Great game. I already liked the first Randoom game, and this one here, is just as good. It's fun to play. Good work. By the way, a two-player simultaneous function could be a lot of fun in both Randoom games.And I could also very well imagine a four-player simultaneous mode (using a 4-player-adapter). I am sure, it would be a great party-game, when you have friends visiting.There would be a lot going on then, on the screen, but it would definitely be a lot of fun. If multiple human players could play simultaneously, there could be different game-modes. For example, you could set it up, so that you could either play together as a team, to complete the respective levels together, as quickly as possible, or it could be set up, that the human players must play against each other, based on the principle, of who can defeat so many cpu-powered opponents the fastest. Just a few suggestions, that are currently popping into my head, as the gameplay would be really great for a multiplayer-game.
Thank you very much for your feedback and suggestions! The multiplayer modes you mention would undoubtedly be a great addition to the game. The technical problem with a Commodore 64 is that it is impossible to display more than 8 sprites in the same row. In this game, with the added sprites of several players, there would be many occasions when more than that number of sprites would coincide on a platform. It would be a great challenge to design levels where that did not happen or to create a multiplexer that would prevent such overlaps. Well, there are other options, such as making software sprites or even creating an 8x8 sprite matrix to draw on... Another option that wouldn't be bad would be to port the game to a modern platform where you could add everything you mentioned and even online multiplayer. These are things I'm considering for the future, as the mechanics of the game allow for many variations that could be a lot of fun.
Hy. Thanks for answering and the interesting technical infos. Yes, i know about this sprite-limit problem and the idea of software-sprites or the thing with the 8x8 matrix, sounds very interesting. I can't really comment much on the programming of the C64, because you will certainly know better, but these suggestions sounds good. Better than the idea with the porting to modern platform, because if you ask me, then that would take away a lot of the game's charm, because what's special is, that it runs on retro-hardware. But maybe some of your other ideas could be realised, sometime in the future?
On the C64 alot of programming-tricks where used, in the last years by different people, to realise unbelievable things in demos or games. I am always surprised, what is possible in the meantime, on a C64. Do you know the little demo "Field Sort" from Lft, this is also very interesting, when it comes to sprites etc (can be found on the CSDB, by the way). But, back to the topic. A 2-player mode would be really nice to have in your Randoom games, because games that can be played together at the same time, are often the ones, that are most fun. Perhaps a way could be found to include a second human player in the future?
And just a fast idea, but it could also be fun, if, for example in a 4-player mode, the other players were the objects to be hunted (the guards), or rather the one player, who had the right color. One player could always be the adventurer and the others the guards etc. Or the second human player could also be one of the guards, besides the other, cpu-controlled ones. Could also be interesting to play. Of course, you would have to think this through further, but then less cpu-controlled sprites would be needed and the second player would have a meaningful task in the game. But, just an idea.
Awesome game with a great concept and a high fun factor. Some ideas and graphics are somewhat reminiscent of the classic "Pang" and "Bubble Bobble". Our German-language review can be found in our recorded livestream starting at 01:07:09. English subtitles are also available. Subscription to our YouTube and Twitch channel is welcome. 🙂
Wow!! I don't know what to say... Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind words you have dedicated to the game. Things like this make it worthwhile to devote time and effort to programming for the old Commodore 64. I am very happy that you enjoyed it so much.
Hi. This game is great fun and I simply can't stop playing it. However I have a question for you: I generally don't continue plays because in the game, you know, luck can make the difference in every run. But I felt that also the ability to continue a game or not is 'randoom': sometimes I am asked to continue, and sometimes not, even though the last time I started a new play without continuing the last one. Can you check, please, if the 'counter' is working as intended? I have the doubt it asks to cointinue for three times always, even if you choose NOT to continue. Thank you.
Thank you for your positive review. In theory, it should be possible to continue three times. It is likely a bug that decreases the counter regardless of whether you continue or not. I will review it as soon as possible and reprimand my testers ;-P
Thank you for the information and congratulations on your magazine!!
