Return To Zork Maze

Return to Zork: A mesmerizing interactive adventure of danger, intrigue and cunning. Explore amazing territory and face one fascinating puzzle after another. Spectacular Production Value: An entrancing game filled by a cast of Hollywood stars. Revel in a superb soundtrack with over 180 original compositions.

> >
1. Return to Zork

Download extras files
Manual available

Description of Return to Zork

Infocom's first return to the famous Zork universe after a long hiatus is a funny adventure that retains much of the campy atmosphere that makes the original Zork trilogy a classic, but unfortunately falls victim to its own innovative adventure interface, unforgiving and illogical puzzles, and some very cheesy acting.

Okay, let's start with the good stuff. The plot is a typical treasure-hunting quest in the spirit of the original Zork trilogy, with a dash of some magic and evil woozle thrown in for good measure. While Infocom fans will mourn the passing of Infocom's legendary parser, RtZ tries to ease the pain by introducing an innovative point-and-click interface that allows a much wider of actions than other graphical adventures. Clicking on an object brings up a menu of possible actions you can perform with that object, and clicking the object on another usually brings up even more actions. The conversation interface is also innovative: every time you talk to a character, you can select the mood you want in order to set the tone and direction of your speech. Feel like some weenie is hiding something from you? Change to 'angry' mode, and you'll intimidate him to submission. You can also ask people about any object in your inventory, or any photo you have taken. Sometimes doing so is the only way to obtain the much-needed clues for puzzles. Acting is downright horrible, canned, and cheesy, but at least you won't find too much of that in this floppy version, and all the characters and the overall atmosphere are in keeping with Zork's wacky, easy-going fantasy mythos. Although longtime fans will be disappointed at the absence of creative spells in the game, the sight of that famous white house is sure to elicit a chuckle or two and a warm feeling of nostalgia. Unfortunately, for all its designers' efforts to make RtZ a game worthy of the Zork name, all its good points crumble under the weight of the game's worst weakness: ruthlessly unforgiving puzzles. They are not just bad-- they are so illogical and obscure that sometimes you'll be solving a puzzle correctly without knowing why that particular solution works.. even with a walkthrough in hand. One example of the game's puzzles will help illustrate my point: at the beginning of the game, you come across a curious plant ('it's a bonding plant,' is all the game will tell you). Using the delightfully versatile interface, you can either dig it up, cut it with a knife, or pull it up. If you don't use the 'right' way, the plant will die, but you can still carry it around. Now, woe be the time when you finally realize after progressing through half the game, that you actually need a live plant to solve one puzzle. There is no way to revive your plant, although there is a way to get a new one.. the clue to which is hidden quite well. That's the problem with the game in general: clues are scattered in the most unlikely places, including minute references in the Encyclopedia Frobozzica, a thick fan-made book about Zorkian mythos included free with the game. Suffice it to say that anyone who's been spoiled by LucasArts' excellent cannot-get-stuck-or-die game design (and that's most of us) will likely get very frustrated playing RtZ.I must admit, however, that I had a lot of fun with RtZ even while I grumbled at its idiosyncracies.. and that's probably a sign of how much I truly care about the game (and Zork in general). Despite all my nitpicking and grumbling, Return to Zork is a definite must-play for all adventurers, although they should brace themselves for some ruthlessly illogical and impossible puzzles. While not the best in the series, the game definitely succeeds in bringing the Zork universe to life, with the appropriate sense of silly humor that we all know and love. The game's many innovations and wacky plotline are enough to glue everyone to the screen until the very end. Just think of it this way: you know you're really going to miss Boo's incessant 'Want some rye? 'Course you do' after your adventure is over [EG]. Remember: save often-- save VERY often. *

Note: To get the full breadth of how horrible the acting is in RtZ, try to find the CD-ROM version which features laughable digitized actors :) The game has two superior sequels, Zork: Nemesis and Zork: The Grand Inquisitor, the latter of which is one of the best and most faithful Zorkian games.

Review By HOTUD

External links

Comments and reviews

dj2017-10-160 point

I can't install it. Says this version is not compatible. Any help? I love this game.

