Citadel (video game)

Citadel
Developer(s)Superior Software
Designer(s)Michael Jakobsen
Platform(s)BBC Micro, Acorn Electron
Release1985
Genre(s)Platform, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Citadel is a computer game developed by Michael Jakobsen for the BBC Micro, and released by Superior Software in 1985. It was also ported to the Acorn Electron. Centred around a castle, this platform game with some puzzle-solving elements requires players to find five hidden crystals and return them to their rightful place.[1][2] It also features some outside areas external to the castle (including a wasteland, a pyramid, a sea and an island).

Upon returning the crystals, the player must teleport to a separate set of locations to complete the game. Once the game is completed, the player is left free to roam the castle in order to achieve the maximum possible score if they have not done so already. The only way to see the final congratulatory message is to reach 99 points.

Citadel was unusual at the time for playing synthesized speech before loading the main game (in part to advertise Superior Software's "Speech!" programme package), as well as having other special effects advanced for the time, such as splashing water sounds. Many BBC Micro gamers regard Citadel as a seminal game and it has spawned social media appreciation pages.[3]

  1. ^ "Electron User Review Archive: CITADEL, Superior". Acornelectron.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Author and Background Citadel". Gamestm.co.uk. June 2023.
  3. ^ "Facebook Page". Facebook.com.