Lode Runner

Lode Runner ranks among the most distinctive platformers of the 8-bit computer era, and it came to the Atari 800 in 1984 in a conversion by Broderbund. The player controls a character running across a network of platforms, ladders and ropes, whose task is to collect all the gold on screen and escape a group of pursuing guards. The key gameplay element is the ability to shoot holes in the floor - guards can be trapped in a pit for a while, or the holes can be used to carve out a path enemies cannot follow. The game is thus not just about reaction speed but above all about planning your route, timing, and using the terrain against enemies, since a dug hole fills back in after a while, and a guard inside it can even cost the player a life if they return to it at the wrong moment.

On the Atari 8-bit, the version preserves the characteristic simple but clear graphics with colour-coded floors and smooth character movement, which suited the platform very well thanks to its hardware sprites. The game offered dozens of ready-made levels plus an editor in which players could build their own mazes - this ability to create custom content was fairly unusual in the mid-1980s and contributed to the title's long lifespan and its popularity among home programmers. The sound design was sparse, limited to short effects accompanying running, digging and collecting gold, in line with the genre's conventions of the time.

In period reviews, Lode Runner ranked among the best puzzle-action games on eight-bit platforms, and its influence on the genre is still visible today - the principle of digging holes and tactically escaping enemies inspired numerous later platformers as well as countless unofficial clones on various platforms. Even with decades of distance, the game holds up surprisingly well: simple rules, legible graphics and thoughtful level design make it a title that can still be recommended to today's players as a showcase of how elegantly action can be combined with puzzle-solving, and why modern indie games still return to the concept.

Why play: For an elegant blend of action and puzzle-solving, whose hole-digging principle inspired countless clones and modern indie games alike – a platformer that works just as well decades later.