The world of homebrew retro video games has exploded in the past decade, and Milwaukee has been a part of the pixelated action. Local developer/musician Jordan Davis unveiled Space Raft: The Game in 2020, and The Storied Sword in 2024. There was also that Murder Generation: Cream City Chaos arcade game, created by Murder Generation guitarist Rich Altenbach, in 2023.
So how about some more! This week featured news of not one, but two new Milwaukee-made retro video games coming soon to a screen near you. (Remember: old CRT screens are the best for retro gaming.)
Up first is Mega Kaiju Boom Ball, an 8-bit NES/Famicom title that mixes giant monsters (think Rampage) with Breakout-style gameplay (think Arkanoid and, well, Breakout). It’s the work of Milwaukee-based designer and developer John Vanderhoef, and is being released through Vanderhoef’s Orebody Inc. The music was written by Davis, and the box and manual art was designed by Matthew Warren Lee.
“This is a truly unique game experience on the 8-bit NES,” Vanderhoef says in a press release. “If you love Breakout, Arkanoid, Rampage, or are just a fan of giant monster cinema and stories, you’ll find something to love in Mega Kaiju Boom Ball.”
A Kickstarter campaign for Mega Kaiju Boom Ball reached its $6,000 goal in just four hours; it currently sits at just under $10,000. The campaign is to fund a physical release of the game, though Vanderhoef says it “will be available as a ROM to purchase and download on Itch.io later this year, with future plans to port the game to Steam and other platforms.”
Up next is a different type of retro game: a point-and-click mystery game called Gumshoe Detective Agency: The First Case. The old-school head-scratcher is played out entirely in an old desktop PC environment. Players poke around (fake) websites and message boards, comb through (fake) emails and newspaper archives, and do a little bit of (fake) ’90s hacking.
“The game plays like if Nancy Drew, Obra Dinn, and your family’s Windows 95 PC had a weird baby raised on Goosebumps and AIM chat logs,” says Riverwest-based game developer Birdy, of Birdy Interactive. “It’s quirky, cozy, and unapologetically retro.”
Gumshoe Detective Agency launches October 9 on Steam. (Now someone do a Myst clone, but set in Milwaukee!)
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