Imagine a game so Polish that even its title screen kept the entire English-speaking world out for 29 years. That’s the story of Blaster! — and as of Friday, it’s finally over.
TopWare Interactive has brought back Blaster!, the 1997 Defender-style side-scrolling shooter from Poland’s Metropolis Software House, on Steam and GOG. Known in its homeland as Katharsis, it’s one of the oldest PC games ever developed in Poland — and until this week it had never received official English-language support. According to The Daily Game News, that language barrier is precisely why it stayed obscure outside Poland. Hard to argue: the original menu offered “START GRY” and “KONIEC GRY,” and most of us just backed away slowly.
This is a restoration, not a remake — and thank goodness for that. TopWare promises the 1997 gameplay survives intact: 20 levels across five stages, alternating between underwater combat, where you escort the Super Bomb toward its target, and deep-space dogfights. Each stage closes with a 3D Mega-Boss battle that shifts the perspective and controls entirely. And the weapon system is a treat: stronger guns draw from a shared energy reserve, so if you go wild with the Homing Torpedoes, the Eagle quietly drops you back to the basic laser. As the Steam page puts it, it’s not just about how fast you shoot — it’s when, and with what. I love a shooter that punishes my trigger finger.
Players can switch between Original and Enhanced cutscenes and sound effects in the launcher, and the new edition adds two bonus levels plus an extra skin for the Eagle. There’s also a Digital Deluxe upgrade with more skins, music tracks, and wallpapers, plus a remastered soundtrack for the full spread.
The pedigree here is quietly wild. The team was led by Adrian Chmielarz, and CD Projekt handled the Polish release — yes, that CD Projekt. Metropolis itself was bought by CD Projekt in 2008 and shuttered a year later, according to The Daily Game News, which makes this re-release a small act of preservation: nearly three decades on, TopWare reconnecting with its own publishing history.
The price is around $8 US — roughly $11 CAD — with a 40% launch discount running on both Steam and GOG. For a piece of Polish PC gaming history, that’s an easy yes from me.
Check out the official trailer below:
Sources: TopWare Interactive’s announcement (via Games Press), The Daily Game News, Wikipedia, and MobyGames.