Game Title:
Launch Date:
- Alternate Reality: The City – 1985
- Alternate Reality: The Dungeon – 1987
Developer(s):
Paradise Programming
Publisher(s):
- Datasoft (Original publisher)
- Prism Leisure Corporation (Later releases)
Game Genre/Niche:
Role-Playing Game (RPG) / Open-World Exploration
Game Overview
Alternate Reality, players assume the role of a seemingly ordinary individual abducted by an unknown force and transported into a strange, simulated world. This world blends fantasy, sci-fi, and dreamlike landscapes, with different dimensions and realities layered on top of one another.
Survival is paramount—players must navigate cities filled with cryptic NPCs, explore dungeons teeming with both wonders and horrors, and uncover the truth behind their imprisonment. Is it a test? A prison? Or a gateway to something beyond human comprehension?
With an open-ended structure, dynamic environments, and choices that shape the nature of the world itself, Alternate Reality remains a thought-provoking RPG where every decision alters the player’s destiny.
- Alternate Reality: The City (1985) – An introduction to the world, focusing on survival and exploration in an urban setting.
- Alternate Reality: The Dungeon (1987) – A more combat- and dungeon-crawling-focused sequel.
What made Alternate Reality unique was its ambitious scope—featuring real-time weather changes, morality-driven gameplay, and a dynamic, persistent world. Even though only two games were released, they left a lasting impact on the RPG genre.
Story
The series begins with the player being abducted by aliens and dropped into a mysterious medieval fantasy world. Unlike traditional RPGs, there is no set questline or overarching objective—players must survive, explore, and carve out their own path.
Key Story Elements:
- The player starts as an amnesiac wanderer with no memory of how they got there.
- The world is filled with mysteries, dungeons, and powerful factions, but the truth behind the setting remains elusive.
- The planned but never completed expansions would have revealed the science-fiction origins of the world.
This mix of fantasy and sci-fi elements was incredibly rare in RPGs at the time and added to the game’s mystique.
Gameplay Mechanics
Core Features:
- First-Person Perspective: A groundbreaking choice that influenced later RPGs like The Elder Scrolls series.
- Random Encounters & NPC Interactions: NPCs could be friendly or hostile, and interactions depended on the player’s actions and stats.
- Survival Mechanics: Players had to manage hunger, thirst, and disease while navigating the world.
- Dynamic Economy & Morality System: Prices fluctuated, and NPCs reacted based on whether the player acted heroically or villainously.
The game had a steep learning curve, but it rewarded players who took the time to understand its deep systems.
Game Features
- No Multiplayer Mode: AR was strictly a single-player experience, with a focus on immersive role-playing.
- Permadeath Option: Players could choose to have a single-life playthrough, increasing the stakes.
- Interconnected World: The planned sequels were meant to create a massive, evolving world, but due to development challenges, the full vision was never realized.
Prequels, Sequels, and Related Games
Before the events of the main game, The Abduction explores the origins of the protagonist’s journey. Instead of starting in the strange new world, players experience life on Earth—until mysterious events begin to unravel around them.
Features:
- Investigation gameplay: Discover clues about other missing people and cryptic signals.
- Horror elements: Unsettling visions and bizarre occurrences hint at something beyond comprehension.
- Multiple fates: Some characters are taken willingly, others fight to escape—your choices determine how you enter the Alternate Reality.
- Mind-bending finale: The game ends with the protagonist vanishing into a rift, setting the stage for the original game.
Sequel: Alternate Reality – The Nexus
Following the events of the original game, The Nexus takes players deeper into the fabric of the mysterious realm. Now aware that they are part of something far larger than themselves, players discover The Nexus—a shifting, unstable center connecting countless dimensions.
Features:
- Multiverse exploration: Travel between multiple realities, each with its own rules.
- Faction-driven storytelling: Align with groups seeking to control or escape the Alternate Reality.
- Meta-awareness: NPCs and environments react based on the player’s previous choices—even from past games.
- True identity reveal: Players finally discover who or what is behind the entire simulation.
Spin-offs
Alternate Reality: The Architect (City Builder / Management Sim)
A simulation spin-off where players take on the role of an entity constructing new realities within the Alternate Reality universe. Experiment with physics, AI behavior, and hidden mechanics to craft entire worlds.
Alternate Reality: The Rogue (Action RPG / Immersive Sim)
A rogue-like action game where players control a lost warrior forced to navigate different fragmented worlds in search of an exit. Features procedural generation, shifting mechanics, and permadeath where each playthrough alters the core simulation.
Alternate Reality: Echoes (Psychological Thriller / VR Experience)
A VR-based experience focusing on a single subject trapped in a warped, crumbling version of Earth, where reality bends unpredictably. The game emphasizes immersive storytelling, environmental puzzles, and an eerie sense of isolation.
While the series was supposed to have four more games (The Arena, The Palace, The Wilderness, and The Revelation), they were never released.
Despite its incomplete nature, Alternate Reality influenced later open-world RPGs like The Elder Scrolls, Ultima, and Daggerfall.
Critical Reception and Community
At launch, Alternate Reality was praised for:
✅ Ambitious open-world design
✅ Deep role-playing mechanics and player freedom
✅ Procedural generation and advanced survival elements
Criticism included:
❌ Extreme difficulty and lack of clear objectives
❌ Technical limitations (slow performance on some platforms)
Despite its flaws, the game gained a cult following, with fans still discussing its innovative mechanics and lost potential.
Visuals and Audio
- Visual Style: The game featured simple but effective first-person pixel art, creating an immersive, dungeon-like atmosphere.
- Music & Sound Design: The soundtrack, composed by Gary Gilbertson, was groundbreaking for its time and is still remembered fondly by fans.
Platforms and Accessibility
Originally released on:
- Atari 8-bit
- Commodore 64
- Apple II
- MS-DOS
Today, the game is available on emulators and fan-supported archives, though it has never received an official modern port.
Future Prospects
There have been fan attempts to remake or continue Alternate Reality, but no official new entry has been developed.
- ARX (Alternate Reality X) – A fan-made remake that modernizes some elements while staying true to the original.
- Talks of a revival have surfaced occasionally, but nothing official has been announced.
Final Thoughts
Alternate Reality was an RPG ahead of its time, blending open-ended storytelling, survival mechanics, and an ambitious, interconnected world. While it remains an unfinished masterpiece, it set the stage for modern open-world RPGs.
Who Would Enjoy This Game?
✅ Retro RPG enthusiasts
✅ Fans of open-ended and emergent gameplay
✅ Players who enjoy deep, challenging mechanics
Final Rating:
⭐ 8/10 – A visionary RPG that was ahead of its time but never fully realized.
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