Space Panic

Ladders, dug holes and monsters you have to lure into them and bury — Space Panic is a game that stood at the very birth of one of the most influential game genres of all. Before Donkey Kong arrived with his jumps, there was Space Panic, often called the very first platformer in history.

The principle is brilliantly simple and yet devious. You move across floors connected by ladders, and your task is to get rid of the enemy creatures. But you have no weapon — instead you dig holes in the floor, into which you must lure the monsters, then strike them while they're trapped so they fall a level down. This mechanic of digging and setting traps was entirely new for its time and created tension between attack and escape.

Each round is thus really a small survival puzzle. You have to think about where to dig a hole, how to guide the enemies and when to strike — all while making sure they don't catch you first. The game is also unforgiving: the moment you slip up, the monsters take revenge and the pressure mounts. It's a nerve-wracking balance between planning and quick reaction.

On the ColecoVision Space Panic found a natural home. The console could clearly render the floors, ladders and enemy movement, so the home version offered a faithful experience of what made the game interesting in the arcades. For console owners it was a piece of gaming history right in the living room.

The historical significance of Space Panic is enormous. Without it the platformer genre might have looked completely different — it was a pioneer on which later legends built. Even though it feels raw today, it's a fascinating glimpse into a time when the rules of a genre everyone now takes for granted were only just being formed.

Why play: For an encounter with one of the very first platformers and its clever trap-digging mechanic, which retains its tense depth to this day.