8-bit Adventure Anthology: Volume I

8-bit Adventure Anthology: Volume I for PS4, XONE and PC is a compilation of three classic point-and-click adventure games – Deja Vu, Shadowgate and The Uninvited – these were developed by ICOM Simulations in the years 1987-1991. General Arcade converted the particular games, and Abstraction Games released the entire compilation.

Plot

The story in Deja Vu begins in December 1941. The player takes on the role of Theodore "Ace" Harding – a Chicago-based private investigator, who suffers from amnesia and has been framed for murder. The protagonist's goals are to find those trying to ruin his career and bring them to justice in order to clean his name.

Shadowgate casts the player in the role of a character that enters the titular, abandoned castle. The protagonist is called here "The Seed of Prophecy" and the fate of the whole world depends on them. The protagonist has to stop an evil sorcerer before he frees Behemoth – one of the creatures trapped in hell.

The story in the game that closes this compilation, that is, The Uninvited, begins when the protagonist barely survives a road accident. The protagonist soon realizes that his sister has gone missing. Having no time to lose, he heads for a nearby estate. Though his goal is to find the girl, the protagonist discovers secrets of the house along the way – the place is filled with ghosts, goblins and skeletons.

Mechanics

All the three games included in 8-bit Adventure Anthology: Volume I are based on a similar formula. Above all, the player explores various locations, discovers secrets and solves puzzles. Puzzle solving is based on playing with items found along the way and using them in a specified manner.

Technical aspects

Although each of the aforementioned games was created from basics using the original source codes of the versions for Nintendo Entertainment System, the developer did not decide to introduce any changes into the mechanics or audiovisuals. The developer introduced only a new menu (conveyed in the classic, 8-bit style) that allows the player to choose which of the three games they would like to play now.

Last updated on 03 November 2017