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Zero And The Castle Of Infinite Sadness is a simple game concept. We like simple game concepts. You control Zero, a slim, stickman-like dude with a bushy hairdo. Your task is to paint the floor red by visiting each location in each 11 x 11 maze. You must do this before the time runs out and without colliding with any of the patrolling bats and ghosts. If you do collide with one of them, or time runs out, then all of your hard work is undone, a life is lost and you have to start again.

Originally 32kb as an entrant in #MSXDev14, Zero is now being given a commercial release by Matranet and a 48Kb cartridge for your MSX costs €25 plus P&P.

It's a bit of a shame, therefore, that both Matranet and original author Dioniso have chosen not to highlight the game's strengths - one of which is its very simplicity - but instead to waffle nonsensically about its backstory. You will forgive me, if you do venture to read the game's packaging, for not repeating it here. Suffice it to say that it bears almost no relation to the game proper and, in fact, gives no clues at all as to how to actually play it.

Proper instructions would have been quite nice, because the game moves to an audible rhythm of its own and only once you appreciate that rhythm that you can start to make real progress.

Most squares in each maze grid are clear, so you just move Zero into them and they change their colour to red, and take you one step further to completion. However, certain squares are occupied by crushing walls and what appear to be sheets of ice. These squares are alternately impassable, almost like the game is breathing. As it breathes out, the crushers come to life, a short pause and then, as it breathes out, the ice sheets flicker before a short pause and the rhythm repeats.

This addition is peculiar but makes for a challenging game - forcing you not to run hell for leather around the maze, but to check yourself constantly as to whether it will actually be safe to do so. The sound effects are invaluable as a guide to this too, and this is one game which would be significantly harder to play without them.

As for the bats and ghosts, these do not seem to possess any real intelligence. Bats move quite randomly while the ghosts move anti-clockwise around the four corners of each grid. Avoiding them isn't too difficult in itself, but trying to avoid them whilst also making sure you're not wandering through an active crusher or ice sheet is quite challenging. Later screens introduce one-way sections and, truth be told, this is a pretty tough game.

Aesthetically, the sprites are basic but functional, and everything glides around very smoothly. Tough it may be, but it never feels unfair, even if progress sometimes seems to be more through luck than judgement. There's a nice shimmering game over effect and a bouncy little tune on the title page, giving the game a very polished feel. There's also an Easy/Medium/Hard option. Yes, the only difference between them is how quickly the maze's spooky inhabitants mill about, but it's a welcome inclusion all the same.

If you forget those awful instructions, the game does have some flair. Alas, due to the rather basic "area-fill" premise, it didn't exactly grip me and I'm not too convinced that Matra's physical version will fly off the shelves, especially at €25 a pop. As Zero can be downloaded for free, this is definitely one to try before you buy.

1. Very reactive and easy to control
2. Simple, but functional, sprites
3. Simple sound effects and nice opening music
4. Simple game concept
5. Lots of mazes to clear

1. Instructions are best left unread
2. Progress sometimes based on luck
3. Simple game concept feels limited
4. A good freeware title but a questionable commercial one