Previous Next

They've been doing the rounds on other machines for a while, so it's a nice surprise to see them finally reach the BBC/Electron. I write, of course, of the 'illuminated area' genre of game, be they overhead mazes (Yumiko In The Haunted Mansion for the Spectrum), platformers (Home for the PS4) or 3D overhead exploration (Yomawari Midnight Shadows on the Vita). Tenebra is not as sophisicated as any of these but it's certainly a step in the right direction. And, as regular readers of my reviews will know, I love nothing more than games which do something new.

So what's Tenebra all about? Well, it is a linear set of puzzles in which you must guide your explorer to the exit door. The graphics are nothing special, being monochrome 8x8 CHR$ definitions, and sound is virtually non-existent. However, as with many of the greatest game ideas, it's playability which really makes or breaks it. And Tenebra is one of those simple ideas that hides its deviousness behind a veneer of simplicity.

In Tenebra you control a little man. You can only move through 'lit' areas of the maze. And the only areas which are lit are those which contain a torch, which means that you may not even be able to see many of the walls that comprise the maze when you start each new sheet. With the game objective being to move to the exit door, you'll likely find the exit door is in the middle of darkness that you cannot move through. No problem there though. You can simply pick up a torch and move with it, casting a sphere of 'light' around your explorer.

It is this dynamic which makes Tenebra (the word means Darkness, just in case you didn't know) very different to every other puzzler on the Beeb. The simplistic graphics actually make for some very interesting light effects, with some torches being vastly more powerful than others, and the light may seem to rebound off walls in certain corners and at maze edges. It all comes across as very eerie, which is handy, because it is quite a spooky little title.

Tenebra is programmed like a modern game, so it doesn't come with instructions. Instead the first few sheets are tutorials which slowly introduce the different elements of gameplay. Locked doors, for example, impede progress in certain areas until you've found the corresponding key.

I think a time limit for completion of each screen might have made Tenebra a bit more challenging. As it stands there's absolutely no pressure to solve the puzzles quickly.

Overall though, this is a very different type of game and the fact it's been released by newcomer Haspo is a very welcome development indeed.