Treasure Trap
| Developer: Doodlebug | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Electronic Zoo | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Puzzle-platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
6/10 | |
Row row row your boat.
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Life is but a dream.
I need a drink…
It’s a treasure hunt, as the name suggests. You’ve been sent, in diving gear, to search the wreck of a merchant vessel, the Esmeralda. A perilous mission, given the particularly harmful fauna: crabs, starfish, jellyfish, and even large … man-eating bubbles. But the reward matches the risk: gold bars are scattered about everywhere, which you must collect before your air gauge reaches zero. Occasionally, the exercise requires a slight mental effort, such as pushing a crate and climbing atop it. Tough, I know!
One might consider this game a cross between Knight Lore for the isometric view, Manic Miner for object collection, and Sokoban for the intellectual component … involving crates. Well, if you ask my opinion, the only strategic dimension consists of finding, through countless trials and errors, the optimal order in which to visit rooms and gather resources (particularly keys and oxygen bottles). This demands less of your intelligence than your patience, and especially your ability to take notes. Be aware, moreover, that you can only carry three keys at once (Resident Evil syndrome), which promises thrilling back-and-forth journeys…
Personally, I quite enjoy this type of notoriously frustrating 2D game (Willys Weirdy Nightmare), provided I don’t feel cheated by programme inadequacies. Here, the 3D poses some visibility issues, particularly in locating “levitating” enemies (underwater), or those hidden behind objects. It’s also difficult to escape them, as our fellow isn’t exactly a paragon of agility, not to mention his tendency to get stuck in doorways. Despite these imperfections, the pleasant atmosphere, reflected in the intro, should easily satisfy those nostalgic for 8-bit games with “rustic” ergonomics.
Some handy controls to know: Press “D” to pick up a key (you must stand directly over it), “S” to summon a bloodthirsty little fish that’ll devour all enemies on-screen, and “M” to display a map (only when the “M” flashes in the top left of the screen).
One last piece of advice: if you encounter pale little girls carrying giant syringes … turn back!
And if you really love crates: check out Bonfire Peaks (2021).
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