There are shooters that entertain you with their perfection, and then those that entertain you with how bizarre they are — and Gates of Zendocon clearly belongs to the second category. This horizontal shooter for the Atari Lynx bet on inventiveness and weirdness instead of stark seriousness, and that's exactly how it earned its place in the Lynx library.
You fly from right to left across dozens of levels, yet not linearly — the game is famous for its system of portals through which you switch between utterly different, often peculiar worlds. Each gate can dump you into a level full of unexpected enemies and curious environments, so there are far more routes here than you'll see in a single run. This structure lends the game an air of exploration you wouldn't expect from an ordinary "fly and shoot" title.
As one of the console's early titles it showed what the pocket hardware could do in a genre that relies on smooth movement and swarms of enemies. The feel of flying, shooting and collecting upgrades is brisk, and both the contemporary press and players ranked it alongside other solid Lynx shooters.
It's not a title that tries to be the most precise or most demanding shooter of its time. Its charm lies in variety and playful imagination — in the fact that you never quite know what awaits you beyond the next gate. That makes it a fun ride for anyone who enjoys a game that can surprise them.
Today Gates of Zendocon is one of those Lynx exclusives worth trying precisely for its distinctiveness — a reminder of an era when creators could afford to be thoroughly quirky.
Why play: A brisk and inventive horizontal shooter full of portals and bizarre worlds, entertaining through exploration and a distinctive imagination.
Game 5 of 30 for Atari Lynx
