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Fans of the original Stranded will know the outline of this story. Mooch went to dismantle the bridges between his and Tyche's world as he was suspicious of them. After finishing this task, Mooch's will turned evil and the gaoled Tyche must now escape from Mooch's prison, through a series of increasingly difficult levels in order to return home and join his people in a rebellion against the evil tyrant Mooch.

As in the first game, each level is taken from a bird's-eye point of view. Tyche must navigate his way through, stepping on and destroying every tile to get to the exit. Moving platforms, switches that make new tiles appear and crumbling tiles are the first of many challenges that you will face, with varying layouts as you progress, keeping you entertained and guessing as to what dangers will have to be faced next. For example, the first level is simply an 'S' shaped formation, and in latter stages the tile patterns becomes more conventionally shaped and at first glance appear straightforward. However, upon reaching the middle tiles, Tyche has to toggle some switches, and a degree of quick thinking is required in order to successfully navigate the way to the exit.

Early levels lull you into a false sense of security and control as these are pretty simplistic, being completed with relative ease. This is a rewarding and necessary confidence booster, but as you progress through the game it becomes frustratingly difficult to continue, taking two or more attempts before finding the safe path to the exit. Don't let this put you off. This is a challenging puzzle game that portrays an air of simplicity but provides the gamer with refreshing layouts that soon become maddeningly addictive; you'll want nothing more than to complete each stage without losing a life in order to unlock the next world before you even think about giving it a rest.

Stranded 2.5 loyally emulates the traditions of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, taking you back to the good old days, when games were games and puzzlers made you think. It's easy to master the controls; they are, however, very precise so one wrong move and you could lose a life, hampering your attempts to progress later on. The graphics are basic, yet well animated, clearly defined and brightly coloured, and along with the funky music (for AY equipped machines) it boosts this game's appeal to a wider audience. Though this remains strictly a puzzle game, it's simple, yet challenging, and has addictiveness to keep you entertained for hours.

If you're looking for a game with more action and excitement, this is not for you. It's a retro game that as well as giving you good, clean, fun makes you think, as all well-made productions should. Just don't expect a game mechanic with originality and something that is new and shiny. Overall, it's an enjoyable, challenging experience.