Airball Reviews

Airball is an isometric game from the late 80s that could best be described as a metroidvania in the style of Marble Madness. You navigate rooms collecting items that allow you to unlock further rooms, all with the ultimate goal of finding a scroll. It's obscenely difficult, and given the primitive nature of the graphics, it can be extremely difficult to tell how close you are to an object, particularly the ones that kill you instantly. Oh, and you're up against a timer the entire time as well. Oh, and you have limited lives. A game for masochists. Worth a couple bucks if you're into metroidvanias, extremely hard games, or just experiencing a blast from the past. Find more reviews and recommendations on my Steam Curator page, Indie Infinitesimal: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41769714/

This is an extremely challenging and often unfair classic that relies on memorization of the level and delicate controls. Unfortunately this is a DOSBox emulation of the PC game, which did indeed include the graphics of the 16 bit Atari ST and Amiga versions, but doesn't seem to have any actual music. At least I couldn't get it running. The game folder has .MUS files but the original manual doesn't mention any music settings. As is, you get PC speaker noises as your sound and you'll like it. The controls aren't explained in-game. Use arrow keys to move, Ctrl to jump and Space to pick up/drop items, P to pause. You will need to find a light to safely navigate dark rooms. You will also probably need to draw a map to keep track of this huge game. If it had the Atari ST music it would be worth it to press on (look it up, it's amazing). Instead you should probably spend your time on something easier, like a no-hit Dark Souls run. But if you want to try a classic that was mostly forgotten until now, give it a go.