Buy Encounter: A 8-Bit Noir Adventure PC key

Encounter: A 8-Bit Noir Adventure follows the memories of a British private investigator tasked with locating and freeing a kidnapped teenager in September 1982. With hints from an informant, a rough map and a tight time limit, you begin at the marketplace, where you parked your car, and must return there to complete the mission. The game presents the consequences of your actions, good or bad, in a style inspired by noir comic books.

Explore the city

The case takes you through about 50 logically connected locations. Most connect north, south, east and west, while some can only be reached by going up or down, such as by climbing down a hole or going upstairs. The available directions appear in a four-arrow pattern at the center of the screen.

Investigate and use items

You can inspect items and other elements in each location. Some objects can be taken, modified or combined with other items; others, such as the church or the well, can only be inspected. Taken objects move into your inventory, while dropped objects remain in the location. Most items stay where you leave them, though liquids may drain away or evaporate. Images can contain clues, and inspecting scenes and objects can suggest what to do.

You use commands to investigate and interact. For example, INSPECT provides information, TAKE moves an item into your inventory if you have room, DROP leaves it in the current room, and USE works with objects such as keys, devices and buttons. Taking liquids or sand may require a container. THROW usually acts like DROP, but some objects can have other effects in relevant locations. You can also COMBINE two items to craft something new; the order does not matter. Documents such as books and notes can help you work out what to craft and how to assemble it.

Solve the case

Encounter has a few obstacles to overcome, and most have more than one solution. More elegant solutions generally earn more points. Lethal force may get you past an obstacle, but an alternative that avoids violence is likely to exist; each alternate solution unlocks an achievement.

There are 52 possible achievements. About two thirds can be unlocked by completing the game; the rest require trying alternative solutions and finding the different ways the mission can fail. A game over can contribute to finding those outcomes.

The mission clock

You have two in-game hours to complete the case. The timer counts down in real time, and moving, inspecting and crafting all take time, so a playthrough typically lasts about 30 to 45 minutes before the out-of-time game over. The game warns you when one hour has elapsed.

An 8-bit original

Encounter was made for the 1984 Oric Atmos, a personal computer with a 1 MHz 6502 processor and 64 kilobytes of RAM, and was loaded from a 380-kilobyte 3-inch floppy disk. It works within the platform’s limits on performance, resolution, colours, input and storage while using modern design conventions. The PC version runs the game through the Oricutron Oric emulator.