Satan’s Hollow

Satan’s Hollow is a fixed screen shoot ’em up that instead of the typical space setting of the genre involves fighting the devil and his minions. The gameplay is similar to Galaga or Moon Cresta with the enemies (most commonly gargoyles) moving around in specific patterns, often diving towards the player. The player moves left and right and uses his gun to destroy the enemies. A shield is also available and can be activated for a short moment’s protection. The shield’s power is limited and when used up the player has to wait for it to recharge.

On the right side of the screen is a river of lava and it’s the player’s task to build a bridge over it. A piece of bridge appear on the left side when an enemy is killed and the player has to pick it up and transport it to the lava on the right. Once the bridge is completed the player can move over it and onto another screen where Satan will appear. Satan moves around at a quick pace while throwing pitchforks towards the player. When Satan is defeated the player’s gun gets upgraded with greater fire power and he moves on to the next level with tougher enemies and a larger lava river to over bridge.

The enemies attack in waves that alternate between the common gargoyles that move around in formations and the lone devil heads that breaths fire at the player. For each wave cleared the player gets a bonus flag which is worth 1000 extra points and these bonuses are then collected when the player manages to defeat Satan. In addition to the regular gargoyles there are also bridge bombers that can destroy parts of the bridge if it’s hit by a stone and egg throwers that throw explosive eggs whose blast radius the player has to stay out of. Sometimes gargoyles attempt to steal one of the player’s guns (lives) and they then have to be shot down before they reach the top.

The game was ported to the Commodore 64 in 1984.