Swing into danger, dive for treasure — adventure waits in every pixel!
Before there was Nathan Drake, before Lara Croft, before any of them, there was Pitfall Harry. Way back in the day, Activision decided to take the gaming formula and tweak it. Instead of just two sticks and a ball on screen, they decided why not have something that actually resembles a human? One that can do human things. They put their best ideas forward and essentially created one of the first platformers ever made, Pitfall!
The gameplay is exceedingly simple – it’s a sidescrolling platformer. You control Harry with the joystick and jump button and that’s honestly about it. But mind you this is 1981. You will jump, climb, and dodge an assortment of obstacles- bats, scorpions, crocodiles , rolling barrels, and of course pitfalls. While challenging, the game never feels unfair, it really is a matter of timing and skill.
In short, this is one of the most influential games ever made. Hard to imagine that a side-scroller with only 6 sound effects would eventually pave the way for games like Uncharted and Tomb Raider. Seeing as its a 40 year old game, finding a rom is not difficult to come by. It actually still plays surprisingly well, and is still a blast all these decades later. Jump, climb and dodge your way where the adventure genre all began.
Until next time, explorer!
Fil
Verdict: 10/10