Caverns of Chaos
The backstory is nearly as long as the game is: an executive summary might
tell you
> The shapeshifting troll Landloris has abducted the noble King and Queen of
the mid-Atlantic island of Pandaris, returning with them to his enchanted
catacomb domain on Manhatas, island of Chaos. Ten of Pandaris’ best warriors
haven’t been heard from for two weeks since their group rescue attempt; you
aim to succeed where they failed, going in solo, overcoming Landloris and
restoring your monarchs to their throne. Honour demands you try for nothing
less… and the ten thousand gold piece reward doesn’t hurt!
Navigating the threats and enchantments of Landloris’ magical caves by
bludgeoning in multiple choice commands IN ALL CAPS, despite the text parser
this game plays much like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure — a whimsical one with
portals and poisons, transformations and complications. Many, many sudden and
arbitrary deaths await even the wary adventurer. (A ’99 Z-code port lends this
game, originally in QBasic, the baseline save/restore functionality it needs
to make exploration less of a grind.)
Caverns of Chaos