Hunter, in Darkness
Andrew Plotkin
Platform: Z-code
Rating: 7.3
Total Votes: 47
Std. Dev.: +- 1.5
Average Playtime: Between 1 and 2 hours
Genre: Dungeon-crawl / Tribute / Adaptation / Fantasy
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Audience Comments:2/11/07 09:58 AM
This is a satisfying, unsettling and memorable game. The one major puzzle is very clever, and defeated me, but even in defeat I had to admire its cunning. The writing is, as usual, brilliant - evocative, poetic, yet simple and unadorned. The implementation is flawless, and I found the conclusion strangely moving - haunting even. I give it an 8, because perhaps due to being a comp-game, it still feels sleight, and also no doubt due to the quaintness - the subtlety - of the game. But it gains weight in retrospect.
Rating:8
9/27/06 10:48 PM
Not what I expected, but still wonderful.
Rating:10
9/30/06 10:54 AM
Very nice modern take on the good ole Hunt the Wumpus game. The way the hunter flounders with his equipment at first is hilarious. The dank, dark atmosphere of the caves is very nicely described. Unfortunately, several junctures require replay to figure out what the right solution ought to be. The final puzzle is very clever; but the ending is unfortunately a bit anticlimactic.
Rating:7
5/23/06 11:03 AM
A genuinely scary update of the classic IF-forerunner Wumpus. Realism is achieved through the use of a tightly-controlled plotline that allows the parser to speak to the motivation behind the PC's actions, and through a navigation system that uses intuitive directions like left, right, forward, and back instead of compass points.
Rating:8
2/18/06 07:37 AM
In the beginning, brief but evocative descriptions set out a chilling, man vs. nature struggle. Step by step, you lose your equipment, become progressively more injured, and it's dark, and cold, and the bats are coming ... but then about halfway through the mood is broken by a rather difficult puzzle that contains no imminent peril; in my opinion, it could have been omitted from the game without loss. The endgame is good, but not up to the standards of the beginning.
Rating:7
9/07/05 06:39 PM
A neat little game, with source code available. Simple and short but well done.
Rating:7
4/07/05 05:28 PM
Rating:10
2/12/05 07:49 AM
Rating:9
2/10/05 01:26 PM
Good and intense. But short.
Rating:7
1/30/05 12:31 AM
A pretty little cave crawl with maybe two puzzles. And it's got a funny underlying joke that you'll catch onto fairly quickly. So it's fun. Forgettable, but fun. (Some nice implementation details, though)
Rating:7
12/16/04 09:26 PM
Rating:8
10/26/04 01:17 PM
Rating:8
9/16/04 09:12 AM
Rating:5
8/12/04 03:03 PM
Rating:7
8/08/04 02:38 PM
Rating:7
4/08/04 08:16 AM
Rating:7
2/27/04 03:20 AM
Vivid.
Rating:9
1/16/04 04:21 AM
Rating:7
1/02/04 05:50 AM
Rating:5
12/11/03 12:48 AM
Rating:7
12/04/03 09:21 AM
Not my favorite Zarf game, but does a great job of evoking a place. The endgame is a bit difficult.
Rating:8
11/26/03 01:41 PM
A bit overrated IMO. The writing was very good, but not excellent. I felt limited in my options as I played. The maze cannot be simply mapped out, instead what should have been an alternative solution *must* be used. The ending was a bit disappointing. But the writing and execution counterbalance these and if you're looking for a quick game that provides the excitement of the hunt I encourage you to check it out. - JAA
Rating:7
9/15/03 01:45 PM
Rating:7
9/16/03 06:54 AM
Excellent writing and atmosphere, not too difficult. But extremelly too short. I wish I could have shot more bolts, been wounded near death, or finished crawling in my blood.
Rating:8
9/10/03 09:17 AM
Vivid description saves this tribute to Hunt the Wumpus. Much shorter than I expected.
Rating:5
8/12/03 02:43 AM
As usual with Plotkin, puzzles are way too hard. Writing is superb however, and its pretty interesting if you get to the end.
Rating:6
8/09/03 05:58 AM
Laconically described rooms, nice non-mappable environs. Realistic puzzles. All in all a nice homage to a grand-daddy of a game.
Rating:7
8/01/03 04:58 PM
Clever, but I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed the original Wumpus.
Rating:5
7/22/03 03:21 PM
One of the most atmospheric games I have ever played. Plotkin's best work.
Rating:8
7/12/03 05:25 PM
Rating:6
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Tough, very tough; but beautiful level of implementation, and a very tactile game - you can feel the ropeburn and the hooks digging into your hands and the blood-sticky rock.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
This is a well-written game. It makes the most of the cave setting and puts an interesting spin on the proto-if 'Hunt The Wumpus'. But since most of the game consists of a giant maze I had to get hints to get through it. This spoiled some of the fun and in the end I was disappointed. -- Harry Hol
Rating:6
7/11/03 12:50 PM
A clever adaptation with fair puzzles and evocative if sparse writing. -DJW
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
An exhaustively described crawl through a hostile--malevolent, even--cave; the game is in some ways a tribute to Hunt the Wumpus, a precursor to IF as we know it, but the setting is the real treasure here.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Good prose, excellent programming, and nostalgia for old wumpus hunting days make this a solid game, but not more.
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:2
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Creepy, visceral, and well-paced.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:7
7/12/03 05:57 AM
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Cute but ultimately pointless adaptation.
Rating:5
4/04/06 03:42 AM
The definitive cave crawl.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Had some sticky bits from a game-play perspective; I got stuck a couple of times. But the writing's high-quality as usual.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Excellent writing: if you like Shade, you'll love this
Rating:9
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