♦ Livestream Contents
(2:27) “HELLQUEST” by Lachesis (2012) [https://www.digitalmzx.com/show.php?id=1952]
Enter HELLSYSTEM, an ancient omniscient superdatabase of unknown origin and purpose.
When the military scientists who control access to the system find themselves abruptly locked out, with one user trapped inside, they do the logical thing and send in Viera.
Viera also does not return.
Well, maybe her twin sister Lark can fare better.
As Lark players enter a demonic computer world, armed with only a defensive shield, Lark needs to explore the system in search for the missing persons and find a way to initate a reboot, or if it comes down to it, to destroy HELLSYSTEM entirely.
What you get is a pseudo-open world exploration game (rarely can you do much anywhere other than where you're meant to go next) with a point system that rewards multiplies for consecutive enemies defeated without taking any damage. While initially unarmed, you quickly acquire the Hell Positron and a number of other more powerful weaponry that runs on a recharging ammo system where stronger weapons consume that shared ammo faster. These weapons are typically tailored to getting past the latest threat as you go from sector to sector, finding keys or other methods of gaining access to different areas. Each with its own color scheme and obstacles to differentiate them.
It gets pretty frantic! Lachesis as a number of devious enemy designs that go far beyond the basic ZZT/MZX staple enemies. An angry mother bear creature will go berserk if her cubs are harmed. Klarfs (Klarves?) can only be harmed by fire, and will actively avoid the stuff, requiring you to box them in to deal damage. Some are just tanky. Finding the right tool for the job, and watching your energy makes for some tough but fair fights. Defeated enemies don't come back, so it's not uncommon to take a few down and then flee to a save circle to reset your health and be able to commit your change to the database.
Oh, and did I mention the boss fights? Each sector ends with one of the denizens of HELLSYSTEM fighting Lark one on one. These feel more like puzzles to solve as you have to discover how to move, what weapons to use, and when to use them against extremely fast foes with no apprehension to flooding the arena with projectiles or bombs!
The soundtrack is also top notch, having won a community award for Best Soundtrack which helps ease the sting of dying again and again...
♦ Play this world in your browser
https://www.digitalmzx.com/play/1952/
♦ Streamed May 8th, 2026
