No Small Roles celebrates the RPG experiences being created by small teams in the indie space.
In my years covering horror games, I’ve found itch.io is a hotbed for future talents, and while RPGs are generally less flexible than horror games in terms of size, that doesn’t stop people from making small-scale gems.
Retro aesthetics are a common sight on itch.io, but it’s always more exciting when a developer fully commits to embracing the limitations of old hardware. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum, a rubber-keyed relic of 1980s Britain, has seen something of a revival on itch.io, with developers compromising and getting creative to fit the lowly 48K and 128K technical framework.
The best thing about this is seeing how these developers can apply modern video game tech and understanding these limitations. These are games that could have been possible back then, but not in the relatively short time that it got to live in.
Red Zebra already has experience creating RPGs with 2023’s Wychewald. An open-world adventure that 8-year-old me would have been blown away by (and probably intimidated by) had it been released on the Spectrum back then. The developer created a sequel very late last year that pushes things a teeny bit further on the limited ruleset. Hofoc Tor runs on an improved engine, offers more combat options, and has a bigger open world, complete with non-linear objectives. Yet, it still all plays off a keyboard.
Hafoc (Grand) Tor
Not so impressive in modern terms, but there’s something about scaling it back like this that unlocks some of the wonder and amazement about what could be done in a video game. The magical illusions of scope and scale burst through the restraint of a machine that was only able to conjure a few colors up onscreen. The black background of environments adds a dreadful darkness I’ve always associated with Spectrum visuals—little worlds emerging from an unsettling gloom. I suppose because the system (which was the first one we ever had in my home) feels so distant in time, but so vivid in memory, it has an interesting hold on me. In relative terms, I played very little of the ZX Spectrum, but it’s the birthplace of my decades-long love affair with video games. No system I’ve had since has had that unique visual makeup, and that makes it special to me.
Back to the game itself, and the screen setup divides things into 3 to 4 blocks, with text descriptions of events taking up a sizeable chunk outside combat. Typically, though, the top left is your view of the scrolling 3D world and its inhabitants, whilst the bottom right is an overhead map of your progress. The party is in the bottom left box, while the top right is your options.
When an encounter comes up, you get command choices and must input your action and where you want it to apply. Proper throwback stuff, but it manages to bring some intensity once you get into the swing of it. Writing down a plan for your party and seeing it executed in a ream of text may not sound thrilling, but Hafoc Tor sure does manage to make that little text crawl a moment of joy or despair, depending on the outcome.
I appreciate that having a history with games that goes back to the 80s definitely helps you to enjoy what Red Zebra has made with Hafoc Tor, but there’s a lesson in restraint to be learned here. As RPGs balloon in size and scope, going back to basics exposes the genre’s beating heart for all to see.
Hafoc Tor is available on itch.io now.
