12 min read

Hi-Res Adventure #6: The Dark Crystal

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

Hi-Res Adventure #6: The Dark Crystal stands as a landmark achievement in early adventure gaming and film adaptation, representing Sierra On-Line’s ambitious collaboration with Jim Henson’s creative team1. Designed by Roberta Williams and released in 1982-19832, this text adventure with static graphics closely follows the storyline of Jim Henson’s acclaimed fantasy film3. As Williams noted in a 1982 TV interview, “it follows the storyline of the Dark Crystal really really close”4, marking one of the first successful attempts to translate a major motion picture into an interactive gaming experience.

The game was revolutionary for its time, being “the first official movie tie-in game on a platform where it was possible to follow the plot step-by-step”4. What made this adaptation particularly special was the unprecedented level of cooperation from Henson Associates, who provided artwork, character sheets, and extensive backstory materials that went far beyond what appeared in the film itself4. This collaboration resulted in a game that, according to contemporary reviews, proved that “games based on movies often have a wretched reputation. By this metric, The Dark Crystal does better than most”5.

As the sixth and final entry in Sierra’s Hi-Res Adventure series, The Dark Crystal represented both an ending and a beginning - it was “Sierra’s last adventure game before the groundbreaking King’s Quest”6, marking the transition from Sierra’s early text-based adventures to the revolutionary graphic adventures that would define the company’s future.

Story Summary

Set in the mystical world of Thra during the Great Conjunction - when the planet’s three suns align every thousand years - players control Jen, the last surviving Gelfling on a quest to heal the Dark Crystal8. As the game description explains: “In a faraway world, an event of cosmic importance is about to occur: a Great Conjunction of the planet’s Three Suns. A thousand years ago, when the Suns last came together, a cruel and selfish tribe known as the Skeksis seized control of the radiant Crystal that once brought harmony to all beings”1.

The player’s objective is clear: “As Jen, the good Gelfling, find and restore the missing shard of the Great Crystal that will stop the evil Skeksis and their henchmen, the Garthim, from taking over the world”9. Along the journey, Jen encounters Kira, another Gelfling, and her pet Fizzgig, who provide crucial assistance in the quest9. The game follows the film’s plot closely but offers interactive possibilities, allowing players to explore “what would happen if I tried this” as Christopher Cerf noted about the adaptation’s interactive nature4.

Importantly, as one contemporary review observed, “THERE IS >>NO<< SCORE IN THE DARK CRYSTAL ADVENTURE. THE OBJECT IS TO HEAL THE DARK CRYSTAL”10, emphasizing that this was a story-driven experience rather than a points-based challenge.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The Dark Crystal utilized Sierra’s Adventure Development Language (ADL) engine2, featuring a traditional text-based interface with verb/noun command system2. Players navigated through static, non-animated graphics accompanied by text descriptions, using simple one or two-word commands to interact with the game world11. The game’s visual presentation was notable for its time, with Alex Bevilacqua noting that “for a very early graphical adventure game it’s definitely well done and really shows off the power of the ADL engine”2.

The Apple II version featured 6 colors enhanced to 21 colors through dithering techniques2, while the Japanese FM-7 and PC-88 releases by Starcraft added even more colors to the original graphics5. The game required keyboard input only12 and supported a single player experience12.

Structure and Progression

The game was distributed across two 5.25” floppy disks13, requiring frequent disk swaps as players moved through the world - a technical limitation that became one of the game’s most criticized aspects4. The adventure was structured as a linear progression through key locations from the film, with players encountering various creatures and challenges that directly paralleled the movie’s narrative.

One walkthrough author advised: “SEE THE MOVIE (OPTIONAL) MANY OF THE HINTS ARE REVEALED AFTER SEEING IT”10, though contemporary reviews noted that “having seen the movie is neither a help nor a hindrance in solving the game”13. The game could potentially end differently than the film4, offering players alternative narrative possibilities.

Puzzles and Mechanics

True to Sierra’s adventure game design philosophy of the era, death was a constant threat. As Alex Bevilacqua observed, “And you will die on most screens”2, reflecting the unforgiving nature of early Sierra adventures. The game featured environmental hazards and creature encounters that required careful navigation and correct command input to survive.

