1985 · Arcade · Platformer

Repton 2

Repton, the eponymous protagonist, walks around an underground maze in a quest to find all the diamonds (some being held in safes, their release being triggered by finding and collecting a key) within a time limit in each of several levels, while avoiding being trapped or killed by falling rocks and monsters hatched from eggs. The original Repton game was released in the summer of 1985 and has 12 levels, with passwords making it possible to jump directly to later levels. If passwords were used though, on completion of the final level, the displayed message challenged the player to complete the game without using them.

Released: 1985
Platforms: Acorn Archimedes Acorn Electron BBC Microcomputer System Linux Windows ZX Spectrum
Genres: Arcade Platformer Puzzle Role-playing
Developers: —
Publishers: Superior Software
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Sandbox Open world
Country: United Kingdom

About

Repton is a video game originally developed by Briton Tim Tyler for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and released by Superior Software in 1985. The game spawned a series of follow up games which were released throughout the 1980s. The series sold around 125,000 copies between 1985 and 1990 with Repton 2 selling 35,000 itself. The games have since been remade for several modern systems, including iRepton for the iPhone / iPod Touch in 2010, and Android Repton 1, Android Repton 2 and Android Repton 3 from 2016 to 2018.

The author was inspired by a review of the recently released Boulder Dash, but had never played the game. Compared with Boulder Dash, Repton is a much more calm and organized playing experience with the emphasis on puzzle-solving as opposed to arcade-style improvisation. This remained true as more types of object were added in the sequels.