10/26/20 Brides of Dracula (1992)

Brides of Dracula (“1992”) by Toast Dept., published by “Gonzo Games” for Amiga, Commodore 64, and Atari ST. I put a lot of things in air quotes because this game was never officially released. You probably haven’t heard of Gonzo Games because they published a snowboarding game, this, and then, in the words of programmer Alan Botwright, “Never paid the team and subsequently disappeared.” This is the Amiga version, quite impressive for a game that’s not really finished. I spent a few minutes floundering about before watching the demo and realizing what the actual goal was. You choose between playing as Dracula or Van Hellsing, competing with the other to accomplish their own tasks before the other can succeed. Hellsing must stockpile weapons and Dracula must convert maidens into his titular brides, then bring them back to a row of coffins. It’s fraught with constant visual glitches and generally slow gameplay, although the graphics are cool, with detailed spritework, fairly fluid animations, and very pleasing color choices. It also features the… strangest(?) title theme I’ve ever heard, like something out of a goofy 70s horror spoof show, if that makes sense. Talking about unreleased games is always tricky, because you can’t really judge it as a finished product; still, I like the concept, and the smooth-scrolling world running in split-screen only two years after Commander Keen is actually super impressive, mind you this was developed for three systems simultaneously. Maybe too slow and glitchy for a legitimately fun session, but worthwhile from a historical perspective.