Dark Passages

Dark Passages is a shareware arcade game similar to Gauntlet. The player controls a single character from a top-down perspective, fighting waves of monsters in real time in mazelike dungeons.

The brief backstory shown at the start of the game introduces the player character as the sole champion of the King who must venture into a world called Underdark to defeat the Dark Lords who plan an attack against mankind. The player can choose one of the three classes: warrior, rogue or mage, each with their own weaknesses and strengths. All characters use ranged attacks: the warrior throws axes similar to his Gauntlet counterpart, the mage uses fireballs and the rogue throwing knives. Some enemies can only be harmed by magic attacks and must be avoided if none are available.

The game is split into three chapters, with only the first being available in the shareware version. In turn, the first chapter contains three levels: the Catacombs, the Dark Mines and the Animal Trainer. The levels are divided into sub-levels somewhat similar to Rogue or Nethack. Each sub-level is made of a set of rooms, with some locked at the start, and keys must be obtained to progress further. Apart from monsters, there are various helpful and harmful items that the player can pick up and use, ranging from healing herbs and poison to bombs that instantly kill all enemies on the screen or a magical hourglass that freezes all monsters.