Cadaver

Overview

Cadaver is an isometric action-adventure game for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC. It features the dwarven thief Karadoc as he follows a tip to raid the Castle Wulf: a gloomy structure rumored to be full of traps and treasure. It was part of a string of hits for UK developers The Bitmap Brothers during the late 80s/early 90s.

The gameplay is largely focused around completing puzzles and evading enemies and traps. It requires that the player find and use key items to progress or by manipulating the game's physics engine, such as pushing a block to reveal a key or moving barrels to create platforms across a gap. Karadoc can level up by defeating enemies which will increase his maximum amount of health, and players can use the treasure he finds to save the game for as long as they have the funds to do so.

Story

"Legend has it that Castle Wulf is filled with treasure so the thief Karadoc decided to raid it. Unfortunately the legend didn't say anything about the castle also being filled with deadly traps, riddles and monsters. It's not all about surviving though, proving Karadoc's worth collecting objects, putting the objects to the right use, mastering spells and solving tasks posed by the gods is also necessary. Quick reflexes and jumping skills are also needed."

Gameplay

Players are expected to explore the castle, avoiding enemies if possible and discovering how to collect the treasures around the castle without setting off the devious traps.

The player controls Karadoc, a dwarven thief, who is able to grab, move and throw objects. Some of the items can be interacted with in different ways: Clicking on them brings up commands like "pick up", "drink", "open" or "insert". Most of the puzzles in the game are solved with these commands.

Several items are needed to progress further, such as keys for unlocking doors, rocks for hitting switches or pickaxes for breaking down walls. It is, in effect, a lot like a graphic adventure game, where success hinges on the correct use of items to solve puzzles.

Cadaver also has a sequel: Cadaver: The Payoff. There's also additional stages that were given away as cover-disc demos.