Fyleet is the first gam that made up a loose trilogy of treasure hunt text adventures written by Jonathan Partington of Topologika (the other two being Crobe and Quest for the Sangraal). The plot: "A few generations ago, the ancient elven kingdom of Fyleet fell. Orcs and hobgoblins, some serving the evil deity Demnos, looted the fortress of Fyleet and took its treasures into their dark chambers beneath. You are an adventurer of great courage and some wits, and have arrived in the area having heard tales of Zygmund, an evil priest of Demnos, a deity bitterly hated by your own god, Hurgenpor..." Fyleet is not as good as the subsequent two games in this loose trilogy, but it is still full of similar brand of humor and tough puzzles that make Topologika games memorable. Despite a limited parser, the game has many memorable puzzles. My favorite is a simplified version of the "Fifteen Puzzle," where you have to maneuver objects that cannot be put two in the same room. Like most games at the time, the game also has a maze puzzle, although it is more clever than most: the game adds random obstacles on a predetermined layout. If you enjoy treasure-hunting games in the vein of Zork, Fyleet is worth a look. Like most Topologika games, it is a very difficult game that will take you a long time to finish (and get all 600 possible points). Recommended, but if you are short on time, just play Quest for the Sangraal, the best game of this bunch. Originally released for the Phoenix computer only, the game has now been ported to Inform format thanks to the company who released the source code into the public domain. Reviewed by: Underdogs |