♦ Livestream Contents
(1:50) “Caves of ZZT Remix” by DarkMatt, The Black Keys (2026) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/cavesmix/]
Returning the the remixed caves in search of the purple keys to the gates of Hell!
Starting with a little bit of cleanup on Kkairos's board, we venture through an busted bit of underground transit and through the House of Mirrors for purple key #2.
Then the transit continues just outside the caves where a puzzle of remotely operated busses cross a busy bullet-street at your command. The transformation from a straightforward board into a puzzle is a really cool interpretation, that's then followed up with the Video Zone. Here the legally distinct Pac-Man becomes a more complex game about collecting sets of gems in order, with temporary barriers that can be raised to keep spiky balls and centipedes away while Horus looks on approvingly.
Purple key #3 comes from the The Sucker National Park, turning a bizarre puzzle with an incredible name into a swirling vortex and tourist trap. It was a definite highlight with far more complexity to it than originally appeared. It also probably took me twice as long as it should have due my inability to push a boulder correctly. In classic ZZT fashion, getting the key involves blowing up glass doors and debris, and the help of a wizard to retrieve the magic stone used to push explosives past families who really really shouldn't turn around. All so you can circumvent safety mechanisms and launch yourself at the abyss.
Then we're off to the castle where I flub it so bad that I try to redeem myself on "Engineer Re-wired", a just as devious boulder pushing puzzle with some kindness in getting easier as you shut off sets of spinning guns. I absolute fail to redeem myself and continue to struggle by making blatantly poor decisions constantly. Oops! For all that I'm rewarded a purple key and a (hopefully two-way) ticket to Hell.
Hell, now the finale rather than a mere purple-key holding area, is filled with bureaucracy and some of the mix's most creative boards, really upping the ante on a location where a number of the original screens didn't have all that much to see.
Hopes of finishing the game were dashed but stupidly I pressed on as I chased the devil to get a key, and then learned the ways of spices to get another from the various zodiac-folk. There was also a big head that I ran away from for next week.
Splitting Hell up like this instead of saving it all for next week was a mistake, fitting in with the rest of the stream. Next week, the final blue keys and whatever new end game this remix has to offer! And probably a little something else because it might be short otherwise! Oops!!!!
♦ Play this world in your browser
https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/cavesmix/
♦ Streamed Jan 23rd, 2026
