Zork Nemesis: A Replay Review

I first played Zork Nemesis, a PC game from 1996, in June and July of 2000.  I finished it, with hints, in just under 26 hours of total gameplay.  It instantly became one of my favourite games, scoring 86%.  This put it ahead of the original Myst for me, but behind Riven and Obsidian. Thus it became my third favourite game back in the day.  How does it stand up today?  Deb and I played it as a team, and we took just under 17 hours, using my notes from 2000 to help us out.  There are spoilers, so beware.

We played it on Steam, beginning in April and concluding in June of 2026.  The original CDs (three of them) sometimes got stuck during game play, though I also found some problems with the Steam version.  At the very beginning I was unable to use the cursor to guide us through the game.  It would spin or move far too quickly.  Luckily a previous gamer had posted a solution on Steam, and for the most part it worked like a charm.  Each time the game was started (including after any save) players have to hold down the Ctrl key and then strike the F11 key 18 times!  That seemed to slow down the cursor just enough to allow the game to progress normally.  If that is too many and the cursor gets stuck, use the F12 key to back off a bit.

 

The second problem with the Steam version is that it gave me such a large window that the movies were quite pixelated and the backgrounds were not as sharp as I remember.  Screenshots were also a pain, as the Wind. and PS keys need to be used, meaning that only a single screenshot at a time can be taken.  But I quibble.  Let's get to the game itself.

 

Use headphones.  The music and sounds are just fantastic, and hold up as well today as ever.  The game grabs the player from the very moment of arrival.  The courtyard of a great Cathedral sets the tone for the whole game--dark, gloomy, mysterious and enveloped in faded decadence.  There is very little sunlight, and many gradations of shadow.  This is an enhanced slideshow game, with 360 degree motion, so that looking all around is essential.  Sometimes up and down options are also available, but not always.  Gothic effects intensify once inside the vast interior.  The building turns out to be a kind of Myst Island, in that there is much to see, do and solve before access to four other worlds can be gained.  Most puzzles are based around alchemical procedures, some hard and some easy.

 

A lot of playtime will be spent in the main building, until one solves the mystery of using the orrery, a device which will enable the player to visit four other worlds.  But before that happens there are four main puzzles to solve within the main temple.  Some of these puzzles are quite hard, while others can be solved in time with patience and some careful thinking.  Note-taking is essential.  My favourite initial puzzle was in the room with the paintings, and though far from logical I found it to be quite an ingenious and highly original addition to game puzzles.

 

A fun door puzzle.

 

The cathedral library.

 

The library again.

A map of the entire cathedral/temple can be helpful and will be found in the library. 

 

The room of paintings puzzle, mentioned above.  Great fun!

 

There are four allies to awaken near the beginning.  Solving an early puzzle will awaken one each.  But are they allies? 

 

Sophia's (Venus is her planet) awakening requires solving a water puzzle.  This remains one of my favourite puzzles of all time.  Ice must be melted into water, using the paintings in the room and the chair provided.  Good luck!  Sartorious (Jupiter) requires his upstairs air puzzle to be solved.  Kaine (Mars) involves a terrifying ride in a mine car, which will lead to many deaths before a solution is found.  Save before riding!  Malveaux (Saturn) involves sliding screens in the library, and finding a sun to place in the orrery.  Once these preliminary puzzles are solved, a pretty big task, it's off to other worlds.

 

Solving the orrery puzzles allows travel to four other worlds. 

 

There is an in-game hint system in the game before accessing the other worlds.  Look for the painting of Venus and Cupid for some assistance, which will likely be required from time to time.  Once in the four new worlds, the object is to find a secret lab in each and manufacture a unique symbol, one for each imprisoned mage.  The story is quite good, at its heart a love story thwarted by the mages.  It is up to the player to set things right for the young couple, who have been grossly wronged.  It is highly probable that players will die during the game, so save often.

 

Once the orrery is mastered, the four worlds can be visited in any order.  If players get stuck they may leave the world to visit another, thus working on several levels in shifts, if desired.  However, each world is a closed unit and the puzzles within can all be solved without traveling elsewhere.  I much prefer this kind of game to ones where a player must travel far outside the main puzzle area.  Once a new world is solved, the game brings the player back to the cathedral for a cut scene, and to place the newly acquired metal symbol in its proper place on the the central altar.  Then it's back to the orrery for the next adventure.  Once all four worlds all solved, a final major puzzle must be solved, and the four nitwits outwitted.  Hint: do not drink their offering when it comes.

 

The first world we chose was Saturn, the realm of Malveaux's great monastery. This is a vast place with much exploring to do.  Although the four worlds always begin outside, all of the main events are indoors.  There are maze-like hallways that lead to a library, and from there through to a museum, which holds the key to solving this world.  There are upper and lower levels everywhere, but one of them, the bedroom, is particularly difficult to reach.  Players have to grab a bell rope that moves much too quickly.  It can be done, but patience is required.  Overall this is a fun segment with good puzzles and plenty of areas to explore.  The music is a highlight of the game overall, and we hear it a lot in this world.

 

Saturn is the world of fire.

 

An important book from the library on Saturn.

