The Curse of Rabenstein (2020)
Released in 2020, the text adventure The Curse of Rabenstein caught my attention when a point-and-click version for the Commodore 64 appeared a couple of weeks ago. I did not, however, play that C64 version. Instead, I launched the original game in its modern browser form, which runs effortlessly on a contemporary computer without the need for an emulator. The game is available on a wide range of platforms, from 8- and 16-bit Commodore machines to the ZX Spectrum, Atari, MSX, and DOS, so it can be experienced in a fairly authentic retro form. In practice, however, the browser version is essentially the same game. For me, The Curse of Rabenstein was a pleasant and light experience. The parser felt friendly and straightforward, and I never found myself banging my head against a wall. It felt like a warm-up before heavier parser-based encounters. The Curse of Rabenstein offers a classic horror story that lasts under an hour.