Zork: The Undiscovered Underground

1997 · Infocom · Commodore C64/128/MAX, Mac

The purpose of the game is to explore and emerge successfully from the Undiscovered Underground. The player begins only with a low-quality Lantern and plastic imitation sword, a parody of the starting items from Zorks I, II and III. Upon entering the Undiscovered Underground, the adventurer is trapped by a freak avalanche. The only way to escape is to release the mutant Rat Ants (an echo from Starcross) and to direct them to the avalanche, which they dispatch in a manner reminiscent of Aesop's Fables. The player must demask the Grue vendor to gain the four candy bars and place the relevant objects in the Mud Forum on the appropriate corresponding floor symbols. This unleashes a mutant chase reminiscent of Planetfall where the adventurer stays one step ahead of the Rat Ants because of the shrewdly placed candy bars. However, the escape comes at the cost of unleashing a Rat Ant epidemic onto the empire and forces the adventurer to flee from the wrath of the Grand Inquisitor.