Steve E2016-12-151 point Mac version

I've enjoyed playing the GOG version of RTZ on my Windows 10 PC, and the floppy version online at 'Play DOS games online'. But if I want to play the Mac version downloaded from here, it looks like I'm doomed. I have an El Capitan Mac. Scumm doesn't recognize this Mac download at all. Then I tried Sheepshaver. RTZ will start, but then Sheepshaver asks for the Return to Zork CD, which Sheepshaver can't read. Then Sheepshaver asks for MPGS, which are there, but also unrecognizable. After a few moves, RTZ freezes up and I must force-quit Sheepshaver. Then I tried Basilisk II. RTZ is even less compatible with Basilisk. I get all kinds of fatal errors. There must be some way to play this Mac download, otherwise, would it be posted here? The Mac version has some nuances that are absent in both DOS versions. I don't need Boxer, since I have a PC. Is the only way to play the Mac version to find some vintage Mac computer from 1994?

Brian2015-11-141 point DOS version

I got to the end of this and was one items short for the ending challenge (you know what I'm referring to. And I never finished. Time to get my kids playing it to beat it for me.

Phoenix2015-08-302 points

Pure brilliance !! I have been hanging on playing this since I played it when it was first released, I forgot the name so I hunted down clues until I found the title & then to be able to find it & play it through dosbox is a dream come true...Nothing beats nostalgia I salute thee :) Dark web.

york2015-07-012 points DOS version

my brothers and i used to play this when we were young.fucking awesome. so happy to play this again.

greg2015-02-281 point DOS version

videos seem to be missing or any way not playing

Chip2015-01-180 point DOS version

ive played the first one many years ago

Dwardartex2014-11-160 point DOS version

You know it's a great old dos game when the manual is larger than the actual game.

Thkaal2014-08-271 point DOS version

Here's ta us.
Who's like us?
Damn few.
And they're aaaaaaaaaaall dead.

CDM2014-02-191 point DOS version

I wrote a walkthrough for this game way back..I published it on the Compuserve thing that was pre-WWW..loved this game. :)

apalbr2014-02-17-1 point DOS version

I cant install this game :-(

Blondie2013-09-140 point DOS version

Thank you for the free download. I have the old floppy disks but am missing disk 5 & 9. Thought I was lost, but now the game is found. I even have the original ZORK ANTHOLOGY THE 5 ORIGINAL TEXT ADVENTURES book.

Tails2013-05-300 point DOS version

So happy to have found this game again, I loved loved loved it!
'Want some rye? Course ya do!'

Jack2013-04-120 point DOS version

me and my brother used to love this game. I can't wait until the 3 minute download completes and i can play it again!

Oscar2013-01-260 point DOS version

Great game! It works wonderfully.

Jake2012-11-100 point DOS version

One of my childhood games!! I used to play this with my best friend every weekend (even after finally being able to solve all the obscure puzzles and finish the game). Cool stuff.

Write a comment

Arkanoid download. Share your gamer memories, give useful links or comment anything you'd like. This game is no longer abandonware, we won't put it back online.

Buy Return to Zork

Return to Zork is available a small price on the following websites, and is no longer abandonware. GoG.com provide the best releases and does not include DRM, please buy from them! You can read our online store guide.

Game Extras and Resources

Some of these file may not be included in the game stores. For Return to Zork, we have the following files:

Other Releases

Return to Zork was also released on the following systems:

Mac

• Year:1993
• Publisher:Activision, Inc.
• Developer:Activision, Inc.

Similar games

Fellow retro gamers also downloaded these games:

Return to Zork was the first graphical game in the Zork series. The player character is a sweepstakes winner who won a trip to the Valley of the Sparrows, which turns out to be a rather depressing place. The PC enters the West Shanbar and hears from the townspeople that the East Shanbar mysteriously disappeared. As in many video games, the PC has to be the one to check it out, and ends up on a magical quest to stop the evil Morpheus from taking over. This game differed from past Zork games as it incorporated full-motion video featuring a number of well-known actors ranging from Jason Hervey of The Wonder Years, to Sam Jones, who played the title role in the 1980 Flash Gordon movie, to A.J. Langer who went on to co-star in My So-Called Life.

