Skyroads!

In 1990, Bluemoon Interactive, an Estonian games developer, released its first game, Kosmonaut, which was remarkable in that it was published in Sweden; it was the first time an Estonian computer game was published outside of the country. Bluemoon released a sequel to Kosmonaut in 1993, Skyroads. It is one of the most fiendishly difficult games I've ever played. It's also fiendishly addictive. Complete mastery of the game has eluded me, but I'm proud to say that I've had my share of small victories against the game's nefarious roads. 

Skyroads is a game in which you attempt to pilot a spacecraft through an intense series of obstacles to reach the final goal.The only real ability your craft has is a jump, the height of which differs based on the gravity of the current level.  You can control the speed of the craft too via the accelerator. Some levels require you to collect oxygen and fuel in order to progress, which are obtained by driving over specific colors on the road. If you die, you begin the level from the beginning. 

It's interesting how so many games that weather the tests of time are the simple ones. Early arcade games such as Asteroids and Defender have aged considerably better than games borne of the 64-bit era such as GoldenEye. The graphics of these old-school style games have now aged to the point where they're the equivalent of the monocle; quaint, but cool in a retro way. Skyroads' gameplay is still every bit as fresh today as it was in 1993; the game could be released on the Nintendo Switch today and people would still buy it. 

Of course, the one thing that dates the game and is simultaneously one of the best things about it is the soundtrack. If released today, there would probably be some slick electro or techno soundtrack in the background. In Skyroads' case, you get a remarkably unique electronica soundtrack, composed by Ott M. Aaloe (with the exception of the title track, which was composed by Hasso Bruck). Originally composed on an Amiga program, Oktalyzer, the soundtrack to this game when composed sounded drastically different than the final version of the game. For example, every tune in the game was pitchshifted up a half a tone, and the timbre of the sounds significantly differs. 

This is my favorite track from the game, the haunting, desert-like Road 6 as it appears in the game.

Ott M. Aaloe - Road 6



And here's the original composed version of that song, so you can hear the difference! It sounds less harpsichord-y, for sure:

Ott M. Aaloe - Road 6



Here's another, desert-sounding song:

Ott M. Aaloe - Road 5



And here's the main theme:

Hasso Bruck - Skyroads Theme



Enjoy!