Gift from the Gods
Gift from the Gods is a British computer game published in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum. Written by Denton Designs, a group of programmers and artists who worked on the unfinished Bandersnatch for the ill-fated software company Imagine Software.
| Gift from the Gods | |
|---|---|
 ZX Spectrum cover | |
| Developer(s) | Denton Designs |
| Publisher(s) | Ocean |
| Designer(s) | John Gibson |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Plot
In the game you control your character Orestes, who must avenge his father's murder by returning to the palace of Mycenae, entering its catacombs, and solving a puzzle.[1] The game is based loosely on a Greek myth attributed to Homer, in which Agamemnon, the father of Orestes, is murdered by his wife Clytaemnestra. In the myth, Orestes along with his sister Electra, avenge their father's death by killing their mother, Clytaemnestra.
Gameplay
Essentially a maze game, there are 16 rooms each containing four "Euclidean shapes" - six of which must be taken to the Guardians chamber, which will then allow Orestes to escape. Orestes' sister Electra will point him in the direction of the nearest room, but in each room only one Euclidean shape is real - the other three are illusions and will not allow Orestes to leave. If Orestes slays one of the large magical monsters found in the maze the illusions will disappear for a short while making the choice easier.
Clytaemnestra is also in the maze, and will kill Electra if the two meet, making the task all the more difficult to accomplish Orestes stamina is sapped by the maze monsters, and can be replenished by either entering the Guardians chamber which instantly restores health, or by finding life giving water that drips from the ceiling replenishing at a much slower rate.
Orestes can walk, run, fly and fight using the same set of controls. If Orestes is near a monster fight mode will be used, whereas if he is near a ledge he will fly over.