Karyssia: Queen of Diamonds is a fantasy-themed, text-based graphic adventure game designed and published by Incentive Software in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum.[1] In Karyssia, the player is cast in a role of an adventurer on a quest to rid the realm of the titular evil queen. The game received positive reviews. It was developed using Graphic Adventure Creator (GAC), is a game creation system/programming language for adventure games created by the company.[1]
 Cover by Peter Carter | |
| Developer | Incentive Software |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Incentive Software |
| Designers | D&R Shacklady |
| Engine | Graphic Adventure Creator |
| Platform | ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1987 |
| Genre | Text adventure game |
| Mode | Single-player |
Gameplay
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (June 2014) |
Plot
editLoranin, the rightful heir to the throne of Arduarin, has asked the protagonist to end the evil reign of Queen Karyssia. This will involve a long journey to reach Karyssia's castle and kill her.
Reception
editACE gave it an overall review score of 695/1000, calling it "certainly one of the better GAC games released by Incentive".[2] Mike Gerrard of Your Sinclair wrote that "apart from a few careless screen layouts this is one of the best GAC games I've yet seen. The speech function is often limited to saying 'Hello' just to get a response from the characters, but I liked the way the authors seem to have successfully packed lots of features into the program. Highly recommended".[3]
According to Popular Computing Weekly, apart from spell casting gameplay element, "the game is an average fantasy romp, OK, but not outstanding."[4] On the other hand, a reviewer for Crash gave it an overall score of 87/100: "Karyssia is a fine adventure with many admirable features. The pretty 3-D graphics are thin on the ground, and the location descriptions aren't the most evocative I've read, but the plot, which unwinds along three separately loading parts, holds the attention marvelously".[5]
References
edit- 1 2 "Karyssia: Queen of Diamonds - Spectrum Computing". Spectrum Computing. Archived from the original on 2025-08-24. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
- ↑ "KARYSSIA GAC three-parter from Incentive". ACE. November 1987. p. 89.
- ↑ "KARYSSA QUEEN OF DIAMONDS". Your Sinclair. January 1988. p. 87.
- ↑ Dean, Stephan (October 2, 1987). "New Releases". Popular Computing Weekly. p. 43.
- ↑ "Karyssia Queen of Diamonds". Crash. November 1987. pp. 105, 106.