First released in 1997 for MS-DOS, Blaster! is an arcade sci-fi shooter that has returned on Steam and GOG with a new and enhanced port. Also known as Katharsis, Blaster! is one of the oldest games developed in Poland. However, it is also considered a forgotten game because it never received official English-language support until its arrival on Steam in 2026.
Regarding the re-release, publisher TopWare Interactive said, “Blaster! returns in an extensively restored and carefully refreshed edition for modern PCs.” Like many classic side-scrolling shooters of its time, Blaster! features spaceship combat and alien enemies. However, one interesting twist is that boss fights in this game change the player’s perspective, pitting them against 3D monsters instead of the game’s 2D mobs.
Blaster! (1997) Is Now Available on Steam and GOG
- Genre: Sci-fi, arcade, shooter, space
- Developer: Metropolis
- Publisher: TopWare Interactive
- Release Date: October 9, 2026
Priced at around $8, Blaster!‘s PC ports on Steam and GOG feature enhanced visuals and audio for the base game and cutscenes. However, players looking for the same experience as the 1997 release can turn off these changes and play Blaster! as originally intended. Interestingly, the new port also adds two bonus levels and an extra skin for Eagle, the game’s primary spaceship. There is also a deluxe edition that “adds four additional Eagle skins, four extra in-game music tracks, Bonus Pickups for additional firepower, and four digital wallpapers.”
In terms of story, Blaster! depicts a dystopian future in which alien spacecraft attack Earth. As a sci-fi arcade shooter, Blaster! equips players with various weapons and lasers to fight back against these unknown enemies. The game is also divided into two sections: underwater and space. The original 20 levels include ten missions in the ocean and ten in deep space. However, the fundamental gameplay mechanics remain largely the same throughout the game.
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Guess the games from the emojis.
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Publisher TopWare Interactive said, “Rather than reinventing [Blaster!], the extensive restoration preserves its distinctive arcade character while making it accessible to today’s players.” It also explained that the new English-language support will likely help the game reach a worldwide audience. It’s nice to see forgotten games making a comeback, with Blaster! being the latest example. Recently, the Japanese game Vixen 357 also returned to modern PCs through a Steam port that added English-language support for the first time.
Fans of retro games would likely want to see the trend continue and more classic titles find their way into modern devices. For now, it seems some publishers have noticed the market demand and are trying to make a few forgotten games from the ’90s and ’80s available to a new audience. As for Blaster!, the game was released on Steam and GOG on October 9, and it hasn’t received many user reviews at the time of writing. So, it remains to be seen how fans of such games will react to it in the coming days.
Blaster!‘s developer, Metropolis Software, was acquired by CD Projekt, one of Poland’s biggest game studios, in 2008, only to be shut down a year later in 2009.
