carrier and Battle Command.

Duster was set in a place called Heaven in 3800 AD, where the world has become a breeding ground for vicious crop-eating pests with a high mutation rate. You are a crop duster, who not only has to save the world, but also make sure you keep your business going. This is done by earning cash with your crops, but also acting as a bounty hunter, taking on various contracts and missions.

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Visually the game was quite similar to Realtime’s previous games, with the main action rendered in 3D as you fly around the landscape, and with strategic sections handled via static images and menus. Continue reading →

Posted in Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Reviews | Leave a comment