Hunter, in Darkness

I've been pot-holing and had a horrendous time. Thankyou Andrew Plotkin for helping relive my nightmare from the safety of my own home.

And he really does describe the claustrophobic surroundings masterfully. It is essentially a cave-crawl, but this time the cave is a cave you really could imagine. It seems like either he's done his research or has had first-hand experience of caving.

There are no compass directions. The player navigates by 'going forward', 'entering left tunnel', etc... I thought I wouldn't like this aspect of the game but it is implemented very well and suits the scenario perfectly, lending the atmosphere a sense of disorientation.

I enjoy puzzles in my games, but I'm often impatient and resort to hints. As soon as I've looked at my first hint I lose interest. I'm pleased to say I only needed to look at a walkthrough after completion, just to check that I had in fact been successful (I had). It gave me a real sense of achievement. The puzzles were fair, but not too easy and well thought out. I would personally recommend this to beginner players and IF veterans.

You will die often, so save often. Dying itself is fun and can help point you towards an eventual solution. The game is well implemented so there are often lots of opportunities to examine your surroundings, not just to complete the game but to enjoy the rich descriptive environments. So don't give up too easily if you get stuck (literally and metaphorically).

There are some great set pieces and surprises round the corners. Yet it is the consistent desperate atmosphere throughout that gives the game 5 stars from me.

**Plotkin - Hunter, in Darkness**

(Spoiler - click to show)I'm old enough for "Hunt the Wumpus" to have more personal resonance for me than for many, but young enough that all I have is resonance— any memories of having played the original game provide only a faded backdrop to my sharp, clear impressions of this thematic, multisensory heir.

This is a short, simple game— almost tiny, with only a few puzzles. The prose is well-written, and both environment and puzzles are traditional in inspiration, but mockingly, fiendishly original in execution. As a once-again newcomer to this genre, I required guidance from the walkthrough to proceed on more than one occasion... and again, when I replayed the game. Simple does not imply easy.

My choice for a single word to describe this creation: subversive. Immersive as well, of course, but subversive— in construction, climax, and resolution.

Highly recommended.

I died more times than I can count playing Hunter, in Darkness, but I loved every second of it. In a masochistic sort of way, perhaps. This is one of the most claustrophobic, terror-inducing titles I've encountered - an achievement, considering it's based on (Spoiler - click to show)Hunt The Wumpus. The puzzles all come logically, and even better, the various deaths arrive with a brutal, no-nonsense finality that encourages you to try a different tack, rather than frustrating you with that feeling of being so close and so far. This is a serious story, not of adventure, but of survival, unsympathetic and unadulterated.