Anyone who was a kid in the 1980’s will remember the console boom and all the wonderful ways in which video games started to become plot devices in movies, television and books. One example that comes to mind is the 1984 film adaptation of Cloak & Dagger which was about a video game obsessed kid who finds himself in possession of secret military files hidden inside, you guessed it, an Atari game cartridge.

If that kind of meta-nostalgia is your thing (and you’ve already binged season 3 of Stranger Things) then the new game from the artist group Iodine Dynamics called What Remains is probably for you.

Just check out this synopsis:

“It is 1986. You just came home from a skate session when a video game cartridge falls into your hands. Excited to find out what it contains, you visit your friend who just got a Nintendo for Christmas. You quickly insert the cartridge and a strange list of encrypted files appears…“

What Remains is an 8-bit game for the 1985 NES console, blending visual novel with adventure elements in a story translating real events from the 80s into an epic quest to save the world.

The game can be played on Windows (and is available on itch.io, but you need an emulator- a type of software that can be used to run software from other systems. In this case, for Windows, they recommend using FCEUX which you can download it for free. With FCEUX you can open the file whatremain.nes and start playing.

What Remains Trailer:

Iodine are also producing a total of 80 physical cartridges made from recycled components that will be available for purchase, which has been done to sponsor the development of this non-profit project. Cartridges will be available for both the NES and Famicom platforms, and both versions come with a cardboard box, and Game Pak label specific to the cartridge region.

Csartridges cost 80,- euro, excluding shipping and packaging costs, and excluding eventual import taxes. To order a cartridge, you need to email iod [at] bleu255 dot com and tell them you’d like a NES or Famicom cartridge.

NES cartridges are made from recycled material

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StoryFix Media produces interactive fiction games and novels. Our sci-fi text adventure The Pulse is out now. Our novels New Horizons and The Blue Moon are available now.

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