 

The library on Saturn.  The museum can be reached through here.

 

Part of the fire puzzle.

 

Malveaux's cozy bedroom, if you can reach it. 

 

Opposite side of the bedroom, with an important bookcase.

 

Two items from the museum are needed to defeat a fire monster.  But the museum has an alarm system.

 

The final puzzle on Saturn. 

 

Next we traveled to Mars, the world of Kaine and his on-going war.  Again there is much to explore in Irondune Castle.  We were able to get into all areas without aid, but we needed help towards the end.  To open a gold chest we searched everywhere for a key.  Nope.  You have to blow it open with a stick of TNT. Okay, not so great a puzzle.  If you get far enough you get to drive a tank, though getting it to work is very tricky.  An air freshener and fuzzy dice hand from the windshield, and a girlie calendar decorates one wall.  The tank leads to the final puzzle, again a two storey event involving a secret lab.  Overall the puzzles are good, though the radio code is pretty hard to figure out.  There is a very gruesome dungeon in which I don't recommend spending much time.  In fact, despite many light touches and funny moments, the game is pretty intense and dark, culminating in the asylum sequence (see below).

 

Upon first entering Irondune Castle.

 

Stained glass panels related to war and battle.

 

The central hall is decorated with war paintings and weapons.

 

The staircase leads to two bedrooms, father and son, and a game room and weapons museum.

 

The game room has a pool table with an important puzzle solution hidden in it's game. 

 

Kaine's bedroom, with that damnable chest. 

 

Venus (Sophia's realm) is the music academy, with a very fun series of puzzles involving Zorkian musical instruments of the orchestra.  Records can be found in the music library room (with a grand piano), and when played on the gramophone will help players solve the auditorium puzzle.  Upstairs is the dormitory, where a poster is to be found, as is Sophia's exquisite bedroom.  A lot of design work went into this game.  While the dormitory and Sophia's bedroom exude nouveau charm, the piano room is distinctly Victorian.  Once in the auditorium, the fanfare must be conducted by the player.  Good luck!  Then the backstage area can be accessed, leading to the basement and the secret lab.  This is probably the least violent among the four worlds, and quite fun to visit.  Puzzles are hard, though.  

The music room and library contain minor but important puzzles.

 

The first music puzzle awaits. Remember to return the instruments afterwards, or you will carry them needlessly for the rest of the game.

  

Girls Dormitory at the music academy.

 

Sophia's bedroom balcony door.

 

Sophia's bedroom with art.

 

Sophia's bedroom, third view.

 

Near the entrance to the academy, at the famous Zork dam.  No explanation is given for the damage.

 

Lastly comes Jupiter, Sartorius' domain, with a final air puzzle to solve at the end of this grim scenario.  The asylum is designed like a 21 storey syringe, and it is not a nice place to visit.  Institutional gray colours dominate, and evidence of horrible experiments on inmates abounds.  The touches of humour seem out of place here.  We must use a guillotine to gain a severed head, which will then give us a puzzle clue and tell some jokes.  To avoid electrocution later we must use a cut off hand to unlock a door.  And players must sit in an electric shock chair and endure a disorienting jolt, which is needed to gain access to the final secret lab.

A small model of the museum building is found in the museum room.

Players will eventually have to get to the penthouse from the basement. 

 

Inside the asylum.

 

The bed of Sartorius, the only "cheerful" place in the asylum.

 

The secret lab is in the penthouse, with a doable but tricky puzzle.  I found it a bit Rivenesque.

 

Once the four worlds are complete the player will be whisked back to the original cathedral again, this time to face the four mages.  A ring will eventually be acquired and the final puzzle will commence soon afterwards.  It isn't a difficult puzzle, but will take some time.  The puzzle won't accept wrong answers, so it's just trial and error, putting the rings (there are two now) in various containers and pushing buttons to see what works.  The good ending sees the two lovers reunited and freed, the cathedral blows up, thus forever sealing the doom of the four worlds it held.  So there is no Myst-like ending, where we can roam around afterwards.  Once we click on the Venus and Cupid painting outside the gate the credits roll.

 

The setting for the final puzzle, which is followed by the end game movie. 

 

Zork Nemesis is a humdinger of a game, and should not be missed by adventure game enthusiasts.  The story, based on love and alchemy, is first rate.  The music is excellent, and the orrery as a means of inter-world transport is original and a brilliant touch.  Puzzles are mostly fair and doable, though impatient players like myself will want hints and a walkthrough at times.  This is a game badly in need of a complete update and freshening up.  The actual game will never be dated as the story is timeless and involving, but in its current state it hampers the immersive experience.  So much work went into this game.  At least it's available in it's current condition on Steam.

 

One quibble (spoiler alert).  Like in Myst, when trying to decide which brother is evil, this game sets up the player for defeat.  There is no hint that the character with the voice of Satan is actually the good guy.  This is done simply to misdirect the player into making wrong choices at the end.  Boo, hiss.  After solving so many hard puzzles and dying so many times, players deserve a break at the end, not more punishment for their "wrong" choices.

 

A great game, and I now raise it's mark to 88%, higher than when I first played it.  Happy gaming!!

 

Mapman Mike