The final puzzle of the game required players to use logical deduction based on the film’s climax, with one walkthrough noting: “KIRA IS DEAD. LOGICAL ANSWER: KISS KIRA”10, demonstrating how the game expected familiarity with fantasy adventure tropes and the source material’s themes of love conquering death.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

The Dark Crystal received generally positive reviews from contemporary gaming publications, earning recognition as a successful adaptation of challenging source material. The game achieved an overall contemporary score average of 65.3% with a median of 66.5%12.

PublicationScoreNotes
The Book of Atari SoftwareA-”The plot is exceptional”13
Personal Computer News9-10/20Mixed reception12
Tilt/Micro 75/6Positive French reception12
SoftlinePositiveGraphics described as “delightful”11

Softline’s review was particularly noteworthy, suggesting that the “thin story that failed to serve the movie well is comparatively top-drawer material in the game”11, indicating that the interactive format actually improved upon the source material’s narrative weaknesses.

However, not all reviews were entirely positive. Mark S. Murley of Hi-Res magazine criticized the Atari version, noting: “If the narrowness of the game and the disk-swapping problem were the only negative aspects of The Dark Crystal, then I might be tempted to at least recommend it… The graphics themselves are a little lackluster, and the color is not the best”11.

Modern Assessment

Modern retrospective reviews have been more critical, with Alex Bevilacqua’s detailed analysis scoring the game at just 28%2. Contemporary adventure game enthusiasts on sites like Mobygames have been more generous, with critics giving it 86%7, while user ratings on MyAbandonware show a perfect 5/5 score14.

Hardcore Gaming 101’s retrospective assessment noted that the game is “Pretty close to a shot by shot remake of the movie in game form”5, praising its faithfulness while acknowledging the limitations of early adventure game design. The review concluded that “by this metric, The Dark Crystal does better than most” when compared to other movie-to-game adaptations of the era5.

Development

Origins

The Dark Crystal represented an unprecedented collaboration between Sierra On-Line and Jim Henson’s creative team. As Roberta Williams explained in a 1982 TV interview, “Their artists have been doing the pictures”4, marking a departure from Sierra’s usual practice of creating all artwork in-house. This collaboration came about through Sierra’s relationship with Henson Associates, who were eager to explore the interactive possibilities of their fantasy world.

Ken Williams, Sierra’s co-founder, was reportedly “shocked at the number of binders full of drawings that provided the minute details behind the movie”4, indicating the wealth of source material that Henson’s team made available for the adaptation. This extensive documentation allowed Sierra to create a game that went beyond the film’s surface narrative to explore the deeper mythology of Thra.

Production

The game was developed relatively quickly by Sierra’s standards, taking Roberta Williams “a little over a month to develop the design”15. Once Williams completed the design, it was “turned over to programmers and artists after Roberta Williams completed it. Jim Mahon served as artist”16. The technical implementation utilized Sierra’s ADL (Adventure Development Language) engine, which powered all of the Hi-Res Adventure series games2.

The collaboration with Henson Associates was particularly significant because it represented early Hollywood recognition of video games as a legitimate storytelling medium. Christopher Cerf from Henson’s team described the result as “interactive fiction”4, emphasizing the narrative possibilities that the medium offered beyond traditional linear storytelling.

Technical Achievements

The Dark Crystal was notable for being “the first Hi-Res Adventure directly released under the SierraVenture label”2, marking Sierra’s evolution in branding and marketing. The game featured sophisticated copy protection for its era, utilizing “bad sector protection + checksum” methods on the Atari version3, demonstrating Sierra’s growing concerns about software piracy.

The game’s graphics were created specifically for each platform, with the Japanese releases by Starcraft featuring enhanced color palettes beyond the original Apple II version5. The file sizes varied significantly across platforms: Apple II (319 KB), Atari 8-bit (272 KB), FM-7 (219 KB), and PC-88 (405 KB)17.

Legacy

Hi-Res Adventure #6: The Dark Crystal holds a unique position in gaming history as both the final entry in Sierra’s pioneering Hi-Res Adventure series and a landmark achievement in movie-to-game adaptation. The game’s success helped establish the viability of licensed properties in adventure gaming, paving the way for future collaborations between Hollywood and game developers.

The game’s influence extends beyond its immediate commercial success. It demonstrated that video games could serve as a legitimate extension of existing intellectual properties, offering fans new ways to engage with beloved fictional worlds. This concept would become increasingly important as the gaming industry matured and began attracting more mainstream media attention.

