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Miguetelo has no less than four games under his belt with 2017's Space Junk being one of the more recent. Space Junk saw you flying your spaceship around maze-like environments destroying the space junk (of course) all the while avoiding the local aliens. Robots Rumble keeps with the space theme but that is the only similarity it has as it's a very different game indeed.

The robots that have taken over day to day life as we know it, have malfunctioned and need disposing of. It is your job to visit the four problematic planets with your industrial strength magnets to guide these broken robots into their final resting place; a vat of lava. Nothing is going to be that straightforward in a video game though is it? As you guide the robot downwards you will encounter some spiky green kryptonite, bouncing laser beams and other fully functional robots. All of these must be avoided lest you lose your robot prematurely.

Each of the four planets has six screens to navigate with the ultimate objective to exit at the bottom. The controls for this game are fairly unique I should imagine with Q and A moving the left magnet up and down while the right magnet is moved with P and L. I didn't even get confused; I just forgot to move the magnets out of the way occasionally. By use of the magnet the robot will only move left and right (whichever way it's being pulled of course) but there are lifter beams to aid you in going up and gravity to aid you in going down when you fall from an edge. Over later screens you'll even come across bricks which you have to push into a gap to enable you to cross it. There are also a handful of bombs which will destroy other robots and even the laser beams. You'll come across a couple of teleporters on your travels adding some coolness to the gameplay. And what platform game would be complete without having a part of the floor that falls away when you stand on it? Well this one wouldn't be which is why they're in there as well.

You're still not getting through this that easily though. Even though the robots are knackered and you're using magnets to move them, they still seem to need battery power to help them to move. Maybe it's the magnets that need the batteries (which would make more sense) but it's the robot that perishes when the energy depletes. Either way it's best to keep an eye on that energy gauge to the right of the screen because if it runs out you can't get your bot to the lava. But don't be disheartened, there are batteries scattered occasionally through the levels to give you that extra charge needed to get to the end. I would've taken Duracells myself (other battery brands are available). Each screen will need you to plan ahead as there are a few points of no return which can be a tad irritating when you're down to your last life. Also be sure to watch where those magnets go as you may have left it in place from a previous move which will sometimes lead to the robot being pulled onto kryptonite on the next move.

By playing in 128k you get the music as well as the sounds. There's three pieces in total; one for the title screen and two that alternate between the levels. The level 1 and 3 music is my favourite. A nice upbeat little tune there. As with many (all) Spectrum games that dreaded colour clash is present in spades. It doesn't affect the gameplay one bit; it affects all 8 of them (haha). Seriously though it only has an effect on the appearance. The platforms appear to be held up by scraggy wires and when the bot passes by them it takes on the colour from that. Having said that, after using a bomb to take out an enemy and falling to the space left behind, the robot's body disappeared, presumably behind the black left behind by the vanquished enemy.

Migueleto says that this game was a trial of control method but rather than have it sit gathering dust on his hard drive he released it to the public. I'm glad he did because I don't recall ever seeing a game like this before so it's a nice treat to play something a bit different.

The concept of the game is a good one and it wasn't too long to get boring. I think if it was turned into a longer game using this control mechanic that more elements like conveyor belts for example would need to be added as you progress through the game to keep it interesting. Or even more complex rooms to navigate with switches and levers. All the music is good but I take preference to the first and third planet's tune. There's a nice level of detail in the graphics and it felt obvious what I should and shouldn't touch.

Being really nit-picky here I think some of the screens were slightly out of order in terms of difficulty rather than being progressive.

A fun little brain teaser with a novel concept for controlling the character. Easy to pick up and play but it still takes a bit of thought to get through to the end. I hope that Miguetelo expands on this idea one day with an entirely new game or even a sequel to this one.