Qwak Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Jamie Woodhouse/Team 17
Publisher: Team 17
Year of Release: 1993

Game Review & Impressions
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I covered Qwak on the channel way back in 2013, but that longplay was cut short by a bug where the program crashed once the score passed a certain limit. I didn't get to cover all of the 80 different game screens present, which meant the whole longplay turned into one massive loose end of a video.

Over a decade later, I decided to give the game a second try. Despite having no ending (it loops around after beating stage 80), I felt I had unfinished business with Qwak, something which I wanted to rectify. Again, I encountered the same game-breaking bug that crashes the whole thing when earning a "Gem Bonus" at the end of a level so stupidly large the game couldn't see to cope with the value, but I was able to plough through the final remaining stages by deliberately avoiding gems, which meant I was able to get all 80 levels covered before calling it quits.

For those unaware, Qwak was originally developed and released for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers back in 1989. Jamie Woodhouse, the game's developer, would later update the game for the Commodore Amiga, boasting radically upgraded graphics, new features, not to mention in-game music (Allister Brimble and Bjørn Lynne). It was awarded 88% by Amiga Power magazine in its November '93 edition, a score I reckon is quite reasonable.

The best way is to describe Qwak is a single-screen arcade action game, which draws influence from Bubble Bobble. The objective of each level is to collect the gold keys to open one of the exit gates, then proceed to the next stage. Each screen is inhabited by various creatures that will damage you on contact, so the obvious solution would be to defeat them to remove the threat, but managing to clear a screen without killing anything rewards the player with a massive 'Pacifist' bonus score. There's also the consideration that you have a limited supply of eggs with which to hurl at the monsters, so it also pays to pick your battles carefully. Point score for killing enemies is very limited compared to other games, so you'll really want to conserve your egg supply for levels where you really have no option but to fight.

Despite having not played the game for close to 13 years, I'm still of the opinion this is an excellent game. It's easy to pick up, but incredibly difficult to master, especially once you reach the levels where you need to collect lightbulbs to revel enemy positions and hazards. The graphics, sound and music are all excellent, and the fact the whole game fits on a single floppy disk is quite the achievement. Qwak is an addictive game

Chapters
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00:00 Attract mode
01:36 Stage 01 - 10
07:53 Stage 11 - 20
13:49 Stage 21 - 30
20:10 Stage 31 - 40
26:56 Stage 41 - 50
33:23 Stage 51 - 60
39:52 Stage 61 - 70
45:33 Stage 71 - 80
53:52 Game over