Today I played Randoom 1 again and it's from heaven to earth with 2, first the movement and jumping are more abrupt, notable improvement in the new one, the issue of not having progression makes it feel like the levels are repeated and only the platforms change, in the CRT although the plots are seen better the red cube with the orange one get too confused, in the emu it is more passable but here you lose lives very easily because of it. In conclusion there is a huge improvement compared to the original version👌
I agree about the graphics. As for the gameplay, (I try to be objective although it's difficult talking about my own game), I think it surpasses the original in several factors: The movement feels more fluid. It's quite noticeable if you play one and then the other back to back. The animation of the sprites makes the game more eye-catching and dynamic. The bonus/malus bubbles, the golems, the hunter and some more details that add to the gameplay make it more varied and therefore more entertaining. Finally, two game modes have been added to adapt the gameplay to different types of players.
Of course it has many things that can be improved and even things in which it can be inferior to the first one but in the playable section it has been worked a lot to make up for lacks of the original randoom.
Congratulations for this great sequel to Randoom, one of my favorite games of recent years, one of those I had most fun with. Graphics, sound and playability are all very good, and the more I play Randoom Ancient Stones the more I like it.
So far I only have a few minor complaints.
I could argue that characters every now and then get lost in the background color, a black outline would have been nice but as matter of fact, this apparent issue hasn't caused me any accidental deaths, so...
...Instead, perfectly overlapping enemies cost me a life several times. It also happened in the original Randoom, but I am pretty sure it was less frequent. Maybe you could simply alternate the Z priority between two overlapping sprites to let the player know of the danger?
Other simple quality of life improvement you may consider is defaulting the continue option to YES! There's nothing worse than accidentally selecting NO because you are eager to get back to the game and forgot not to press fire repeatedly to cut to it quickly.
About the sprite design we had that debate with Errazking, the graphic designer. We did some tests and we decided that aesthetically they looked better without the black border. As the sprite was in multicolour mode, the border was too wide and saturated the design with black. An overlay with a high-resolution sprite as a border was also not viable because multiplexing was not possible. It has to be taken into account that there are situations where all 8 sprites can be on the same platform height. In any case I'm glad to hear that it didn't cause any major problems.
As for the sentry overlapping is a ‘defect’ already detected and discussed in randoom 1. There are fairly simple ways to mitigate or even fix it, but we decided that it is an addition to the difficulty of the game that adds the incentive to be attentive to the remaining colours to avoid falling into the trap of hunting a sentry ‘escorted’.
On the ‘continue’ part, you are absolutely right. I'll make a list of issues to fix to update the version soon.
I just managed to finish Randoom: Ancient Stones for the first time — on HARD difficulty! What a beautiful game. Tons of fun, clever design, and absolutely worth the challenge. I’ll be writing an enthusiastic review for Zzap! Italy very soon.
A few bugs and issues I noticed while playing:
After entering my name at the end, when I completed the game, it froze on a blank blue screen (like a BASIC screen, but empty). Not sure if that's expected or a glitch.
I’m playing on a Breadbin C64 with an Ultimate II+, and noticed that if I reset the machine during gameplay, some of the game text remains "burned" into the screen
The difficulty/continue mode selector behaves a bit strangely — sometimes it stays on the selected option, other times it jumps back to the previous one unexpectedly.
The 3-continue system (which is a great feature!) seems buggy — sometimes I get fewer continues than expected, or none at all, even if I haven’t used any yet.
And here are a few suggestions that might improve the overall experience even more:
The scrolling text at the end is fun, but after such a colourful and lively game, with nice, Pang-style in-between level pictures, it would really shine if it scrolled over a beautiful image or illustration. The plain white-on-black text feels a bit underwhelming after all that action.
The backgrounds are colourful and effective, but they could use a bit more definition in some places. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish where a platform ends. I often think I’ve cleared a ledge, only to bump my head because the edge isn’t clearly visible.
A pause button would be very helpful — and perhaps also a way to quit a game when things go south. Alternatively, you might consider not starting the level automatically after the "Start Level" screen, but waiting for the player to press fire.
During invincibility, a more obvious visual cue would be great — maybe a flicker or the same glow effect used when golems are capturable?
All in all, though, fantastic job — I had a blast playing and really admire the work and energy you’ve poured into this. Looking forward to spreading the word!
