Atari Celebrates the History of Dungeon Crawlers with the Release of Dark Chambers in Authentic Cartridge Format
Atari is excited to announce Dark Chambers as the latest collectible Atari 2600 cartridge in the publisher’s Atari XP initiative. The Dark Chambers cartridge and packaging features striking, reimagined artwork by Brazilian pop artist Butcher Billy.
Fans can preorder the cartridge for a limited time at the official website: https://atari.com/products/dark-chambers-limited-edition.
In Dark Chambers, players embody an intrepid explorer ensnared within a labyrinthine abyss. The paramount quest? Survive 26 treacherous levels of the chilling catacombs, battling all manners of ghosts and ghouls, all while collecting hidden treasure and valuable loot. Hidden somewhere in each of the levels is an exit that will take players to the next challenge, where the fight for survival begins anew until they reach liberation at level 26.
Too terrified to go it alone? Dark Chambers also has a two-player mode, wherein the unfortunate victims of spelunking-gone-wrong can take advantage of Hearts to revive their partner when they die. But be careful — if a Heart is shot by accident before it can be used to revive a fallen comrade, it will turn into an indestructible monster generator!
Fans remember Dark Chambers as one of the earliest iterations of a dungeon crawler, which just so happens to be based on John Palevich’s Dandy, conceptually envisioned as a companion app to Dungeons & Dragons before it evolved into a stand-alone game. Dandy was released in 1983 for Atari 8-bit under the Atari Program Exchange (APX), wherein Atari promoted and sold games and other software designed by independent developers. The indie game was so popular that Atari ported it to the 2600, 7800, and XE under the name Dark Chambers.
Atari XP cartridges are manufactured to exacting standards from all new parts and materials, with beveled edges to prevent pin damage, strong gold-plated connectors, and identical power draw to the originals.
To learn more about the Atari XP initiative and follow stories about the many included games’ inception, visit the official website.
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