Archipelagos

The game is played from a first person 3D view. The player is not a specific character, but a kind of disembodied consciousness. Each level consists of a landscape made up of one or more lost islands. The player can manipulate the landscape, creating land and disinfecting it.

Each level has a stone obelisk, a number of egg shaped boulders, and various hazards, such as animated trees, souls, or other enemies. The aim of each level is to destroy all of the boulders. Boulders can only be destroyed if joined by at least one continuous land bridge to the obelisk. Once the boulders are destroyed, a timer starts.

The game takes place on a series of islands (the titular archipelagos). These islands were created by a mysterious race known only as the Ancients. The Ancients also created another race, the Visitors, who ended up being their downfall, as the Visitors rebelled against their creators, ultimately killing them. As the blood of the slaughtered Ancients soaked into the land, the worlds they had created became twisted and poisoned. This is the world the player now finds themselves in, with the task of restoring the islands to their former, uncorrupted glory.

Archipelagos received largely positive reviews upon release. The Atari ST version received review scores of 92%, 84% and 9/10 respectively from The One magazine (issue 7, Apr 89), ST/Amiga Format magazine (issue 11, May 89), and Atari ST User (unknown issue, Jun 89). The Amiga version scored 79% from CU Amiga (Jun 89) and 90% in Zzap (Issue 51, Jul 89). Elements of the game highlighted in reviews included the 3D graphics, which were seen as very advanced for the time, the atmospheric nature of the game, and its originality.

Computer Gaming World stated "graphically, this game is stunning, perhaps even shocking ... the game concept is innovative and the play becomes increasingly engrossing". It concluded: "Archipelagos is a distinctive product that well deserves to be imported". Compute!

A remake of Archipelagos, called Archipelagos 2000 and developed by Anthill Studios was released for Windows in 1999.