Achieved at : 2025-12-28
Rank : 2
(14% worse)
Lups : 160
Approved :
Yes
Voting completed : 2025-12-29
| General Rules: |
Play on any emulator as Oric-1 or Oric Atmos. Play with default settings unless otherwise specified. No use of trainers, cheats, saved game files, auto-fire (when not default present in-game), emulator save states, or other emulator advantages. No use of code modifications that give the player an advantage over other players. 1 player only. No continues. It is discouraged and may lead to voters not accepting your score to - excessively point farm - use glitches or other game exploits |
| Specific Rules: | Play the game in 1 player mode at "Normal" difficulty. |
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TGP
Pulsoids is an Arkanoid-style arcade game for the 48K Oric. It was released in December 2022 by the Club Europe Oric in France and Rhetoric in the UK. The game was written by Jonathan Bristow - aka Twilighte. The original games were released by Mastertronic in 1988, appearing on the C64, Amstrad and ZX Spectrum. The Oric version is primarily based on the C64 version.
As you would expect from an Arkanoid type game, your aim is to destroy all the blocks on the screen. Once done, you move to the next screen. This version of the game has 48 levels, which is 16 more than the original games. So, if you liked the game on other formats, I would recommend give this one a try to experience some unique levels.
Instead of a ball, Pulsoids features energy pulses which you deflect with your 'mirror'. The pulses can grow or shrink and will also destroy enemies on the screen if they hit them. collisions with enemies also cause the pulse to split into two, so you can end up with a lot of pulses zipping around the screen.
Some blocks have various properties which are activated when hit by a pulse. Obvious ones are those containing 'plus' and 'minus' symbols which increase or decrease the size of your pulse. There are other special blocks too, and I particularly do not like the Lightning one that speeds up all the pulses - this can cost you some or all of your pulses. It does, however, release an extra life symbol, so make sure you catch it.
As well as the blocks, 'batteries' also drop from hit blocks. There are seven of these:
Big Bat - Makes the bat larger - collecting a second token will shrink it back to normal size.
Speedup - Increases the speed of pulses - best avoided.
Eat Pulse - Removes any additional length in a pulse and converts it to points in the 'Bonus' box for that level - this bonus is awarded to your score if you complete the screen.
Slow Pulse - The opposite of Speedup.
Life - Marked with an X, these are worth keeping an eye out for. Extra lives are always needed.
Barrier - Creates a barrier that blocks pulses escaping off screen, activated by pressing your fire key.
Invincibility - Does what it says for a period!
The Oric did not last long enough in the market to get any of the Arkanoid-style games released for it. Almost all other games for the Oric of this type are very basic Breakout clones. This homebrew from Twilighte is a very welcome example of what could have been for the machine. There isn't anything else comparable to this in the 'bat and ball' genre for the Oric and it still holds up as a good example of the genre in 2025. A selection of four skill levels and the 48 different screens to discover give it a good amount of longevity.
This is a highly recommended game for the Oric, demonstrating what can be achieved with the hardware. The sound in the emulator comes across as a bit distorted - but it sounds great on a real machine!
This run was made on the 28th December 2025 using the Oricutron emulator on PC. The skill level selected was 'Normal', which is the default. The final score was 12,588.
Time stamps:
00:30 Title screen. Difficulty is set to Normal.
00:38 Game start. Screen 01.
02:02 Screen 01 complete.
03:13 First life lost.
03:30 Second life lost.
04:08 Screen 02 complete.
05:33 Third life lost.
07:30 Screen 03 complete.
09:18 Screen 04 complete.
10:53 Screen 05 complete.
12:10 Two 'X' batteries collected in quick succession, restoring two lives to my counter.
12:15 Screen 06 complete.
13:33 Extra life 'X' collected.
14:12 Screen 07 complete.
14:21 Fourth life lost.
14:48 Fifth life lost.
15:28 Sixth life lost.
16:56 Seventh life lost. Game Over! Final score 12,588 points.
16:59 Intials entry screen for High Score table.
As you would expect from an Arkanoid type game, your aim is to destroy all the blocks on the screen. Once done, you move to the next screen. This version of the game has 48 levels, which is 16 more than the original games. So, if you liked the game on other formats, I would recommend give this one a try to experience some unique levels.
Instead of a ball, Pulsoids features energy pulses which you deflect with your 'mirror'. The pulses can grow or shrink and will also destroy enemies on the screen if they hit them. collisions with enemies also cause the pulse to split into two, so you can end up with a lot of pulses zipping around the screen.
Some blocks have various properties which are activated when hit by a pulse. Obvious ones are those containing 'plus' and 'minus' symbols which increase or decrease the size of your pulse. There are other special blocks too, and I particularly do not like the Lightning one that speeds up all the pulses - this can cost you some or all of your pulses. It does, however, release an extra life symbol, so make sure you catch it.
As well as the blocks, 'batteries' also drop from hit blocks. There are seven of these:
Big Bat - Makes the bat larger - collecting a second token will shrink it back to normal size.
Speedup - Increases the speed of pulses - best avoided.
Eat Pulse - Removes any additional length in a pulse and converts it to points in the 'Bonus' box for that level - this bonus is awarded to your score if you complete the screen.
Slow Pulse - The opposite of Speedup.
Life - Marked with an X, these are worth keeping an eye out for. Extra lives are always needed.
Barrier - Creates a barrier that blocks pulses escaping off screen, activated by pressing your fire key.
Invincibility - Does what it says for a period!
The Oric did not last long enough in the market to get any of the Arkanoid-style games released for it. Almost all other games for the Oric of this type are very basic Breakout clones. This homebrew from Twilighte is a very welcome example of what could have been for the machine. There isn't anything else comparable to this in the 'bat and ball' genre for the Oric and it still holds up as a good example of the genre in 2025. A selection of four skill levels and the 48 different screens to discover give it a good amount of longevity.
This is a highly recommended game for the Oric, demonstrating what can be achieved with the hardware. The sound in the emulator comes across as a bit distorted - but it sounds great on a real machine!
This run was made on the 28th December 2025 using the Oricutron emulator on PC. The skill level selected was 'Normal', which is the default. The final score was 12,588.
Time stamps:
00:30 Title screen. Difficulty is set to Normal.
00:38 Game start. Screen 01.
02:02 Screen 01 complete.
03:13 First life lost.
03:30 Second life lost.
04:08 Screen 02 complete.
05:33 Third life lost.
07:30 Screen 03 complete.
09:18 Screen 04 complete.
10:53 Screen 05 complete.
12:10 Two 'X' batteries collected in quick succession, restoring two lives to my counter.
12:15 Screen 06 complete.
13:33 Extra life 'X' collected.
14:12 Screen 07 complete.
14:21 Fourth life lost.
14:48 Fifth life lost.
15:28 Sixth life lost.
16:56 Seventh life lost. Game Over! Final score 12,588 points.
16:59 Intials entry screen for High Score table.