Bitmap Brothers’ Amiga classic The Chaos Engine returns on Spectrum Next

The Chaos Engine has found a new home on the ZX Spectrum Next. Chaos Engine Next is a work-in-progress remake of the Bitmap Brothers’ 1993 overhead shooter, and its first playable build is already running on the modern Spectrum successor. For now, the scope is small. You get the opening stage, six selectable characters, scrolling terrain, enemies, keys, nodes and an exit to reach. The core loop is present, though much of the full game still sits on the development list. There’s no completed soundtrack yet, and later stages still need to be built. Replacement graphics are planned too. The current version uses artwork from the original release, so this early build comes across more like a working slice of the project than a finished conversion. Still, it’s enough to show how The Chaos Engine fits the ZX Spectrum Next.

A 16-bit shooter on a modern Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum Next gives developers far more room than Sinclair’s original 8-bit machines ever offered. It keeps a clear link with the Spectrum family, yet adds faster processor modes, extra memory, hardware sprites and improved scrolling.

Those features matter here. The Chaos Engine was built around large overhead maps, constant movement and plenty of enemies on screen. Trying to squeeze its original structure into a classic Spectrum would call for major compromises. The Next has a much easier time with the basic format.

Chaos Engine Next already scrolls across its opening area rather than splitting the action into static rooms. Movement uses QAOP, space fires a weapon, and the number keys let you switch between the six available mercenaries. A restart key gets you moving again after a failed run.

The first level includes several familiar parts of the original design. Stone-throwing enemies roam the map. Other attackers emerge from trees. Keys open progress routes, and nodes need to be activated before the exit becomes available. It’s a short sample, but the structure is recognisable.

How The Chaos Engine began

The Bitmap Brothers released The Chaos Engine in 1993, with Amiga and Atari ST versions forming the main computer releases. Ports followed for MS-DOS, Amiga CD32, Acorn machines, Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. Some North American console editions used the name Soldiers of Fortune.

The studio already had a strong run of computer games by this point, including Xenon, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Gods and Magic Pockets. The Chaos Engine moved into overhead run-and-gun territory, pairing shooting with exploration, character selection and light progression systems.

Its setting mixes Victorian Britain with advanced machinery. Baron Fortesque creates the Chaos Engine after gaining access to technology from the future. The machine turns against its creator and begins changing the surrounding country, leaving a group of hired mercenaries to stop it.

Players choose from six characters: Brigand, Gentleman, Mercenary, Navvie, Preacher and Thug. Each comes with different strengths across movement, stamina, intelligence and weapon use. Two characters enter the campaign together. In two-player games, each person controls one. Solo players get a computer-controlled partner.

Shooting is only part of the job

The original game runs across 16 levels split into four main areas. Clearing enemies is only one part of progress. Players search maps for keys, activate nodes, collect cash and find the route to each exit. Money feeds into character upgrades between stages. Weapons can improve, character statistics can rise, and equipment gives each run a little more structure than a straight arcade shooter.

The partner system matters too. Solo play keeps the two-character setup rather than stripping the second mercenary away. Your computer-controlled partner follows, fights and helps with enemy pressure, preserving the paired design used in multiplayer. It gives The Chaos Engine a rhythm of its own. Move, shoot, search, collect, upgrade, repeat.

The first stage is only the start

Chaos Engine Next remains early in development. The current release doesn’t pretend to be a finished edition, and plenty of work remains before it can match the scale of the 1993 game. What’s here already gives a clear sense of direction. The overhead movement works. Character selection is present. Enemies, keys and nodes behave as expected, and the scrolling map shows why the ZX Spectrum Next is a practical home for a conversion like this.

For now, Chaos Engine Next is a playable first chapter rather than a complete remake. Its opening level puts the main systems in place and leaves the larger task ahead: turning one working stage into the full Chaos Engine experience on Spectrum Next hardware.

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A 16-bit shooter on a modern Spectrum

How The Chaos Engine began

Shooting is only part of the job

The first stage is only the start

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