The Devil Rides In
The clock strikes thirteen. Stay inside a fragile magic circle while demons and the Angel of Death close in: a modern reimagining of a 1983 ZX Spectrum shoot-'em-up, its code typed by Claude.
Links go to the official store or developer page. Last verified Nov 8, 2026.
Rights holder / original work: The Devil Rides In (ZX Spectrum, 1983; D.J. Abrahams / Carnell Software Ltd)
A reimagining of the 1983 ZX Spectrum game The Devil Rides In by D.J. Abrahams, published by Carnell Software Ltd, using its title and premise; the developer says the original was taken apart from its tape file and its speeds and rules measured in an emulator. The page lists new glow, bloom and particle effects and synthesised sound. The page credits the original's author and publisher but mentions no licence or permission from the rights holders. (itch.io)
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Where to play
Every platform this game is on. Links are checked against official sources; we never host or mirror games.
- View demo on itch.ioitch.ioDemo · Playtest build (itch.io status: Released)Free
Plays in the browser on itch.io. No download.
Browser (no download) · Desktop · Official link verified Nov 3, 2026.
About The Devil Rides In
The Devil Rides In is a modern reimagining of the 1983 ZX Spectrum shoot-'em-up of the same name by D.J. Abrahams for Carnell Software. You stand alone inside a magic circle while ghosts, spiders, little devils, flying demons and the Angel of Death close in, and you fire in eight directions to hold them off; step outside the circle and you are dragged to hell. Compared with the original, the circle is fragile: skulls chew holes in it, missiles slip through the gaps and it only partly heals. Little devils burst into homing missiles if they are not shot before their fuses run out, flying demons spit purple circle-eaters, and the Angel of Death sweeps round the screen and grows more erratic each night. There are five starting nights, each with more enemies, bolder attacks and more points, new glow, bloom and particle effects, synthesised sound, an attract mode and a ten-place high-score table with initials. It plays with keyboard, gamepad or mouse. The developer, TCKSOFT, writes that it was made with an AI coding assistant, Claude, but not by typing “make me a game”: the original was taken apart from its tape file, its speeds and rules were measured in an emulator, and every stage was rebuilt and refined over many rounds of play and feedback. “The design decisions are mine. The AI did the typing.” A playtest build is free in the browser on itch.io, with a Windows download.
How it was built
Partially verifiedThe itch.io page carries a “Vibe coding warning: this game was made with an AI coding assistant (Claude).” It says the game did not come from typing “make me a game”: the original was taken apart from its tape file, its speeds and rules were measured in an emulator, and every stage was then rebuilt and refined over many rounds of play and feedback, covering firing rates, hitboxes, enemy movement, the circle's damage and healing, scoring and progression. “The design decisions are mine. The AI did the typing.” No model or app is named beyond Claude.
A single-file HTML5 build (with a Windows version) rebuilt from the 1983 original: the developer took the game apart from its tape file and measured its speeds and rules in an emulator, then had Claude write the new version stage by stage over many rounds of play and feedback. The page lists new glow, bloom and particle effects and synthesised sound. The change log lists four playtest builds, adding an Angel of Death graphics fix, an attract mode and a high-score table.
- Engine / framework
- Not disclosed (HTML5)
- Languages
- Not disclosed
- Team size
- Not disclosed
- Development time
- Not disclosed
- Development cost
- Not disclosed
- AI-written code
- Not disclosed
“The design decisions are mine. The AI did the typing.”Verification notes: Everything here is from the developer's itch.io page, read on 8 Nov 2026: the AI statement, the description of the remake, controls, change log, platforms (HTML5, Windows), the published date (19 Oct 2026, 12:07 UTC) and the credit line “TCKSoft 2026. Based on the 1983 game by D.J. Abrahams, originally published by Carnell Software Ltd.” The page is the only source; no other post by the developer was found, so the developer is known only as TCKSOFT and team size is not recorded. “The AI did the typing” is recorded in words; no percentage is stated. The page calls it a playtest build, although the itch.io status reads Released, so the listing is recorded as a demo. The itch.io AI disclosure ticks AI Assisted, Code, Graphics, Sounds and Text. The browser build is one HTML file with no external scripts other than itch.io's own and no AI service addresses. No licence from the original's rights holders is mentioned (see the IP notice). No rating is shown. English interface. The game was not played.
Development history
Published on itch.io as a playtest build for the browser and Windows.
Developeritch.io
Game performance
Each figure measures something different — concurrent players, owners, downloads and sales are never interchangeable and are never added together. Labels show where each number comes from.
itch.io
Free in the browser; the Windows download (165 kB) is name-your-own-price. The page asks for feedback on difficulty and balance.
Not publicly available: itch.io rating, Gross revenue.
Reviews & rankings
Not yet reviewed by our editors.
Not currently ranked.
Sources
| Source | Type | Published | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Devil Rides In by TCKSOFT itch.io | Store page | Oct 19, 2026 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Official game page (language check) TCKSOFT | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
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