Space Station Silicon Valley is a mission-based puzzle platformer where you reanimate the corpses of dead animals (don’t worry, they’re all robots). It was developed by DMA design (makers of Lemmings, GTA and Body Harvest) and is an immense amount of fun. The game did ship with a bug that meant that you couldn’t pick up one of the collectables, but I played a version that had been patched by fans that fixes the issue.

You play as Evo, a robot that loses its body as he and his hero-for-hire partner crash into a mysterious station that’s on a course for Earth. Evo ends up as just a chip, but discovers that he can take over the bodies of deceased animal robots.

In each level, you must complete multiple objectives, usually done by killing the animals, taking over their bodies and using their various abilities to complete what you need. It all sounds horrific and disturbing when trying to explain it, but the game manages to be incredibly charming throughout this, with happy music that is played through the station speakers (which you can destroy to shut them up).

Discovering how each animal moves and how to use them is one of the main things I love about Space Station Silicon Valley. They all have different kinds of movement – some are like a typical platformer, others are like cars and some can only move when jumping – and the powers have various uses that aren’t just needed to solve the puzzles of the level, but to find all the collectables. This concept was also a large part of Super Mario Odyssey, so my like for this is probably why I loved that, too.

Each level has 15 power cells hidden in it to find, some are in plain view, others are hidden extremely well. A few of them can be quite frustrating to get to, such as some high up ones requiring using a vulture’s awful flight to get there. The game’s dreadful camera also doesn’t help matters, as you can never get a good look around and the cameral often likes looking downwards.

The other kind of collectable is a hidden trophy in each level, which is found by doing a secret objective. Sometimes these are obvious, such as the second level having a racetrack, and often killing everything will yield results, while others are very tricky, such as listing to penguins make sound and recreating it on a keyboard (being tone-deaf, I looked that one up).

Still, even with these annoying ones, it was a joy to collect everything. I’m not 100% completing every N64 game, but this one was one where I wanted to do so.

At the end of each of the four regions, you’ll encounter a level where you find a piece of Evo’s original body. These are quite different to the main gameplay, featuring different events. For example the second area ends with a Jetski-like race called Walrace 64 where you have to win a race as a robotic walrus boat.

Once all these are done, the final mission is defending Earth against invading robots, but unfortunately is probably the weakest level of the game. Still, that slight downer is just the end of a wonderful experience.

While the difficulty is more of a rollercoaster than a curve, you do get used to some of the techniques the game uses, and the wild and wacky robot animals are always an absolute joy to discover – each time you see a new one, you’re eager to kill it and give it a spin.

Space Space Station Silicon valley is a wonderful platformer and one I think more people should try out.

An extremely unique game with cute visuals and a very old-school design sensibility that proves frustrating at times and exciting at others. You really have to think and plan your strategies based on trial and error and you're forced to explore the areas properly as if you were actually there. The adorable sound effects and creature designs betray the difficulty of this thing and I think savestates are permitted here to at least remove the busywork from progressing through some long, easy challenges just to get another crack at the one that kills you in seconds.

I really adore this game even if I kind of hate playing it. They really packed in so much using this concept and bespoke engine to squeeze as much as they could out if it. Yet the ceiling is still the limit and I would have loved to see an expanded sequel. One of the few games I feel would have made for a really fun open world game, imagine possessing all the different creatures to traverse certain biomes easier or attack certain enemies. Alas, I doubt Take Two will ever allow for this to be rereleased or licensed out in any format, and DMA Design will forever be cursed to the GTA mines.

Another hidden gem on the N64. This mission-based platformers is pretty engrossing. You play as this electronic spider that can possess other electronic animals on this planet. Each level throws you into a space where you have to complete multiple objectives. I love the humour; it's dry, witty, and super British. My favourite animals to control are the vultures, elephants, laughing hyenas, and penguins. Best world is probably the snow world, but the jungle has some great puzzle solving as well. The final world, the desert, is the weakest and at this point the gameplay is less enjoyable. The level design in the desert feels rushed and less inspired than the rest of the game. The bonus stages are horrendous. Screw that goddamn flying level and the shooting gallery. Those levels are true patience-testers. I like the music and I love how it's diegetic. There are speakers throughout the stages, so you know where the music is coming from. I love the collect-a-thon aspect, particularly figuring out how to get the trophies. The bonus level for collecting all the trophies is underwhelming though. Highly recommend playing this quirky game if you're into platformers.

Best Parts:
• Most of the snow levels
• The mission where you destroy all the speakers
• King Rat mission
• The design of the sheep

Replay It? - Yes

Silly, free-form puzzle-platforming fun.

Each level is its own mini-sandbox with a bunch of characters and elements scattered around for you to make do with, but there's more careful design at work than it might appear at first. The progression of areas as well as the construction of the levels themselves is good at gradually training you in without the need for any real explanation, and although there's plenty of trial-and-error-type stuff, that seems by design as well, and the punishment for failure (starting the small level over) is never harsh enough to make that too annoying. When you get stuck, you'll get what they're going for eventually if you keep at it, or just stumble onto the conclusion while messing around and having fun. Those moments feel great.

There is plenty of, um, "distinct British humor" to ... enjoy in here, but thankfully the level progression is more than enough reward in itself - it's always fun to see what kind of new playground is up next.

There's tons of jank befitting its loosey-goosey nature, and it's about exactly as ugly as you would expect a game of this - let's say provenance - to be, but it's a goofy good time on your N64!

To me personally this is THE hidden gem of the N64. The game is a wonky, creative, unexpected and funny experience that’s hard to forget. As a walking microchip you take control of various robotic animals that range from rocket shooting dogs to spring powered sheep. And in doing so you try to fulfill the objectives of each level. I think what I found most fascinating about this game though, is its secret objective in every level. There is no help in what to do, but exploring the level to the fullest and trying to be creative is heavily rewarded.

The controls are somewhat odd sometimes, the graphics only mediocre, there are some weird difficulty spikes, in other words: the game is far from being perfect. But it is simply good fun, the music is a banger, and you gotta love the animals bopping their heads to the music!

Most N64 “hidden gems” are pretty well known at this point, but Space Station Silicon Valley is still one of the best examples of the phrase.

SSSV operates around the GTA-esque theme of hijacking different robot animals, which range from basic penguins to hyena-motorcycle hybrids. In addition to making each level and mission feel unique with the different abilities and powers of each creature, it adds an extra layer of strategy to every mission. Instead of simply pushing a block on a switch or hitting a button, you have to consider which animal is best for moving and fighting through a given area, along with carefully positioning the robots for ease of swapping control between them. The game’s glitchy physics can complicate some missions, but most of the bugs can actually be used to the player’s advantage.

The game also stands out from other N64 titles with its unique graphics and sound design. SSSV’s cartoonish visual style has aged better than nearly any other N64 game, with sharp character models that make the most of low-poly limitations. Despite the simplicity, each robot animal stands out with their own distinctive shape and color scheme. Another great touch is the diegetic music, controlled by the numerous speakers throughout the levels. The volume naturally fluctuates as the player gets closer to the in-game source of the sound, and any noise can even be silenced by destroying the amps. Between a unique visual style and clever use of sound, SSSV is a surprisingly immersive experience.

Since there isn’t an in-game map or guide to thoroughly explain how all the animals and levels work, you’d definitely be justified in using a walkthrough for the weirder puzzles (especially since a cheat code is required for 100% collection). This is still the first game I’d recommend someone try out if they want to dig into the more obscure sections of the Nintendo 64 library.