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A solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean risks turning into tragedy when an engine failure causes the plane to crash. Fortunately, the pilot is saved, and lands on a tiny island, which seems to have been inhabited until recently. What mysteries is this remote dot in the middle of the sea hiding? And how can you go back home?

In this text adventure, the player takes on the role of the unfortunate protagonist. Tristam Island was developed with the Z3 "story system" originally designed by Infocom for its famous titles - the Zork trilogy, The Lurking Horror, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Bureaucracy and more - and it is openly inspired by them. The descriptions for locations and objects are long and detailed, as well as the comments on the player's actions, and help create a truly engaging environment. Puzzles are clear enough in general, but some require a certain amount of creative thinking (what can a fishing net be used for, other than fishing?). During about the first third of the game, you have to find a way to get to the top of the island, and in this phase you often have go back and forth from one side of it to the other, which is a bit annoying, especially when considering that you cannot carry more than three items at a time and some, such as the matches, the only item in the inventory at the beginning, cannot be dropped before actually using them. The "real" adventure, however, begins as soon as you reach the abandoned settlement located on a plateau in the centre of the island. In the course of the adventure, you also meet a large albatross, which seems to be gifted with a particular intelligence: will he help you?

The game can be purchased on the author's page on the itch.io website, but if you want to try it first, you can download a free demo version that ends when you reach the plateau. The Spectrum version is available both in ready-to-use ZXZVM format and in CP/M Plus format for use with the Locomotive interpreter (also for sale), faster and easier to read than the previous one. In addition, the digital download includes versions of the game for many other platforms, ranging from the C64 to Windows 32 and 64 bit to the Oric Atmos, and the plain Z3 story file for use with a ZVM interpreter of your choice.

Tristam Island is definitely recommendable to all text adventures fans, not only experts, thanks to its relative accessibility: it is atmospheric and enjoyable, and will keep you hooked to the screen. For everyone else, it might be a good introduction to the genre, but I suggest trying the demo version before you buy it.