Posted on: August 20, 2019

dsparil
Verified ownerGames: 430 Reviews: 4
A serious and worthy take on Zork
On paper, this game is roughly the antithesis of what people generally associate with Zork. The tone is somber and serious although there are few tiny spots of humor. The puzzles are almost all mechanical (and quite good) unlike Return to Zork, Grand Inquisitor or the text games although those do have some puzzles that could be considered precursors. One area may be disturbing to some people, but I found it to be a little on the cheesy side. What Nemesis just nails is the atmosphere and the story. Like many other people have mentioned, the sound design is excellent and is still remarkable today. The game also tells a mature story where that isn't just a euphemism for explicit. It's mostly told in flashbacks and letters, but it's done well with plenty of text and video. It's also interesting in how it expands the setting of the Zork games by giving attention to elements like religion and culture that are not well suited to less serious games. Where this does falter a bit is in the areas that would have been on the last disc. Those are smaller than the introductory area and those on the second disc. There were some difficulties during development, and I think a lack of time might have impacted them as they likely had work started on them last. That shortchanges two of the characters a little bit. Despite that issue, Zork Nemesis still holds up as a fantastic adventure game that pushes forward the setting itself in interesting ways.
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