Review Date: January 8, 2021
Release Date: December 25, 1979 (the date is a guess based on a Gamasutra article)
Platform: Atari 2600
Genre: Uh, Adventure, perhaps?
Anecdotes: This is a game I came up with while doing research for this review project. It sounded interesting and it seems to take console gaming in a direction it had not gone yet. This is the first game I’ve done this year that didn’t have an arcade style, and it also features a method of continuation.
Description: You control a square that camouflages itself by coloring itself after the walls in the room. You roam around, grabbing objects and using them to advance to new areas of the game. The idea is to bring the Enchanted Chalice back to the your starting point.
Positives: The game has some depth and appears like some effort was put in. You can move objects around, use keys, and slay dragons. While confusing, the layout is fixed, so knowing where to go becomes a valuable skill. Being able to carry around a magnet is a nice touch, but you can only carry one object at a time.
Negatives: I start the game and grab a yellow key. Before I figured out it was automatic, it got partially obscured in a wall. They’re the same color, so the key was tough to see. Later, I got a black key, but “walked” into an arrow I left sitting around. The game switched me to the arrow and the black key got stuck in the wall. I couldn’t get it out, so it was game over for me. (Edit: I did complete variation 1 on the second try.)
Grade: C