Druid
Warlock the Avenger is the third and final chapter in the Druid trilogy. What trilogy, I hear you ask? Well, the first two games were on 8-bit machines, so you may have missed them before upgrading to the Atari ST. I certainly don’t recall either, although I do have fond memories of Electric Dreams’ Dandy (ZX Spectrum).
Warlock the Avenger is a top-down maze game, similar to Gauntlet. You explore labyrinths, blasting monsters with your wand, loot treasure chests, and desperately search for the exit while enemies respawn with irritating enthusiasm. Additionally, Millennium has included the original game, which is an incredible freebie!
Here, we play a druid spellcaster dude tasked with saving the land of Belorn from yet another surge of demonic chaos (I guess we didn't win in the other games?). Anyhow, an evil lord named Acamantor has clawed his way back from oblivion to enslave everyone. Our mission is to reawaken ancient elemental magic by navigating monster-infested mazes filled with passages, magical power-ups, and plenty of treasure.
Sounds pretty cool, right? Yeah, so let's see a screenshot...
The status bar shows what we have. Keep an eye on it, especially spells and keys.
Let's play!
The opening level plonks you into a woodland surrounded by roaming hordes. Some enemies go down easily, while others soak up multiple hits, encouraging you to switch wand types - some spells are more effective against specific foes. That is something you learn early on, with unobvious help from using the F6 key.
A status bar along the top of the screen shows your energy, keys, power-ups, and spells. Keep your eyes on this, especially the available firepower and keys. Sadly, you only get one life, and contact with an enemy drains your energy. Thankfully, there are special floor tiles that replenish it, but they’re pretty scarce.
Treasure chests are scattered throughout and are absolutely central to survival. Inside, you’ll find spells, keys, screen-clearing special powers, and occasionally a friendly Golem ally. But there's a catch: while a chest may contain several items, you can’t just grab everything and run. Only one thing may be taken, and once you've chosen, that’s it - the chest is gone forever. A poor choice can doom your entire run!
This decision-making is the real heart of Warlock: do you take more firepower, or stock up with keys, but risk running out of "ammo"? Early on, it feels forgiving, but later levels flood you with locked doors. No matter how many keys you think you’ve collected, it never seems to be enough. Arghh, so irritating.
Warlock transported me straight back to my 8-bit gaming days as it’s deceptively simple: explore, kill, loot and repeat. However, the real challenge lies in resource management, particularly looting treasure chests. While spells are often your primary weapon against beasts, keys are arguably the most crucial items.
Several levels in, I found myself completely stuck. The exit lay behind a locked door. I couldn't find any hidden passageways, and I had no keys left. Plus, every chest had already been looted. My only option was to backtrack to a previous level, in the blind hope of finding a chest I may have missed. Sigh.
So close, but no cigar? Well, maybe, but let's see another screenshot...
The ghouls are constantly spawning and are up for a chase. Relentless they are!
Big Tips
This is a maddening game, so do you fancy a few juicy tips? Of course, you do...
- Never open a chest unless the immediate area is clear of monsters.
- Different spells work better on certain enemies. So, switch if something took 2/3 shots to die!
- Hidden passageways are literally invisible, so stay close to a wall to find one.
- No matter how many goodies are inside a chest, only one item can be taken.
- Chests can only be opened once.
- Firepower is important, of course, but the keys are essential.
- Try to hug the walls, as there might be a hidden passage nearby.
- Forget the spells unless you have an abundance of keys!
- Control the wizard in the opening screen to access the original game.
- Did I mention how important keys and hidden passages are?
I already have loads of spells, so I chose the key from this treasure chest...
Ah, the chest screen with many goodies, but you're only allowed to pick one!
Aesthetics
Players who started their computing life on the Atari ST may find it looks dated. Those of us who upgraded from 8-bit machines will likely feel right at home. It has the look of a ZX Spectrum game without colour clash. The scrolling is always smooth, and the sprites generally look cool - especially on the later levels.
Talking of 8-bit, the original original game never made it to the Atari ST, but it's included, which is a fantastic addition. It plays the same, but I might be brave here by saying that it's better. The game looks great with gorgeous backgrounds and sprites. Yep, I might actually prefer this!!
The audio is less impressive, with a decent piece of chip music on the title screen. But in-game, you’re left with sound effects - most of which consist of your wand firing endlessly at respawning monsters.
Let's break up the reading with (you guessed it) another screenshot...
See that daft symbol on the floor? Walk over and stand on it for a while.
CryptO'pinion
I have mixed feelings about Warlock the Avenger. On one hand, it captures the joy of old-school maze games beautifully: rushed exploration, constant combat, and panicked scrambles for the exit. Plus, we get the original game, which wasn’t released on the ST – a fantastic bonus that I wish more games offered.
However, it tries too hard to be different with multiple spells, unnecessary power-ups and a largely unwanted Golem. This muddies what should have been a simple arcade-style game. The single life and brutal energy meter also force you to cheat, which is frustrating. The worst part is having to press F1 to open doors - and only when you’re perfectly aligned with the doorway. Try doing that when monsters are spawning around you!
I’ve enjoyed Warlock, and the inclusion of the original game is a brilliant move by Millennium. Both games play well, though the one-life restriction is a bit of a downer for me. For that reason alone, it falls short. A seriously tough game that forces you to cheat, which isn't good, right? I still enjoyed Warlock, though.
