Echodrome – This Commodore Amiga game by PixelPlop is fantastic! [UPDATE]

Echodrome, the high-octane arena shooter from developer PixelPlop, has not only taken the first place crown in the AmiGameJam 2025 but as of this week there’s a new build released as v0.12. Created over six months using C++, this “Return of the Arcade” entry has quickly become a standout for modern Amiga enthusiasts, earning a perfect 5.0 rating on itch.io. A game that has also gained feedback such as “This must be one of the best “amiga only” arcade game ever!” and “This game is awesome. Donated! :)”

Designed to run on classic Amiga OCS/ECS hardware with just 1MB of memory (512KB Chip/512KB Slow), Echodrome delivers a frantic, neon-soaked experience reminiscent of Geometry Wars and Smash TV. Players are thrust into a digital arena of “death and destruction,” where the goal is simple: eliminate every wave of enemies to unlock the exit. Reviewers and players have praised the game’s “TRON-like” aesthetic and smooth performance across a variety of setups, including the A500, A1200 with PiStorm, and MiSTer, highlighting its professional polish and addictive “one more run” gameplay.

[UPDATE] If you’re hoping for some news about this awesome game then you’ve come to the right place! As the developer has released a huge update with the following changes for both AGA and OCS.

• – AGA version increases the number of bitplanes from 5 to 8 which allows it to display longer trails.
• – AGA version uses 24bit copper gradients making them super smooth.
• – I’ve made some changes to the palettes to try and make better use of available colours.

(OCS actually runs in 32 colour mode and AGA in 256 colour mode but we only ever see a fraction of those!)

• – I’ve tried to make the mines a bit easier to see as I’ve noticed a lot of people are collecting them instead of avoiding them!

They now continuously animate and with my palette changes they should draw in a different colour to the powerups.

• (I figured out a way to do it Amiga Bill!)
• – Lots of updates to the colour cycling and colour blending code to cope with so many extra colour registers.
• – Only the map now uses hardware sprites. The door, mine, and powerup callouts are now bitplane based.

(This is because when moving to AGA and 64bit fetch mode I was left with only 1 hardware sprite which I also had to use in 64 pixel wide mode. AGA has it’s issues!)

• – Fixed twin stick controls so the fire button on the 2nd joystick can select menu options.
• – Updated Legal screen and About screen.
• – Other bug fixes and optimisations.

Links :1) Source  2) Update