• The Alcoholic: Boos. No, not Booze. Boos. Yes, you read that right.
• Angry Guard Dog: Rebecca Snoot has one. In fact, you make a recording of his bark to get you past guards later in the game.
• Chess with Death: The final battle against Morpheus is a game of Survivor, which is somewhat similar to checkers or chess.
• Drinking Game: 'Want some rye, course ya do!' The trick is to get Boos drunker than you are so you can get his keys and go to East Shanbar. The problem is he's so good at drinking he can take four to your one.
• Discreet Drink Disposal: Part of the secret to winning the drinking game against Boos. Toast him, pour out the rye into the plant, then 'drink' the empty cup.
• Exposition Fairy: The teleorb.
• Final Exam Boss: About 1/4 of the way into the game, you play 'Survivor' with Moodock, the one-armed man in the inn. You play Canuck, who can move to any square. He plays the wizard Tremboyle, who has to move like a knight in chess, and makes a square into a 'pit' every time he moves off of it. Canuck's objective is to stop Tremboyle from moving, while Tremboyle's is to make every square but two into pits. At the end of the game, you play Survivor again, except this time it's against Morpheus, and the roles are reversed.
• Guide Dang It: A trend of Zork games and adventure games in general.
• Heel Face Turn: Rebecca Snoot punches you in the face and gives you a riddle to solve. She will KILL YOU if you get the riddle wrong, but if you get it right she becomes the nicest lady ever and allows you to steal anything you want from her house.
  • Understandably, she's threatening to kill you because you broke into her house and then walked in on her after a shower. You bastard.
    • Actually, she was brushing her teeth.
• Ho Yay: Moodock and Canuk have this. Moodock speaks very favorably of Canuk and when Molly [Moodock's wife] says, 'I don't mean to be malicious but that guy really gave me the creeps. I didn't even know who I was a'talking to when he was around. He was a real nut case,' instead of taking his wife's concerns seriously, Moodock tells you to just ignore her. Somewhat bad advice, considering that Canuk is a villainous character who tries to turn you into a duck, causing you to lose the game.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: There is a witch named Witch Itah.
• Inn of No Return: You will die in Molly's hotel unless you find a way to keep the lights on.
• The Lost Woods: The forest you visit is very difficult to navigate without the guide.
• Loophole Abuse: Drop all your items and stand in front of an annoying NPC. Then stab or strike them to kill them. Drop the sword, so then the guardian will come and then take away all your nothing. Meaning that once you're done with an NPC, you can just kill them and see some of the most hilarious death animations (and poses) ever.
• Magical Incantation: 'Yozozzo!'
• The Many Deaths of You: See the description under 'High Octane Nightmare Fuel' on this page.
• Mayor of a Ghost Town: The mayor of West Shanbar who has no idea what happened to the east side of town.
• Meaningful Name: Rebecca Snoot.
• Padding: The swamp maze. Oh god the swamp maze..that thing turned off more computers than the big blackout. It's not a grid maze, you have to use the walking stick on every screen to see if it's safe. The Lost Woods you can at least get by with a guide..this? You will just be annoyed, showing that old-school difficulty is not always a good thing.
• Punny Name: Witch Itah.
• Scenery Porn: For the time this game was made, this wasScenery Porn.
• Sadist Teacher: Failing a pop quiz with Ms. Peepers is punishable by death.
• Taken for Granite: Several of the NPCs you meet in the game end upn turned to stone by Morpheus. And if you fail the final game with Morpheus, you meet the same fate.
• Unwinnable by Design: All you have to do is:
  • Put the rats into the box with the mice.
  • Kill someone with your knife or sword. When this happens, a special character will appear on screen and take items from your inventory as punishment, which of course renders the game a dead end as everything has a use.
  • Take the bra box from Pugney before he says you can have it.
  • Lose important items in the incinerator.
  • Perform tasks too far out of order.
  • Accidentally destroying or killing the bonding plant can make the game nearly unwinnable. There is a Guide Dang It way around this but few people know about it.
  • Give the token to the ferry man on the way to Canuk's island (unless you are carrying the whistle).
  • Feed the rotten meat to the vultures without drugging them first.
  • Turn Canuk back into a duck before you get the disc piece from the bottle.
• Video Game Cruelty Potential: Unlike pretty much every other Infocom adventure game (or most other adventure games in general), killing non-hostile NPCs is neither impossible or immediately punished by death. As a result you can stab to death almost every single NPC in the game. A vigilante guardian spirit will show up and destroy your inventory, rendering the game unwinnable (doubly so if you still needed the dead NPC to do something), but you're still allowed to wander around and do stuff.