Although very primitive by today's standards, Akalabeth still works as a dungeon crawler and is especially accessible to younger players if you play the 1998 DOS version. Yes the graphics are basic, the audio is basic and the game is played using the keyboard only but by playing this game, you can see the groundwork that paved the way for later dungeon crawlers, even Diablo. You'll also get your first introduction to the character of Lord British of Ultima fame. Oh and if you want to ramp the difficulty up, make sure you don't play a mage with a magic amulet: it's an overpowered combination!
M.U.L.E. was considered a ground-breaking title for its time thanks to its non-violent, multiplayer gameplay, cute alien animations along with a funky PC Beeper tune. Nowadays, it feels like a dated verison of Monopoly in SPAAAACE. If you want to try a modern alternative to this, try Offworld Trading Company.
For those that haven't grown up on interactive fiction, be warned, as early examples of this genre (i.e. the Zork series) are brutal and unforgiving with many interactive fiction tropes including "dead man walking" scenarios, hidden exits and the occasional need to carefully construct the correct sentence. I can only recommend this to those with a curiosity about early interactive fiction as a genre. Planetfall was my favourite in the bunch thanks to its sci-fi setting and the addition of Floyd the robot (but not by much).
While The Making of Karateka doesn't have every single version of Karateka included, it does have the "holy trinity" of Apple II, C64 and Atari versions, and has many playable prototypes, videos, documents and photos to give you a through understanding of how Jordan Mechner came to creating his breakout 1984 game. Best of all, the 2023 reimagining of the game is top notch and means just about anyone can now experience this early foray into cinematic games on PC.
Basically Zork with a sci-fi flavour and that can be a good thing or bad (depending on how much you like early IF). I'm talking about, items that are impossible to find without randomly searching things, exits that aren't even mentioned, RNGesus moments (which means save scumming is mandatory) and finnicky parser requirements when it comes to certain actions. Otherwise, the sci-fi setting is an enjoyable change from Zork and you've probably heard about Floyd, your robotic sidekick. He's probably one of the first sidekicks in gaming to add emotional heft to a game's plot. If you like IF, I don't need to convince you. You've probably already played this anyhow. For the rest of us, it's fine if you're interested in PC gaming history, but otherwise, a pain without a walkthrough.
Important for historical purposes but the game is a bit rough around the edges being played around four decades later. It's basically Akalabeth's dungeon crawler mini-game combined with a more fleshed out overworld. Can be enjoyed nowadays (if you're cool with 1980s graphics and audio, as well as using a keyboard) as core gameplay is relatively straight forward but figuring out what to do in terms of the overarching plot is a bit tricky without a walkthrough or guide (which I strongly recommend using).
Score – 8/10 (Recommended) Despite only taking two hours to complete, your morbid curiosity will compel you to learn how each member of the cursed Finch family met their untimely demise. Giant Sparrow went to great efforts in making this walking simulator stand out from the competition thanks to creative ways of telling the story as well as a beautiful house to explore.
Batman – The Telltale Series is probably the best version of the Batman story I've experienced in any media: the multiple plot twists, tragic villains you feel sorry for and the exploration of the thin line between good and evil are really what makes the game stand out. To complement the gripping plot, the game has a top-notch soundtrack by Telltale's composer, Jared Emerson-Johnson and there are even some minor tweaks to the gameplay thanks to the new crime scene investigation and attack plan segments. Unfortunately, the game does suffer from what every Telltale adventure I've played since The Walking Dead suffers from which includes laggy animations, lip-synching issues and audio issues. If the game were better polished, it would've received a higher score but even in its current state, I would still recommend it.
I enjoyed The Walking Dead: A New Frontier and not only because Telltale seems to have fixed the laggy animation issues or the fact that Garrus, er, I mean... Brandon Keener is one of the voice actors; the game is packed with plot twists, family drama, a multitude of epilogues and it's a joy seeing Clementine mature into an independent and capable survivor. The only thing I could criticise about the game is that the episodes seem to be slightly shorter than previous The Walking Dead games and despite fixing some animation issues, others remain.
Telltale's take on Guardians of the Galaxy appears to be set in an alternate timeline to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and focuses on the emotional baggage that each of the Guardians carry with them. The game is full of the usual plot twists, unexpected character deaths and ethical dilemmas we've come to expect in Telltale adventures and like the film, the game has its fair share of funny and touching moments in equal measure. The game does suffer from shoddy combat animations though as well as poor lip synching, and I'm not really a fan of the epilogue.
