About
Gumshoe is a side-scrolling NES action game that uses the Zapper light gun, in which players shoot obstacles and enemies to help Mr. Stevenson navigate through levels while collecting diamonds. GumshoeNESRecomp is a static recompilation of the NES game Gumshoe for native PC, built as a byproduct of developing the author's separate NESRecomp framework. As of a 2026-05-04 status update it's playable end-to-end — including scoring and Zapper-based input — though the top-left HUD's timer and shot-counter elements have a known cosmetic rendering bug. It runs on Windows, with Linux and macOS also supported.
How it differs from the original
Unlike the original arcade cabinet, this recompilation maps mouse movement and the left mouse button to the NES Zapper light gun (with an on-screen crosshair), and it works by translating the original 6502 machine code to native C/x64 code at build time rather than emulating the original hardware.
Getting started
After downloading and extracting the packaged Windows release, players run the included program and select their own Gumshoe NES ROM file the first time it's launched (the path is remembered afterward). The mouse replaces the original Zapper: moving it aims and the left button fires. Save states can be created and reloaded with dedicated keys, and a turbo/fast-forward hotkey is available.
History
This recompilation was built as a byproduct of developing the author's separate NESRecomp framework, using the game as a testbed for that tool.
Known limitations
- graphics: Top-left HUD elements (timer and shot counter) do not render correctly.
Additional notes
- License note
- Released under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 license; third-party components keep their own separate licenses.
- Known limitation
- Audio is described as basic — APU register writes are captured, but full audio mixing is still work in progress.