Sivion

Livestream of the ZZT world "Sivion" by Monthigos (1995)
(Originally streamed December 9th, 2022)

Ther terrifying conclusion. Besieged by bugs, Rook must come up with the money to repay the loan he took out in order to get the white key to finally defeat Aptrithia once and for all. This process involves cockfighting, arena fighting, the Mario brothers, and bank robbery. Oh how the mighty have fallen!

Really though the game comes crashing down at the end as puzzles require nonsensical actions to be taken all the way back in the Bespin library, arbitrary objects to be shot to reveal hidden bombs, and a final boss that forces the player to only have four ammo and then shoot a randomly moving target from a considerable distance without missing a single shot.

I still think the Bespin part of the game is incredibly novel, and manages to keep ZZT's original spirit of non-linear game design without compromising its more ambitious plot compared to purple key collecting. It just really becomes a victim of its own hubris and goads players to begin rooting against it in the end. It's a classic ZZT world that nobody in their right mind ever finished legitimately. Bespin is a fun town to visit before quickly moving on once the seams begin to tear.

The torture room was impressive though.

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