Felicidades Dozznar y equipo !!! Valió mucho la pena la espera de esta versión 2 de Randoom !!! Excelente terminación, jugabilidad, gráficos, sonidos, música, pantallas, diseño... Que más !!!! ENHORABUENA !!! 😎🤩
Very cool and addictive game 🙃The title reminds me of RANDOOM from 2021 on C64. I wouldn't be myself if, as editor of K&A PLUS magazine, I didn't offer a physical cartridge edition of this game. If you are interested in this, please email me.
¡Felicidades Diego por el lanzamiento de R2! Un gran juego que ya me se de memoria jejeje. Felicidades también para su majestad Errazkin que cuando trabaja quedan cosas muy chulas y por supuesto para el bueno de Narciso que se curró otra BSO gigante y de muy buena calidad👌👾🕹️
![Randoom Ancient Stones [C64]](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzIyMjY2OTc4LmpwZw==/original/EmEep7.jpg)
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Cool concept! Did a complete longplay on hard mode, hope it can be useful and/or admitted here! Thanks :)
Great game. I already liked the first Randoom game, and this one here, is just as good. It's fun to play. Good work. By the way, a two-player simultaneous function could be a lot of fun in both Randoom games. And I could also very well imagine a four-player simultaneous mode (using a 4-player-adapter). I am sure, it would be a great party-game, when you have friends visiting. There would be a lot going on then, on the screen, but it would definitely be a lot of fun. If multiple human players could play simultaneously, there could be different game-modes. For example, you could set it up, so that you could either play together as a team, to complete the respective levels together, as quickly as possible, or it could be set up, that the human players must play against each other, based on the principle, of who can defeat so many cpu-powered opponents the fastest. Just a few suggestions, that are currently popping into my head, as the gameplay would be really great for a multiplayer-game.
Thank you very much for your feedback and suggestions! The multiplayer modes you mention would undoubtedly be a great addition to the game. The technical problem with a Commodore 64 is that it is impossible to display more than 8 sprites in the same row. In this game, with the added sprites of several players, there would be many occasions when more than that number of sprites would coincide on a platform. It would be a great challenge to design levels where that did not happen or to create a multiplexer that would prevent such overlaps. Well, there are other options, such as making software sprites or even creating an 8x8 sprite matrix to draw on... Another option that wouldn't be bad would be to port the game to a modern platform where you could add everything you mentioned and even online multiplayer. These are things I'm considering for the future, as the mechanics of the game allow for many variations that could be a lot of fun.
Hy. Thanks for answering and the interesting technical infos. Yes, i know about this sprite-limit problem and the idea of software-sprites or the thing with the 8x8 matrix, sounds very interesting. I can't really comment much on the programming of the C64, because you will certainly know better, but these suggestions sounds good. Better than the idea with the porting to modern platform, because if you ask me, then that would take away a lot of the game's charm, because what's special is, that it runs on retro-hardware. But maybe some of your other ideas could be realised, sometime in the future?
On the C64 alot of programming-tricks where used, in the last years by different people, to realise unbelievable things in demos or games. I am always surprised, what is possible in the meantime, on a C64. Do you know the little demo "Field Sort" from Lft, this is also very interesting, when it comes to sprites etc (can be found on the CSDB, by the way). But, back to the topic. A 2-player mode would be really nice to have in your Randoom games, because games that can be played together at the same time, are often the ones, that are most fun. Perhaps a way could be found to include a second human player in the future?
And just a fast idea, but it could also be fun, if, for example in a 4-player mode, the other players were the objects to be hunted (the guards), or rather the one player, who had the right color. One player could always be the adventurer and the others the guards etc. Or the second human player could also be one of the guards, besides the other, cpu-controlled ones. Could also be interesting to play. Of course, you would have to think this through further, but then less cpu-controlled sprites would be needed and the second player would have a meaningful task in the game. But, just an idea.
Awesome game with a great concept and a high fun factor. Some ideas and graphics are somewhat reminiscent of the classic "Pang" and "Bubble Bobble". Our German-language review can be found in our recorded livestream starting at 01:07:09. English subtitles are also available. Subscription to our YouTube and Twitch channel is welcome. 🙂
Thank you very much for sharing the video and for your positive feedback. Subscribed! :-)
me acuerda un pochito pang y bubble bobble, la mecanica es muy interesante! me gusta
Muchas gracias Antonbal. Me alegro mucho y que lo disfrutes!
