''Riddler's Den'' is a 1985 action video game, made for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

home computer. It was authored by David W. Harper as the debut title from

Electric Dreams Software Electric Dreams Software was a UK-based video game publisher established in 1985 by Activision and run by Rod Cousens and Paul Cooper formerly of Quicksilva . The company published video games for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and th ...

Plot

The game's

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

is Trunky the Manelephant, who has embarked on a quest to find the Great Golden God Gregogo.

Gameplay

The game is half a maze and half a puzzle solver, with elements of a

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

(RPG). It is similar to titles such as '' Atic Atac''. It came packaged with a poem filled with clues that the player had to decipher to progress through the game. The player could only carry a limited number of items. A flask displayed on the top right of the screen indicated the player's energy level. If this ran out the game ended. If holding the correct object, it was possible to sleep and regain energy. This would move the timer on to the next day. The game had to be completed within a certain number of days.

Reception

Sinclair User The ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

magazine asserted that the game was easy to play, but difficult to master. Your Spectrum magazine deemed the program both absorbing and frustrating due to its blending of two disparate genres: arcade and adventure.

References

{{Reflist 1985 video games Action games Maze games Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Electric Dreams Software games