517: From Zzap!64 to Thalamus: How a C64 Legend Came Back - The Retro Hour EP517

This week we’re catching up with Andy Robert of the legendary Thalamus Software, for a chat about one of the most fascinating careers of the 8-bit era. From discovering computers via library games and typing in listings, to writing for Zzap!64 and Commodore Format, Andy shares incredible stories from the golden age of the Commodore 64. We dig into Creatures, Mayhem in Monsterland and that infamous 100% review score, the realities of magazine bias, late-night map drawing, and the risks of going indie before “indie” was a thing. Plus, we fast-forward to the modern Thalamus revival, deluxe boxed releases, Amiga hits like Roguecraft, and why nostalgia still needs to be done properly. Thalamus: Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories 41:26 - Andy Roberts Thalamus Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books - Go to or use code RETROHOUR at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Leeds Gaming Market: Check out PCBWay at for all your PCB needs We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon: Join our Discord channel: Website: Facebook: X: Instagram: Bluesky: Twitch: Show notes Sonic R Platformer Mod: Lemmings Reloaded On C64: Lost Beavis & Butt-Head Game: The Last Of Us Demake: Gamebox For Classic Mac:

You can listen to 517: From Zzap!64 to Thalamus: How a C64 Legend Came Back - The Retro Hour EP517 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

517: From Zzap!64 to Thalamus: How a C64 Legend Came Back - The Retro Hour EP517 is an episode from The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) by The Retro Hour.

This episode is 113:13 long.

This episode was published on Feb 6, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.