Montezuma’s Revenge was first wreaked way back in 1984, when the original game was released for a number of 8-bit home computers and consoles.
And as we previously reported, in celebration of the original game’s 40th anniversary, Montezuma’s Revenge is now being wreaked on modern formats, in the form of the new Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition, which has been developed by Normal Distribution and Eastasiasoft, and published by indie retro publisher Eastasiasoft, who have released this new remake of the game for PC, PlayStation 4&5, Nintendo Switch,and Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S (version tested) today (December 10th, 2025).
This new 40th anniversary edition of Montezuma’s Revenge is a lovingly recreated port of the original game, with very few bells and whistles added. Indeed, the gameplay remains identical to the 8-bit original, making playing Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition a true retro gaming experience. Luckily, that original game was brilliantly designed, and its flip-screen platforming still plays as well today as it did back in 1984.
Montezuma’s Revenge involves you exploring the fiendishly designed caverns of the tomb of Montezuma, in order to collect the valuable jewels scattered throughout. To do this, you’ll also have to collect keys in order to access locked away areas of the tomb, so conquering Montezuma’s tomb will require a combination of of puzzle solving and pixel perfect jumping, and it’s fair to say that old Montezuma isn’t best pleased about your raid on his caverns, so he’s set some fiendish traps and added with some genuinely creepy beasties to try to prevent you from accomplishing your quest, and he delivers stark warnings to you throughout the game, advising you to leave, as well as sending gleefully sadistic messages to you upon your demise!
Being a 40-year-old game, inevitably Montezuma’s Revenge is firmly on the tough side, and it can be rather unforgiving, with even seemingly minor falls resulting in your instant demise, though it never feels unfair, which makes getting that bit further an addictive endeavor. And while there are three difficulty levels to choose from, all seem to be variations on “hard”! However, the game does offer one concession to modern quality of life, with the option to extend your game should you perish (which you will!)
That’s not to say that nothing at all has been updated in Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition. The game opens with a very modern, and very charming 3D animation. Which sets the scene for the game perfectly. And upon starting the game, tyou can now choose from two different adventurers to take on the quest, with the original game’s protagonist Panama Joe now replaced by two rather more local adventures in the forms of Pedro and Rosita. The game’s graphics are also in a charmingly modern 2.5D style, as opposed to the strictly 8-bit original. However, the new graphics suit the game perfectly, and along with the game’s soundtrack, the new visuals help create an atmosphere in which danger seems to permeate the air around every corner. One feature that would have been nice to have had would have been the option to switch between modern and retro visuals, but sadly only the modern visuals are on offer. That said, this is a minor omission, and chances are you’d usually want to play the game with its gorgeous new modern visuals anyway.
Overall, Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition is a lovingly crafted recreation of the original Montezuma’s Revenge, creating what will surely be recognized as the definitive version of the game. Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition has no doubt benefitted from being overseen by the original game’s creator, Robert Jaeger.
Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition is certainly a well presented package, which while not delving as deep as Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master series, does offer the chance to explore a little of the game’s history, which is a nice touch, and in all honesty, not every game is historically significant enough for the full-on Gold Master treatment anyway, and Montezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition’s potted history of the game is enough in this case.
Playing Montezuma’s Revenge today, it’s easy to see how the gamers of 40 years ago would have found its intricately designed blend of puzzling and platforming very impressive indeed, and thankfully, it still holds up 40 years on!
Monetezuma’s Revenge 40th Anniversary Edition is a fitting tribute to one of the greats of the early 8-bit era, and it’s well worth exploring for any fans of the original game, or for anyone interested in the history of platform games generally. But it’s more than just an interesting historical artefact, Montezuma’s Revenge remains a perfectly playable game in its own right 40 years on! Not bad for a game named after a culturally inappropriate euphemism for diarrhoea!
