iPhone game of the day: Sword of Fargoal - Commodore 64-era dungeon grinder refuses to die

On iPhone
Game:
Sword of Fargoal,
Price: $2.99
Size: 58.2 MB
Get it now at the iTunes store:US/UK

In most dungeon crawlers, you're strapped up with a full suit of armor, handed a shiny sword and a few potions, and sent wandering down into smelly, monster-ridden catacombs with the expectation you'll never be seen or heard from again. It's like a cheap hero disposal service. That's not quite the case in Sword of Fargoal. While it plays a lot like many other rogue-likes, this monster slaying adventure actually has a purpose beyond looting ruins (and inevitably causing you to perishing in the process). You must find the mighty sword of legend and escape the dungeon with both it and your hide intact. It's easier said than done, considering the dungeon itself tries to kill you once you've laid hands on your prize.

With your newly-summoned hero ready to go, you%26rsquo;ll explore the foggy hallways of winding caverns by flicking or dragging your finger in the direction you want to move. The Sword of Fargoal is located somewhere on the 20th floor of the randomly generated dungeon. A maze of misty hallways and dangerous creatures lies between you and your bounty. When running into baddies, flicking in their direction causes your warrior to auto-attack until your foe is vanquished or you%26rsquo;re slain. Magic spells and other goodies you pick up can be easily managed in your inventory, and your health gradually restores as you walk around.

Spending gold at temple spots you find enables you to gain extra experience, and level-grinding is a constant necessity in order to keep from being totally mauled when you step on a teleport trap and wind up smack dab in the middle of a room full of nasty brutes. While you%26rsquo;ll probably die numerous times before even getting close to tracking down the fabled sword, this Commodore 64 re-make is chock full of replayability. If you do manage to nab the mighty blade, get ready to run like hell for the exit.

Mar 31, 2011

Latest in Games
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily
Minecraft Diamond Armor
Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago"
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most"
Fortnite Outlaw Keycard
Fortnite Outlaw Keycard: How to unlock it and what does it do
Latest in Features
The Witcher 3 screenshot of Geralt
Avowed and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tap into the same thing that makes The Witcher 3 so compelling – and it's something I'm always looking for in RPGs
Marvel Rivals Spider-Man
Spider-Man has become every Marvel Rivals player's worst nightmare
The Punisher holding two machine guns in the rain
Daredevil: Born Again - Learn the bullet-riddled comic book history of the Punisher before he officially joins the MCU
A woman in a underwater machine waving during the cinematic teaser for Subnautica 2.
Subnautica 2: Everything we know about the new underwater survival game
The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being held above a motherboard by a reviewer
AMD's pro-consumer 9070 strategies are exactly why it's primed to dominate the CPU market in 2025
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows' transmog looks set to combine the best of Odyssey and Vahalla to make changing my drip easier than ever