***CANNED GAME***

Death Pit was advertised extensively by Durell Software in 1985, but was never released. The completed full game has since been made available online, so you can still play it now.

Death Pit is a relatively basic exploration/maze game, but it’s well-made and does have some nice touches here and there. The game was written by Clive Townsend, who also wrote the Saboteur series.

You play an explorer looking to find treasure in a large underground cave system. Gold bars will award you points, but gemstones are really what you’re after. If you find a large gemstone you must return it to the surface (where your Land Rover and tent are). There’s a spade, an oxygen tank and a battery to make use of. There are underwater sections to negotiate, and highly toxic chemical drips to avoid. Giant spiders, and even dragons, stand between you and your goal.

To make completing the game even harder: the cave system is randomised in places; meaning that parts of it change every time you re-start the game (although I have read that the cave layout is always the same when you start the game after a fresh load).

I’m surprised Death Pit was never released, because it’s better than a good chunk of other Spectrum software. Which I guess makes it something of a hidden gem, if you’re into finding and playing old, canned games, that is.

More: Death Pit on World of Spectrum
More: Durell Software on Wikipedia