The Quest
The Quest was one of 2021's earliest ZZT worlds, though judging by the game itself and its accompanying text file it appears to be a significantly older title than its release date suggests --- you could have told me that it was a lost world released anytime between 1995 and 2003 and I'd believe you. A few parts feel like they could fit in a modern retro-styled world, though most of the rest of it seems like genuine amateurish design (the likes of which the rest of us made as kids).
The plot is odd, disconnected, and not really there. You start off by gathering your stuff to leave town for unclear reasons, meet a "hippi" outside of town who gives you drugs, and then end up in Africa somehow (for real, allegedly). From there, you're tasked with destroying some great evil or another, though having completed the game I couldn't tell you what it is.
The game's depiction of Africa feels problematic in the way you'd expect something made by an ignorant 10-year-old would be. It's certainly not great, but it could have easily been far, far worse.
There are a few interesting ideas in this (such as poisonous plants that put you on a death timer unless you can find a cure), though the majority of the gameplay is either navigating boring mazes or hunting for hidden tiles. About halfway through I lost my patience and started cheating my way to the end, and I don't think I missed much.
The shaggy dog ending was kinda neat, at least.