Hi. In the meanwhile, I wrote this review. Please use a translator.
https://www.thegamesmachine.it/randoom-ancient-stones-recensione-c64/
Wow!! I don't know what to say... Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind words you have dedicated to the game. Things like this make it worthwhile to devote time and effort to programming for the old Commodore 64. I am very happy that you enjoyed it so much.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hey there, I hope you don't mind, but I enjoyed this game so much that I added it in my new Best C64 games of 2025 video
Thank you so much for sharing the video!
My pleasure 😀
Thank you! Randoom Ancient Stones (2025, Picaro Games)
To you for playing it and reviewing it!
Hi. This game is great fun and I simply can't stop playing it. However I have a question for you: I generally don't continue plays because in the game, you know, luck can make the difference in every run. But I felt that also the ability to continue a game or not is 'randoom': sometimes I am asked to continue, and sometimes not, even though the last time I started a new play without continuing the last one. Can you check, please, if the 'counter' is working as intended? I have the doubt it asks to cointinue for three times always, even if you choose NOT to continue. Thank you.
Hello P.bes!
Thank you for your positive review. In theory, it should be possible to continue three times. It is likely a bug that decreases the counter regardless of whether you continue or not. I will review it as soon as possible and reprimand my testers ;-P
Thank you for the information and congratulations on your magazine!!
Enjoyable and it is good that there are 3 continues. Looking forward to more games!
Today I played Randoom 1 again and it's from heaven to earth with 2, first the movement and jumping are more abrupt, notable improvement in the new one, the issue of not having progression makes it feel like the levels are repeated and only the platforms change, in the CRT although the plots are seen better the red cube with the orange one get too confused, in the emu it is more passable but here you lose lives very easily because of it. In conclusion there is a huge improvement compared to the original version👌
Lovely game :) nice music
Thank you!
ok-ish gameplay. graphics are rough, though - especially the backgrounds. would have been better with more refined graphics. 6.5/10
I think the 1st game plays better, despite the simplistic graphics.
Hi Reflex64, thank you very much for commenting!
I agree about the graphics. As for the gameplay, (I try to be objective although it's difficult talking about my own game), I think it surpasses the original in several factors: The movement feels more fluid. It's quite noticeable if you play one and then the other back to back. The animation of the sprites makes the game more eye-catching and dynamic. The bonus/malus bubbles, the golems, the hunter and some more details that add to the gameplay make it more varied and therefore more entertaining. Finally, two game modes have been added to adapt the gameplay to different types of players.
Of course it has many things that can be improved and even things in which it can be inferior to the first one but in the playable section it has been worked a lot to make up for lacks of the original randoom.
Best regards!
Nice Game!
I take note of the interesting conclusions of your review. An essential contribution to the continuous improvement of my products. XDDDD
Best regards Don Roberto!
Awesome!!!! Very addictive. Improves the first Randoom in all aspects. Speed and skill are the key (and a bit of luck always is welcome).
A game that despite you finish always you can play it again other day. Return to the arcades
Thanks for the review! Some of the blame for all this is yours ;-)
You are a demanding betatester XDD
Can I play this comoodooorooo game on the Mister FPGA? Also is it true that Robosoft is already working on a port to MSX ??
Jajajja. Sinver gamberro! Gracias por comentar! y guarda tu dinero para el vespertino que tiene que estar al caer ;-P
Eres más malo que un dolóh
Congratulations for this great sequel to Randoom, one of my favorite games of recent years, one of those I had most fun with. Graphics, sound and playability are all very good, and the more I play Randoom Ancient Stones the more I like it.
So far I only have a few minor complaints.
I could argue that characters every now and then get lost in the background color, a black outline would have been nice but as matter of fact, this apparent issue hasn't caused me any accidental deaths, so...
...Instead, perfectly overlapping enemies cost me a life several times. It also happened in the original Randoom, but I am pretty sure it was less frequent. Maybe you could simply alternate the Z priority between two overlapping sprites to let the player know of the danger?
Other simple quality of life improvement you may consider is defaulting the continue option to YES! There's nothing worse than accidentally selecting NO because you are eager to get back to the game and forgot not to press fire repeatedly to cut to it quickly.
Oh and there seems to be no pause button?
