Dracula - ZX Spectrum Next Illustrated Edition
A downloadable game
DRACULA — ILLUSTRATED EDITION
A gothic interactive adventure for the ZX Spectrum Next, inspired by Bram Stoker's classic novel.
Enter a world of dark villages, ancient castles, mysterious characters and hidden dangers. Explore, talk, examine and solve puzzles using a text parser designed to understand natural commands and guide you through the adventure.
VERSION 1.1 — SEPTEMBER 2026
Version 1.1 fixes the game save system. Progress can now be saved directly to the SD card using SAVE or SAVE "NAME", and restored with LOAD or LOAD "NAME".
Saving may take 4–5 seconds, during which the game may appear to be frozen.
THE ZX SPECTRUM NEXT EXPERIENCE
This edition has been specifically created for the ZX Spectrum Next, taking advantage of its capabilities to bring the Illustrated Edition to the platform.
The game is a complete Illustrated Edition, with colour illustrations accompanying the adventure as you move from room to room.
The picture data is included with the game and is accessed from the SD card while the game is running under NextZXOS.
A standard 1 MB ZX Spectrum Next is sufficient to run the complete game.
The game can be played on real ZX Spectrum Next hardware or with a compatible emulator.
IMPORTANT
The game must be started from the NextZXOS browser.
Do not launch the .nex file directly as a snapshot and do not use an emulator's direct-file or fast-boot option.
The game needs NextZXOS and access to the SD card filesystem to load its picture data. If the game is launched incorrectly, it will still start, but the picture band will remain empty.
THE ADVENTURE
Explore the world, interact with its inhabitants, discover clues and work out what to do next.
There is no predefined list of actions you must follow. You communicate with the game by typing commands and experimenting with different ways of interacting with the world.
The adventure also unfolds through time, with events and characters changing as the story progresses.
Type commands using the keyboard to move, examine objects, interact with characters, solve puzzles and explore the world.
The game includes a parser designed specifically for Dracula, with support for a wide range of natural commands and synonyms.
ILLUSTRATED EDITION
The illustrations are an integral part of the adventure.
The picture is displayed in the top band of the screen, with the text below it. When a new picture is displayed, press a key to continue reading.
The illustrations can also be switched off and on during the game:
IMAGES OFF — hide the picture IMAGES ON — show the picture again
The illustrations use the ZX Spectrum's colour capabilities to create the distinctive visual style of the Illustrated Edition.
HINTS BOOK
Stuck on a puzzle?
The Dracula — Illustrated Edition Hints Book provides progressive hints for the game's puzzles, allowing you to get help without immediately revealing the solution.
The Hints Book is designed for the different versions of Dracula — Illustrated Edition, including the ZX Spectrum Next version.
It is available separately on itch.io.
Dracula — Illustrated Edition Hints Book
PRESS & COMMUNITY
Dracula — Illustrated Edition has been featured by websites and communities dedicated to classic and retro computing.
“The effect is simply spectacular, with an atmosphere that suits a work like Dracula.”
— Planeta Sinclair
Featured by
El Mundo del Spectrum Planeta Sinclair Vintage is the New Old Spectrum & Retro News PDRoms
Also listed on
IFDB — Interactive Fiction Database
Community
Reddit — r/zxspectrum
Q&A — BEHIND DRACULA
Here are some of the questions people have asked me about the game and its development.
What inspired the style of Dracula?
I was strongly inspired by the Melbourne House adventures of the 1980s, especially The Hobbit. I wanted to capture some of that feeling while creating my own adventure and visual style.
Why are the illustrations designed in this style?
I wanted to create a visual style that would fit the atmosphere of Dracula while remaining faithful to the spirit and limitations of classic home computer adventures.
The illustrations are an integral part of the game and accompany the player throughout the adventure.
Why did you create this edition of Dracula?
The original game was written for the ZX Spectrum 48K, so memory was a major limitation.
This edition keeps the original story and core gameplay while expanding the adventure with additional puzzles, interactions and illustrated scenes.
The ZX Spectrum Next version brings the Illustrated Edition to a more powerful version of the Spectrum while retaining the classic text-adventure experience.
Did you use DAAD, PAWS or another adventure engine?
No. The parser and the underlying adventure engine were written from scratch specifically for Dracula.
I was inspired by the classic Melbourne House adventures of the 1980s, especially The Hobbit, but the parser, game engine and gameplay were developed specifically for this project.
What was your development setup in the 1980s?
It was very basic: a 48K ZX Spectrum, a colour TV and cassette tape.
