Roguecraft DX (2026)
In early February 2026, a deluxe version of the Amiga game Roguecraft was released, roughly a year and a half after the original. Roguecraft is a retro-inspired, accessible and smooth dungeon role-playing game focused on fighting monsters and collecting gold. The game’s graphics and soundscape made a strong impression on me — even more so in the DX version than in the original release. I am pleased to have new commercial-quality software to play on my A500 Mini. In this blog post I discuss both versions, as they are largely similar, while the improvements introduced in DX will naturally become clear.
Enclosure 3-D (2022)
Following in the wake of Leisure Suit Larry, I was reminded of the 2004 graphical text adventure Enclosure, which uses the same Sierra AGI engine as the original Larry 1. In 2022, Enclosure received an update where the pixels were turned into voxels — resulting in a kind of retro 3D. The change isn’t dramatic but clearly noticeable. The graphics seem to lift off the screen, less flat than before; to my eyes, the characters now look more like LEGO figures than pixel sprites. Enclosure is a lovingly made fan project, available for free. What originally drew me to it was the premise: a pair of fraudulent mediums invited to a haunted Arctic station.
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987)
Sierra On-Line's legendary Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards is one of the first graphic adventure games where you can move your character in real time while other commands are still written into the text parser. The game is also interesting because of its remakes. The 1991 VGA version raises the graphics and sound from archaic to ’90s level, and the 2013 version brings them to modern HD level. I played all three versions back-to-back and intended to explore the game’s background and versions on Samooja, even though practically everything has likely been said about it and its reputation is great.
The Secret of Monkey Island (1991)
After the rather sombre The Longing, I needed something to lift my spirits and reached for the light-hearted adventure game classic The Secret of Monkey Island, which I originally played on the Amiga. First I played the 2009 remake, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, and then the original 1991 Amiga version to experience it again from a modern perspective. The very first version of the game, however, was for DOS PCs, and this archaic experience is included in the 2009 Special Edition, where you can switch to it on the fly. In this article I focus primarily on the Amiga version and compare it to the Special Edition. The game is a classic for a reason: as an adventure game, it still holds up very well today. I have nothing against the audiovisually updated version, but to my surprise I found the old version better in terms of playability. In this post I also answer, from my own point of view, the question of how to play Amiga games.
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered (2015)
The cinematic action-adventure Fahrenheit by Quantic Dream first appeared in 2005, and a revised edition titled Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered followed in 2015. I played the PC version with a keyboard-and-mouse setup, though controller support exists, as do console releases. This cult-labelled, bleak murder mystery managed to shake and move me even as I wrestled with its controls in frustration. The pull of the story was strong — no surprise that it is often counted among writer-director David Cage’s key works.
Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock (2015)
Originally released as a free Flash game, Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock is a short science-fiction adventure that pays homage to classic point-and-click games. I played the paid PC/Mac version, which was released in 2015. The game is also available for Android and iOS devices. In Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock, echoes of both the early and late 1990s can be heard — and in a good way. The graphics are 3D, but without direct character movement or in-game animations. I was close to excluding Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock from Samooja, but changed my mind, as it is quite well designed for a low-budget production and somehow rather endearing.
Distraint: Deluxe Edition (2017)
Distraint is a one-man adventure game by Finnish developer Jesse Makkonen. It was originally released in 2015, followed by an improved Deluxe Edition in 2017. This small gem nearly passed me by, and I only picked it up through GOG.com’s free giveaway earlier this year. Distraint tells a story about the collision between greed and compassion. The player controls Mr Price, who is forced to evict the underprivileged from their homes in order to earn a partnership in a successful real-estate company. The game’s ethics and narrative may come across as naïve, but there is something sincere and genuine about them. The audiovisual presentation is appealing and worth experiencing on its own. From a gameplay perspective, Distraint is simple and at times clumsy, though it does include a handful of interesting puzzle situations.
Downfall Redux (2016)
Released a week ago, Downfall Redux is an enhanced version of Harvester Games’ first title. It reaches towards the level of the studio’s more successful second release, The Cat Lady, without quite getting there. I am not a fan of horror games, and excessive, gratuitous gore does not appeal to me, but a game that moves between different states of consciousness certainly does. The visuals, built around an aesthetic of ugliness, were also enough to draw me in.
Valhalla and the Lord of Infinity (2002)
Appearing for the Amiga in the mid-1990s, the Valhalla adventure game series is something of a cult classic. It is a genuine gem and, despite being available for modern Windows computers, still surprisingly hard to find. The series features an entirely unique mechanic based on the transformation of objects. Its world and graphics have a charmingly naïve aesthetic, and the voice acting has become outright legendary.
Technobabylon (2015)
Technobabylon, a recent collaboration between Wadjet Eye Games and Technocrat Games, is a modern cyberpunk thriller built in the spirit of classic point-and-click adventures. It offers a winding plot and a sequence of clever puzzles. Characters and their relationships drive the experience, yet the world of the game — more an alternative than a plausible future — constantly tests their credibility and relatability.