A testament to the game’s enduring appeal, a recreation of the original game was made available online as part of The Dark Crystal’s 30th anniversary celebration18, allowing new generations of players to experience this pioneering adventure. The game has also been preserved through various archival efforts, including detailed preservation on the Internet Archive3 and availability through abandonware sites14.

The Dark Crystal’s approach to faithful adaptation while maintaining interactive agency influenced later adventure games based on licensed properties. Its balance of following the source material closely while offering players meaningful choices became a template for successful media adaptations in gaming.

Modern Dark Crystal Games

The Dark Crystal franchise returned to gaming in 2020 with The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics19, a turn-based strategy game based on the Netflix prequel series. Developed by BonusXP and published by En Masse Entertainment19, this modern adaptation took a completely different approach, focusing on tactical combat rather than adventure gameplay.

The tactics game received mixed reviews, earning a 59/100 Metascore on Metacritic20 and criticism for its user interface design. As IGN’s Mike Epstein noted, “Even at its best, combat is dragged down by poorly designed menus that take far longer to navigate than they should”21. Despite mixed critical reception, the game found a dedicated audience among fans of the Netflix series, with Game Informer’s Matt Miller acknowledging it as “a pale imitation of its source material” but still recognizing its appeal to franchise enthusiasts22.

A tabletop RPG version was also released by River Horse Games in 202223, earning praise from RPGnet’s Jacob DC Ross who described it as combining “the worldbuilding of Tolkien, the action of a Zelda videogame, and the heart of Fraggle Rock”15.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

Download / Preservation

Community Resources

References

Footnotes

  1. Adventure Gamers - The Dark Crystal – - Game title, developer, designer, publisher information and story description ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Alex Bevilacqua Blog - The Dark Crystal Review – - Technical details, ADL engine information, review score, and development insights ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  3. Internet Archive - Hi-Res Adventure #6 – - Atari 8-bit preservation, copy protection details, technical specifications ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. Blue Renga Blog - Development History – - Roberta Williams quotes, Henson collaboration details, development history ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  5. Hardcore Gaming 101 - The Dark Crystal – - Retrospective analysis, graphics enhancements, adaptation assessment ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. Sierra Gamers - The Dark Crystal – - Historical significance in Sierra’s catalog ↩

  7. Mobygames - Hi-Res Adventure #6 – - Platform information and technical specifications ↩ ↩2

  8. Lutris - Game Description – - Story summary and game setting details ↩

  9. [Dark Crystal Fandom - Computer Game](https://darkcrystal.fandom.com/wiki/The_Dark_Crystal_(computer_game) – ) - Character descriptions and plot summary ↩ ↩2

  10. GameFAQs Walkthrough – - Gameplay mechanics, puzzle solutions, and player guidance ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  11. [Wikipedia - The Dark Crystal Video Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Crystal_(video_game) – ) - Interface description and command system details ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  12. UV List - Technical Specifications – - Hardware requirements and input methods ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  13. Atarimania Database Entry – - Contemporary review scores and media information ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. MyAbandonware - The Dark Crystal – - User ratings and community feedback ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. RPG.net - Tabletop Review – - Development timeline information ↩ ↩2

  16. Glitchwave Database – - Development team credits and production details ↩

  17. [DBpedia - The Dark Crystal Video Game](https://dbpedia.org/page/The_Dark_Crystal_(video_game) – ) - File size data across different platforms ↩

  18. Official Dark Crystal Website – - Online recreation availability ↩ ↩2

  19. Dark Crystal Fandom - Age of Resistance Tactics – - Modern game development and publication details ↩ ↩2

  20. Metacritic - Age of Resistance Tactics – - Review aggregation and critical reception ↩

  21. IGN - Age of Resistance Tactics Review – - User interface criticism and gameplay analysis ↩

  22. Game Informer Review – - Critical assessment of adaptation quality ↩

  23. River Horse Games - Adventure Game – - Tabletop RPG product information ↩

  24. Steam Store - Age of Resistance Tactics – - Digital availability and technical specifications ↩

  25. PlayStation Store Listing – - Console availability and user ratings ↩

  26. Nintendo Store – - Switch version specifications and features ↩

  27. RetroAchievements - The Dark Crystal – - Community preservation and achievement support ↩

Graph View

Backlinks