I wrote the code directly on the Spectrum and saved my work on tape. Those were definitely different times!
What did you do in the 1980s?
I started writing ZX Spectrum games in the 1980s under the DJSoft label.
Several of my games were published in Italy through Load'n'Run magazine.
After many years away from Spectrum development, Dracula became my way of returning to where I started.
Can I play it on a real ZX Spectrum Next?
Yes.
The game is designed to run on a real ZX Spectrum Next with a standard 1 MB configuration and an SD card with NextZXOS installed.
The game must be launched through the NextZXOS browser so that it can access its picture data.
Can I play it on an emulator?
Yes.
The package includes a Windows launcher for ZEsarUX.
The game can also be configured manually for ZEsarUX on macOS and Linux, and for CSpect.
In all cases, the game must be started from the NextZXOS browser rather than launched directly as a snapshot.
INCLUDED
Full Edition
Dracula — Illustrated Edition for ZX Spectrum Next
- Complete game
- Full colour illustrations
- ZX Spectrum Next
.nexgame file - Windows launcher for ZEsarUX
prepare-card.ps1helper script- Instructions for real hardware and emulators
Free Demo
A playable demo of the adventure is available free of charge.
Hints Book
The Dracula — Illustrated Edition Hints Book is available separately.
It provides progressive hints for the game's puzzles, helping you continue your adventure without immediately revealing the solutions.
Dracula — Illustrated Edition Hints Book
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
ZX Spectrum Next
- ZX Spectrum Next
- 1 MB RAM
- System SD card
- NextZXOS
The complete game is included in the .nex file.
The game accesses its picture data through the SD card while running under NextZXOS.
Windows
For ZEsarUX:
- Windows PC
- ZEsarUX
- The NextZXOS SD image supplied with ZEsarUX
The included Dracula.bat prepares a private copy of the SD image and launches the game through the NextZXOS browser.
macOS / Linux
ZEsarUX can be configured manually using a NextZXOS SD image.
CSpect
CSpect can also be used with a NextZXOS SD image and the appropriate NextZXOS ROM files.
DRACULA — ILLUSTRATED EDITION
Version 1.0 — 2026
Made in Italy by DJSoft
Created by G. B. Aicardi
MORE INFORMATION
Dracula — Illustrated Edition is available in versions for several classic and modern platforms.
Visit the DJSoft itch.io page to discover the other editions of the game, the Hints Book and future releases.
Dracula — Illustrated Edition Hints Book
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $2.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- Dracula — Illustrated Edition: Version 1.14 days ago
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Hey try my games Shooter also a Platformer, any feedback will be awsome. https://pokersnake189.itch.io/
Hey , I came across your game and wanted to suggest something that could be valuable for the project: a dedicated Discord community.
Instead of relying only on Steam or social media, Discord gives you a direct space where interested players can follow development, get updates, share feedback, see behind-the-scenes content, and connect with other players.
I can help you set up and structure the server professionally, including the channels, roles, welcome flow, rules, announcements, feedback sections, and community setup so it feels like an actual home for your game rather than just another social account.
The goal is to start building a community around the game before launch, so you're not starting from zero when the game is ready.
If you'd like, I can show you how I'd structure the Discord specifically for your game.
Un versión en Español por favor... Gracias.
¡Para el 128K ya lo hay, y para el Next llegará muy pronto!
Looks great!
Is "Save" supposed to work?
I tried the game on my physical KS2 Next, making sure to load from the Browser as per the readme, and made a savegame in the adventure while exploring the first few locations, but after exiting and restarting, am back to scratch and the game says no savegame found when trying to "load".
I'm pretty sure my SD card is mounted read/write in the Next.
Hi! You are right, the game was not being saved on the SD. I have fixed the bug now and released a new version. Thank you very much for pointing this out!
I was finally able to test that it works, thanks!
Noticing one other thing: sometimes when the time runs out, it gives me back a completion percentage and sometimes not, before the restart message, (I've seen 2% and 50%) but I haven't seen enough endings yet to determine if there's a pattern to it.
I purchased your game to see if I could get it, to run Android somehow, after a bit of tinkering, it ran well in CSpect v3.3.1.0 inside Bannerhub, a version of Gamehub.
But of course near impossible to play, as need keyboard LOL
That’s amazing Paul! I’m intrigued as I think you should be able to play on Android if you complete the setup with a bluetooth keyboard!
That's very true, i think i have a Bluetooth keyboard somewhere.
Or if i can be bothered, place all of the alphabet on the bottom of the screen.
So i can type in commands.
That should work.
Great!!