1991 – 1993 / Morbid Visions / Psygnosis / Commodore Amiga
“A hardcore RPG player’s dream.” [AMIGA ACTION]
“Well, simply put, the intro to Perihelion is the best game intro I’ve ever seen, save Microcosm.” [AMIGA GAMES DATABASE]
“I have never played a game with more atmosphere to suit the theme.” [AMIGA REPORT]
“This is the best-presented submission we have ever received.” [PSYGNOSIS about the prototype of Perihelion.]
Perihelion – a world where advanced science and malevolent Gods exist side by side; where genetic engineering and occultism evolved together; where mutation is a way of life. Oh well. The game was created by only 3 people under pretty challenging conditions (don’t even ask). Taking this project to completion while going to school still remains to be the most difficult but most rewarding thing I have ever done.
As far as my role in the project goes: I did all the artwork, I was responsible for the concept, the rule-set and virtually the entire design of the game, provided the story narrative (in form of about 80 pages worth of in-game script and dialogue) and handled project-management duties. In retrospect I would do a LOT of things differently with Perihelion but nevertheless, in its day it had very high production values, some pioneering technical achievements and a highly sophisticated core rule-set and combat system which we never did quite manage to polish and push to its limits.
One signature element of the game was the shared, common 32-color two-tone palette which in retrospect was a pretty bold move but it was a key element in providing a unique look and a very consistent atmosphere.
The game eventually climbed to #9 on Amiga Action’s prestigious “50 best RPGs of all time” list.
…and here’s a little surprise: you can download the full, playable version of Perihelion here. It even includes a copy of the WinUAE Amiga-emulator, preconfigured to run the game (make sure to refer to the READMEFIRST.txt instructions). You can also download the soundtrack to the game separately, in old-school .MOD format.
Special thanks must go to Marek Tarnawski – apparently the biggest Perihelion-fan on the planet – for providing me with all these files.
Normally I’m not into distributing cracked versions of copyrighted software over the Internet, but since Perihelion has not been distributed commercially for at least 12 years – not to mention that its publisher doesn’t even exist anymore – I’m sure nobody really cares at this point. It probably even qualifies as “abandonware”…
15 comments
I love this game THANK YOU
I remember this game so fondly from my amiga days, but the zip archive is corrupt!
You are right – it was a side-effect of a recent migration I had to do. It should be fixed now.
“Help mí, másztö-ür… Áj felt dí börning tvájlájt bihájnd dóz gétsz of SZTÍÍÍL… Sztíííl… sztíííl…”
Epic intro. Megalapozta az ízlésvilágomat ez a játék. Vagy 12 csapatot indítottam el a Sandstorm Citadel-b?l, de csak egy jutott el Fort Nightfall-ig… aztán elajándékoztam a gépet, minden szoftverével együtt. :’(
Viszont, ha meglátogatod a linkben megadott weboldalt, amit mostanság kezdtem el gyártani, akkor szerintem nem kicsit fogsz elmosolyodni.
(Folytatom e-mailben egy gmail-es címr?l.)
Love this game, too.
Playing it as a kid, i really was afraid all the time just because of the thrilling atmosphere!
I think its very tricky but that motivated me even more.
Played it till the end now 10 yars later.
Thank you three and gratulations for this creation.
Legend! I loved this game. I never did finish it because of a save-game bug, but would love to now! More exclamation marks needed!
Anyhow, the infinite walking bug was hillarious. Thanks for your work on the game.
I looooved this one so much but I never played it. I didn’t have Amiga back then. I only saw it at my friend. Somebody please send a walkthrough…
Gratula a készít?knek nagyon igényes kis cucc ez. Hajrá magyarok. De az a leírás tényleg kéne, mert ha jól emlékszem a 2. városból sehogyse tudtunk tovább jutni.
Oh wow! If it weren’t for the fact I was constantly getting lost, this would probably be one of my fav games. The atmosphere was fantastic – I wonder what are the guys that worked on the game up to now?
I mean the rest of the team obviously
Hát ember, nagyon köszönjük!!!!!
Emlékszem, még NAGYON régen sokat nyomtuk osztálytársakkal, bár akkor az Amiga már kifutóban volt így csak egyvalakinél tudtuk tolni ezt a remekbeszabott játékot.
Mondanom se kell, azóta se találtam sehol, mert nem emlékeztem a címére.
Úghogy millió köszönet a felöltésért is!!!
Super game for super computer. I still have an A1200 and I like play this game . I finished this game with human character only and without spells
BTW I own original this game 
An extraordinary great game. Thanks for that.
the game is legendary. unfortunately those days have passed forever. Now they do not make such timeless games. I take my hat off.
I love this game ! The Intro from this game is awesome and music too. I agrees with penszo. Nobody makes games like perihelion now. The games developers makes colorfull but boooring games. Is there any tutorial or manual about this game in polish language ? What happens at the end of the game ? Did Unborn dies ?
Greetings from Poland
danzieger@poczta.onet.pl
Tha graphics to this game were super awesome. One of the best works I have ever seen on the Amiga. I didn’t play the game much, though, since I don’t like RPGs that much.
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