Cheers,
Davide
Hi Davide!
About the sprite design we had that debate with Errazking, the graphic designer. We did some tests and we decided that aesthetically they looked better without the black border. As the sprite was in multicolour mode, the border was too wide and saturated the design with black. An overlay with a high-resolution sprite as a border was also not viable because multiplexing was not possible. It has to be taken into account that there are situations where all 8 sprites can be on the same platform height. In any case I'm glad to hear that it didn't cause any major problems.
As for the sentry overlapping is a ‘defect’ already detected and discussed in randoom 1. There are fairly simple ways to mitigate or even fix it, but we decided that it is an addition to the difficulty of the game that adds the incentive to be attentive to the remaining colours to avoid falling into the trap of hunting a sentry ‘escorted’.
On the ‘continue’ part, you are absolutely right. I'll make a list of issues to fix to update the version soon.
Thank you very much for your feedback!
thank you, don’t forget a pause button!😃👌🏻
XDD ok
Hi there!
I just managed to finish Randoom: Ancient Stones for the first time — on HARD difficulty! What a beautiful game. Tons of fun, clever design, and absolutely worth the challenge. I’ll be writing an enthusiastic review for Zzap! Italy very soon.
A few bugs and issues I noticed while playing:
After entering my name at the end, when I completed the game, it froze on a blank blue screen (like a BASIC screen, but empty). Not sure if that's expected or a glitch.
I’m playing on a Breadbin C64 with an Ultimate II+, and noticed that if I reset the machine during gameplay, some of the game text remains "burned" into the screen
The difficulty/continue mode selector behaves a bit strangely — sometimes it stays on the selected option, other times it jumps back to the previous one unexpectedly.
The 3-continue system (which is a great feature!) seems buggy — sometimes I get fewer continues than expected, or none at all, even if I haven’t used any yet.
And here are a few suggestions that might improve the overall experience even more:
The scrolling text at the end is fun, but after such a colourful and lively game, with nice, Pang-style in-between level pictures, it would really shine if it scrolled over a beautiful image or illustration. The plain white-on-black text feels a bit underwhelming after all that action.
The backgrounds are colourful and effective, but they could use a bit more definition in some places. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish where a platform ends. I often think I’ve cleared a ledge, only to bump my head because the edge isn’t clearly visible.
A pause button would be very helpful — and perhaps also a way to quit a game when things go south. Alternatively, you might consider not starting the level automatically after the "Start Level" screen, but waiting for the player to press fire.
During invincibility, a more obvious visual cue would be great — maybe a flicker or the same glow effect used when golems are capturable?
All in all, though, fantastic job — I had a blast playing and really admire the work and energy you’ve poured into this. Looking forward to spreading the word!
Felicidades Dozznar y equipo !!! Valió mucho la pena la espera de esta versión 2 de Randoom !!! Excelente terminación, jugabilidad, gráficos, sonidos, música, pantallas, diseño... Que más !!!! ENHORABUENA !!! 😎🤩
¡Muchas gracias Juan! ¿Nos vemos en los premios commodore manía o este año te lo tomas de descanso? ;-)
Great game
Nice Gameplay! Thank you very much for playing and share.
Awesome game!
Thank you very much for your gameplay! I always keep an eye on your channel.
Very cool and addictive game 🙃The title reminds me of RANDOOM from 2021 on C64. I wouldn't be myself if, as editor of K&A PLUS magazine, I didn't offer a physical cartridge edition of this game. If you are interested in this, please email me.
My e-mail: yahwey88@gmail.com
K&A PLUS website: https://ka-plus.pl/en/
Thank you very much! We will look into this possibility.
Sure 😊 You are cordially invited to cooperate if you are interested. You can find our current releases on our shop page.
Awesome & congrats !
Thanks for share!
¡Felicidades Diego por el lanzamiento de R2! Un gran juego que ya me se de memoria jejeje. Felicidades también para su majestad Errazkin que cuando trabaja quedan cosas muy chulas y por supuesto para el bueno de Narciso que se curró otra BSO gigante y de muy buena calidad👌👾🕹️
Gracias compañero! Y agradecerte la parte del testo NTSC. Si te lo sabes de memoria es que hiciste un buen trabajo ;-)