Lode Runner: The Legend Returns was an amazing game!
This was such a fun game. The premise is so simple but works so well. Staying ahead of the baddies is like an exciting puzzle. It was even better playing single screen multiplayer with a buddy.
Does anyone know of anything that scratches a similar itch?
Side Note: in searching around I found this modernized version of Lode Runner Online: The Mad Monks' Revenge. Should be a blast on the steam deck.
I helped work on that game. One of the devs on it was one of the authors of the original Lode Runner. The logic for how the monks chase you was lifted directly from the original code - nothing else was as fun. We tried making the monks smarter and it was just too difficult.
That totally makes sense. The monks being kind of dumb and acting in a predictable way adds to the fun. They follow a set of rules the the player learns how to manipulate as they play.
Exactly! Going partway up a ladder to get the monks to change direction is a key mechanic that breaks if they're too smart.
The original was so good.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time on my Apple IIc editing levels as a kid.
@Debs This was one of my absolute favorites back in its time -- though I far preferred the PC version. (The editor is better with a mouse and save to files that could be shared/downloaded.) Something about a game having an editor always appealed to me as a kid even though I never really did anything significant with one. (I just enjoyed building stuff, lol.)
I think that was the game with the level editor, right? If so, my friend and I had loads of fun creating and solving self-made levels.
Does anyone know of a spiritual successor?
Lode runner 2
Eesh... Not sure this is what I'm looking for.
looked something like this
This looks like the version I reference in my post, Lode Runner: The Legend Returns.
Could be that it just looked different on pc. I was looking for that game a decade or so ago and only found references to the playstation version abd gave up at the time. That game stole many a day from my life, was even a map editor so making cusom levels was so fun.
@Debs @trd As far as I know there never was a spiritual successor other than of course Lode Runner 2 itself which really wasn't the same thing at all. I think licensing issues caused the Lode Runner games to fall into an IP limbo or something and somehow somewhere along the way everyone seemed to have forgotten about these games.
I have seen a recent "3D" Lode Runner appear on the Switch, but IMO it wasn't any fun at all. I'd still consider Sierra's Lode Runner game to be the best of them all personally.
That stinks. It's such good gameplay. I feel like it's ripe for someone to take the gameplay loop and put their own spin on ie. What Dungeons did with dungeon keeper.
@Debs Agreed 100%. I think the primary problem here is that most of those who could possibly forgot about its existence.
Imagine a much more complex modern game with its basic mechanic too. I could see this actually being really interesting in a 3D world. Sort of like Deception, but less dark, lol. First person might make it even more interesting still.
This looks more like the successor to Lode Runner's Rescue on Commodore 64!
Spelunker got modern versions. Lode Runner, not so much.