ESCAPE THE CAVE AND TRY NOT TO BE EATEN BY A GRUE by Donkeysoft

 

ESCAPE THE CAVE AND TRY NOT TO BE EATEN BY A GRUE by Donkeysoft for ZX Spectrum 48K

   The most prestigious and famous competition in the local galactic cluster welcomes a Donkeysoft programme from the dark depths of the early days of text adventures.

   When we see the opening text, we are automatically transported back in time. We are taken back to the beginnings of the genre:

   I don't know if it was intentional or accidental, but I appreciate the use of colours that mimic those of this DEC monitor:

   Indeed, the phrase 'dark, eerie cave' transports us to the Colossal Cave in the famous game. We imagine the first brave explorers of Mammoth Cave discovering an unknown underground world shrouded in darkness.

   Each step echoed louder than the last, swallowed by the pitch-black void ahead. The air was thick, unmoving, as if the cave itself held its breath. Every drip of water, every shifting pebble, sounded like a whisper of something watching. Heart pounding, breath shallow, the explorer pressed on—eyes wide, seeing nothing, yet feeling everything. The darkness wasn’t empty; it was alive, and it was listening...

   The Grue.

   The lantern flickered once, then went out.

   The explorer froze, overwhelmed by the cave's suffocating darkness. There was absolute silence—no wind, no echo, just the sound of his own quickening breath. His fingers trembled as he reached into his pack, searching for another light source. Nothing.

   'It is pitch black,' he whispered, recalling the old warning: 'You are likely to be eaten by a grue.'

   He had once laughed at that line, back in the safety of his room while playing Zork on a glowing screen. But now, the words felt carved into the air around him, heavy and final.

   A faint scrape echoed from deeper within the cave. Then another. Closer.

   The explorer didn’t run. There was nowhere to go. He stood still, his heart hammering and his eyes wide and useless. The darkness pressed in, thick and alive.

   And somewhere in that void, the Grue smiled.

   Beneath its trivial appearance and light-hearted name, we know perfectly well that this contest brings together the crème de la crème of culture and creativity, disguised as simple games. This is why we are not surprised to find ourselves reflecting deeply on the meaning of the dark presence of the Grue.

   The grue is a fictional creature originating from the 1977 interactive fiction game Zork, developed by Infocom. It is a mysterious, predatory monster that lurks in total darkness, attacking adventurers who venture into unlit areas without a light source. Famously, the game warns players with the line: “It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.” This phrase has since become iconic in gaming culture and is frequently referenced in internet humor and programming circles.

   What makes the grue particularly terrifying is its ambiguity—it is never seen, never described, and never defeated. Its presence is felt only through the threat it poses, making it a powerful symbol of the unknown. The grue’s fear of light and its appetite for those who wander blindly into darkness serve as both a gameplay mechanic and a metaphor. In Zork, light represents safety, awareness, and knowledge, while darkness conceals danger and ignorance. The grue thus embodies the perils of the unseen and the importance of preparation and enlightenment.

   Beyond its role in gameplay, the grue has taken on philosophical significance. It represents the hidden threats that ignorance can invite, reinforcing the idea that understanding and clarity—symbolized by light—are essential for survival. Through this creature, Zork subtly explores themes of fear, knowledge, and the human tendency to dread what cannot be seen or understood.

   Armed with all this knowledge, Donkeysoft takes us to that dark world where only a magical door can save us from encountering the mysterious being of darkness.

   As we cannot see anything, we will move using the usual commands and constantly collide with the interior walls and boundaries of the enclosure. Fortunately, our explorer's helmet offers the best protection against damage.

   I've been exploring for a while and it seems to me that this killer monster thing is a fairy tale...

   Er... No.

   With patience and care, we will eventually escape to the safety of home.

   Nice music, by the way.

   The surprises don't end there. If you thought the adventure in the dark was enough, Donkeysoft's generosity goes even further, and for the same price of nil sestertii, we get an arcade version of the same game!

   Although Donkeysoft is a renowned company with hundreds of employees, even the largest corporations go through difficult times, and the team assigned to the arcade conversion suffered serious budget cuts, which meant that the code was not perfectly debugged and...

   After all, if we didn't find any crap, it wouldn't be this competition, would it?

   Walls and rockfaces together: A simple but effective game. It's impossible not to want to finish it and not to shudder at the presence of the Grue. Our brain, a privileged machine for creating worlds of imagination, does the rest of the work. 

Scrambled Smile: 7/10

Broccoli and Squid Yoghourt: 5/10

Deep Fried Ice Cream: 4/10

Strawberry Monosodium Glutamate: 8/10

Affable Hot Chocolate Sauce: 8/10

P.S.: What happened to the up and down commands? Play and find out.