Summary
- Boulder Dash, a classic maze puzzle game, will be returning in 2024, allowing players to guide Rockford through caves to collect diamonds.
- The game's rights were purchased in 2017, and a special 40th-anniversary edition will be released this fall/winter for Steam, Switch, Xbox, and PS
- The game has inspired a subgenre of rocks-and-diamonds games, as well as modern reboots of other classic games like Astrosmash and Shark! Shark! At Gamescom.
The classic puzzle game that first launched in 1984 for Atari 8-bit computers, Boulder Dash, will be making a return sometime at the end of 2024. The maze-based puzzler, whose name is a play on the word balderdash, or nonsense, was quickly ported to a variety of now-retro consoles. Over the years, it made its way — in the form of ports, re-releases, and remasters — to the Commodore 64, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, arcades, and eventually Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, Switch, Xbox, and PC.
Boulder Dash sticks players in a series of caves, where the protagonist Rockford is on a mission to collect diamonds. He digs his way through various environments, dislodging boulders and generally creating a hazard for himself. While endeavoring to avoid being crushed, he finds gems, power-ups, and other tantalizing collectibles, as well as a few enemies. Only upon gathering enough goodies will the cave entrance open so that Rockford can escape.
Nintendo Switch Makes History by Breaking Old NES Record
The Switch once again makes history by breaking a 34-year-old record held by the Nintendo Entertainment System, AKA the Famicom.
Originally developed by Peter Liepa and Chris Gray, the Boulder Dash IP is currently owned by BBG Entertainment, which purchased the rights from the original publisher, First Star Software, in 2017. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the highly rated classic game, BBG will be debuting Boulder Dash 40th Anniversary at Gamescom 2024 in the Retro Area from August 21-25. Dubbed the “ancestor of all puzzle games,” the anniversary edition of Boulder Dash will be released for Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 sometime this fall/winter season.
BBG Will Present Boulder Dash and a Couple Other Classic Games
The classic maze game has served as an inspiration for many other titles, be it directly or indirectly, in the 40 years since its original release. There is now an entire subgenre of games, known as rocks-and-diamonds, that feature tile-based gameplay centered around collecting gems while avoiding being crushed. Even 2023’s popular puzzle platformer Humanity has a trial called “Boulder Dash,” and there's of course a level in the original Crash Bandicoot called "Boulder Dash" that has the orange marsupial channeling his inner Indiana Jones.
BBG Entertainment will also be introducing the modern reboots of two classic Intellivision games at Gamescom this year. Astrosmash and Shark! Shark!, both hailing from the early 80s, made their way to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam in late 2023. Astrosmash is a fixed shooter in the vein of Space Invaders or Asteroids that has players take out meteors, bombs, UFOs, and the like. It ranks as one of the bestselling Intellivision games ever. Shark! Shark! Puts players in the role of a fish who's out to feast on smaller fish while evading jellyfish, crustaceans, and the fabled shark.
- Brand
- Nintendo
- Original Release Date
- July 31, 1989
- Hardware Versions
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $179
- Weight
- 5 lbs.