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Another seminal work by Andrew "Zarf" Plotkin, one of the modern-day interactive fiction masters. Hunter, in Darkness is similar to his earlier entry to the IF Competition, A Change in The Weather, in that it takes place in a limited, but continually changing gamework as opposed to vast gameworld with dozens of rooms to explore. The plot, as one can usually expect from Zarf, is well-written and very interesting from the beginning to the end. I'd like to quote Duncan Stevens' review for a brief, but thorough review of the game, as I fully agree with his comments: "The plot--you're exploring a cave, hunting a mysterious beast called a Wumpus--is derived from the ancient minimalist BASIC game Hunt the Wumpus, but the similarity ends there. This is arguably the most richly described cave in the history of IF, and your experience of it is thoroughly and harrowingly described. In fact, the cave is as much your adversary as the Wumpus itself, and it takes just as great a toll on you. The puzzles are fairly conventional (though the last one is rather elegant), and they include a maze that isn't really a maze. But the story is brilliantly executed--the plot branches and rejoins so seamlessly that you're unlikely to notice that there are multiple ways through the game--and the writing is terrific; Plotkin is adept at using all the senses. Hunter... breathes new life into a very tired genre, no small feat." Although the game won only 8th place in the 1999 IF Competition, IMHO it ranks as one of the best IFComp entries ever. Highly recommended, especially for fans of dungeon-crawl IFs, e.g. Zork. Reviewed by: Underdogs | 
Hunter, in Darkness 
