Dark Ages

About

Dark Ages is a side-scrolling platformer from 1991 where you play a prince battling undead hordes to reclaim his kingdom. Navigate crumbling castles, dense forests, and shadowy dungeons by leaping over traps, shooting enemies, and collecting keys from cryptic sages. Each level hides a door unlocked by completing tasks like fetching a shield or an apple. Magic evolves as you progress from basic energy bolts to a rapid-fire beam that obliterates foes in one hit. The three-episode structure offers a lean but escalating challenge, with boss battles and environmental hazards keeping the tension high. This DOS-era title holds a niche legacy as the first shareware game to use AdLib sound cards, adding eerie audio flair to its medieval chaos. Though its graphics and gameplay feel dated, the clear objectives and escalating spell system still feel satisfying. With over 10,000 downloads reported since its 2009 freeware release, fans appreciate the brisk story of a hero reclaiming his throne and the tight level design that rewards careful exploration. The prince’s journey from peasant-raised warrior to king offers a surprisingly cohesive arc for a game built in three bite-sized chunks.

Storyline

The player controls the prince and heir to the land’s greatest kingdom (referred to as the Great Kingdom). When the prince was a child, Garth, a power hungry wizard of immense power and greed, killed his father and took the throne. Rather than kill the prince he sent him to be raised by peasants, but even Garth’s evil magic could not foresee his mistake, since the very peasant he delivered him to was once the Kingdom’s greatest hero, and as the prince grew he was taught the ways of a master fighter. One of the things he learned well was how to use magic as a weapon. In the years after Garth’s conquest, the kingdom had fallen into ruin and despair, with no hope of returning to the times of happiness and prosperity. Garth ruled with an iron fist and terrorized the population with undead creatures. The player's quest is to find Garth and rescue the Kingdom from the Dark Ages it’s trapped in. The difficult journey takes the player through badlands, castles, dungeons, caves, forests and finally to the Great Kingdom itself, with Garth’s army of undead creatures attacking at every turn. The final episode ends with a confrontation between the prince and Garth. After killing Garth, the prince's destiny is fulfilled, having freed the kingdom from the Dark Ages of fear and tyranny. The prince assumes his rightful place as the peaceful King and Leader of the Kingdom. The Great Kingdom is once again free to prosper and grow without fear.