{"id":451496,"date":"2024-01-19T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.destructoid.com\/?post_type=eg_reviews&p=451496"},"modified":"2024-01-19T08:10:34","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T14:10:34","slug":"review-dead-tomb","status":"publish","type":"eg_reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.destructoid.com\/reviews\/review-dead-tomb\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Dead Tomb"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dead Tomb<\/em> is a game that can spark your interest<\/a> before you even start playing it. It\u2019s based on a lost media game, Temporel Inc. Its progenitor was released on the Videoway content delivery system, which means it just disappeared when the service shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being the most complex game on Videoway, it had its fans, and they went to work remaking it by reverse engineering a recorded playthrough of it. I don\u2019t have any firsthand insight on the Videoway, so I\u2019ll again direct you to Hardcore Gaming 101\u2019s write-up<\/a>. Fans first recreated Temporel Inc. <\/em>in Flash, and then Collectorvision created an NES port, which was released a few years ago on a cartridge by Limited Run Games under the name of Dead Tomb<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, 8-Bit Legit has released it on modern consoles, which makes the game much more accessible, as it should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dead
Screenshot by Destructoid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dead Tomb<\/em> (Switch<\/a> [reviewed], Xbox One<\/a>, Xbox Series X|S<\/a>, NES<\/a>)
Developer: Collectorvision
Publisher: 8-Bit Legit<\/strong>
Released: January 26, 2023<\/strong>
MSRP: $4.99<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead Tomb<\/em> is a verb-drive adventure game, which is sort of a halfway point between a point-and-click and a text adventure. To interact with an object, you pick a verb from a list. It\u2019s a style of game most famous in Lucasart\u2019s SCUMM titles, such as Maniac Mansion<\/em> and The Secret of Monkey Island<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You play as a time traveler from the future, who gets waylaid on a trip back in time and finds themself in ancient Egypt. You\u2019re captured by Pharaoh Seti I’s soldiers, robbed, and dumped in a pyramid. Your goal is to try and find a diamond used to power your time machine and escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s probably important to set your expectations with Dead Tomb<\/em>. Maniac Mansion,<\/em> this is not. It\u2019s a much simpler and more linear experience. It\u2019s not necessarily shorter (though it is quite short), but there is less chance that you\u2019re going to become stuck or have to start over. There\u2019s also far less backtracking involved, so it\u2019s a bit more comfortable than Maniac Mansion<\/em>, but also less complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not entirely a bad thing. In fact, it\u2019s a big part of Dead Tomb\u2019s <\/em>charm. Depending on your aptitude (and a bit of luck), you might still find yourself wandering in circles, occasionally trying to figure out what verb you need to use on a noun, but there\u2019s usually a feeling of forward movement. Again, that\u2019s going to depend on your adventure game literacy, but I definitely felt some momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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