by Almir Osmanović
◆ For years now, the homebrew scene has been proving that the Sinclair ZX Spectrum isn’t just a relic of the past, but a machine capable of delivering incredible experiences even in 2026. One of the prime examples is The Rivenor Relic, the latest title from talented Spanish developer Jose L. García, better known as EdD. Following the major success of The Mijadore Vase and The Mijadore 2 – The Key, EdD is back on the scene with an even more ambitious project that pushes the boundaries of what the popular MPAGD Tool can do.
In The Rivenor Relic, you step into the shoes of Avril Steel, a fearless explorer. One day, while reading the news in The World Panic Post, Avril learns that a secret, hidden Tibetan temple has been exposed due to climate change and melting ice, prompting her to set off and investigate. Her journey takes her to the world’s highest and most mysterious mountain, Mount Everest. Deep beneath the eternal ice lies an ancient temple holding the legendary Rívenor relic, which guards the four “Keys Of Chaos”. The developer managed to create a genuine sense of claustrophobia, mystery, and constant danger as you explore the icy corridors of this ancient temple. The Rivenor Relic is a 2D action-adventure platformer where your main objective is navigating a complex labyrinth of rooms, dodging deadly traps, battling enemies, and solving puzzles to find the keys and progress.
The game introduces several features that aren’t exactly typical for the platformers on the ZX Spectrum. Avril can grab onto vertical surfaces and climb ; jumps aren’t just a matter of pressing a button, you have to carefully time your momentum and takeoff point ; finding hidden passages requires keen observation of every single screen. On the other hand, the level design is top-notch, with each room crafted as a mini-puzzle, which brings us to what will surely divide players: the game’s difficulty. The gameplay is extremely challenging, and the controls are super sensitive, meaning even the smallest mistake will cost you a life. My advice is to play exclusively on NORMAL mode. An interesting touch worth mentioning is the skull on the very first screen, if you pick it up, the game switches the difficulty straight into HORROR mode. Give it a try, it’s pretty neat.
One of the biggest issues the ZX Spectrum faced throughout its history was attribute clash, a limitation where each 8×8 pixel block could only display two colors, causing visual interference whenever two objects occupied the same block. EdD did a fantastic job minimizing this issue. The graphics are vibrant, colorful, and packed with detail. The temple isn’t monochrome and gray, each area features its own distinct color palette and details so it never feels visually repetitive. The pixel art is top-tier, ranging from Avril’s gorgeous sprites to the fantastic design of the enemies and traps. The use of the MPAGD Tool is so well optimized that the game runs smoothly without any slowdown, which is a frequent issue in more complex homebrew titles. Since the game was developed exclusively for the ZX Spectrum 128K, the developer took full advantage of the AY-3-8912 sound chip.
◆ The music is catchy and matches the pace of the game. The tunes fit the game’s adventurous tone perfectly, giving you an extra boost of energy as you try to get through one of the many challenging rooms. On the other hand, sound effects are crisp, well-defined, and never get annoying.
◆ The Rivenor Relic isn’t just another homebrew title, it’s a complete, exceptionally well-designed game that proves you can still pack great gameplay, nice graphics, and catchy music into just 128 kilobytes.
The game is available as a digital download and can be downloaded completely for free :
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