Gateway to Apshai
A torch lights up a damp cellar, somewhere in the dark a treasure lurks and right beside it a trap or a monster — Gateway to Apshai from 1984 brought something to home consoles that wasn't the norm back then: a real action dungeon RPG with exploration, treasure collecting and a constant sense of danger. On the ColecoVision it was a title with unusual depth.
The game sends you into sprawling underground labyrinths full of rooms, corridors, monsters and hidden valuables. The cellars are generated so that each descent feels a little different, which places the game among the early forerunners of today's roguelike action. You explore level by level, collect gold, potions and equipment, fight monsters and try to survive as deep as possible. Mapping, caution and the right decision on when to fight and when to flee are the keys to success.
Unlike most arcade titles, Gateway to Apshai emphasized endurance and gradual exploration. It wasn't just about reflexes, but about patience and an appetite for discovery — the feeling that every new room might hide a reward as well as a danger created a tension uncommon in the home games of the time. This depth made the game something exceptional in a library full of fast arcades.
Behind the game stands the studio Epyx, known for its production of quality titles for home computers and consoles of the eighties. Gateway to Apshai was a lighter, more action-oriented variation on the famous Dunjonquest and Temple of Apshai series, designed to be accessible even to players on a controller instead of a keyboard.
Today Gateway to Apshai is a fascinating look at how the action RPG genre sought its way onto console screens. For fans of dungeons and the roots of the roguelike genre it's a valuable piece of history — proof that the desire to explore dark cellars and collect treasure has been rooted in players for decades.
Why play: For an unusually deep action RPG on an arcade console and an encounter with the early roots of dungeon crawlers and the roguelike genre.
Game 13 of 16 for ColecoVision
The same title elsewhere (1)
The original on Atari's 8-bit computers dates back to 1979 and was one of the very first attempts to bring dungeon crawling and treasure-hunting into real time; it was played on the keyboard, and exploring the dungeons came with a printed manual full of room descriptions. Five years later came the ColecoVision version, which adapted the game to a controller with a numeric keypad instead of a computer keyboard and used the console's graphics chip for colourful, clear dungeon displays. The core loop of exploring, fighting monsters and collecting treasure stayed the same; the main differences are the control method and how much the game leans on accompanying text. Anyone wanting the genre's historically first version should pick the Atari, while those who prefer gamepad controls on a console should go for ColecoVision.
