Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Death Mask delivers a surprising approximation of the classic Doom formula on the humble Amiga 500 hardware. Single-player mode unfolds over 34 discrete levels, each gate-kept by a password system that lets you jump back into the action without replaying earlier stages. Three lives and a healthy assortment of weapons and power-ups keep the pace brisk, while keycards and locked doors demand exploration and resource management reminiscent of early ’90s first-person shooters.

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Multiplayer enthusiasts will appreciate the inclusion of split-screen deathmatch, a rarity on the A500 platform. Unfortunately, the layout slightly undermines suspense – curious players can sneak peeks into their rival’s viewport to anticipate movements and ambushes. Still, it’s an admirable attempt to bring head-to-head fragging to a machine with only 1MB of memory, and matches often devolve into frantic races for the best weapons rather than stealthy stalking.

The control scheme feels sturdy, with digital movement, strafing, and an auto-fire toggle to suit different joystick setups. You can even disable the character animation entirely to boost performance on slower machines. While there’s no built-in auto-aim or mouselook, the responsive turning and strafing help mitigate the lack of analog control, making each firefight feel engaging rather than frustrating.

Replay value is bolstered by the branching level design, hidden alcoves stuffed with extra ammo and health, and the temptation to perfect speed runs. Whether you’re methodically clearing corridors of pixelated demons or racing a friend to the next power-up, Death Mask manages to capture the addictive “one more level” spirit in a tightly constrained environment.

Graphics

Graphically, Death Mask makes significant concessions to fit within the Amiga 500’s 7 MHz CPU and 1 MB RAM. There’s no true texture mapping here – walls and floors adopt flat, 16-colour fills rather than photorealistic surfaces. The result is a leaner engine that maintains a steady frame rate but forgoes the gritty detail seen in its PC counterparts.

Enemies and objects employ a “trick-3D” sprite system reminiscent of Dungeon Master, flipping through a handful of pre-rendered viewpoints rather than rotating smoothly through 360 degrees. At first, the jerky transitions are jarring, but you quickly adapt and focus more on target acquisition than animation polish. A neat option lets you disable all sprite animation entirely, which boosts speed but saps some of the visual flair.

Half of the screen real estate is dedicated to static, RPG-style artwork – health bars, weapon icons, inventory slots, and moody illustrations that harken back to the original Lotus racing games. While this sidebar feels superfluous during split-screen duels, it adds personality to single-player sessions and injects an unexpected layer of atmosphere between firefights.

Overall, Death Mask’s visuals walk a fine line between technical marvel and nostalgic relic. They won’t compete with later Amiga ports that exploited expanded memory or faster accelerators, but they stand as proof that first-person shooters could exist on modest hardware without collapsing into slideshow territory.

Story

Death Mask offers a minimal narrative framework: you are an elite operative sent to purge a sci-fi installation overrun by unknown horrors. Sparse text screens bookend each level, providing just enough context to inspire forward momentum without bogging you down in lore. The game trusts its gameplay loops to drive immersion rather than elaborate cutscenes.

Between missions, the sidebar art hints at a deeper conspiracy: ominous masks, half-glimpsed laboratories, and cryptic symbols suggesting an otherworldly threat. Though the story never blossoms into a complex saga, these visual breadcrumbs reward players who pause to absorb the details before diving back into the fray.

If you’re craving a rich narrative tapestry akin to modern shooters, Death Mask may feel thin. However, for its time and platform, it strikes a solid balance: enough plot to justify blasting through corridors, but not so much that you’re forced to endure lengthy exposition on a machine barely capable of real-time rendering.

Overall Experience

Death Mask stands as a landmark achievement for Amiga owners, demonstrating that first-person action need not be the exclusive domain of high-end PCs. Its compromises in graphics and animation are offset by fast, addictive gameplay and a surprising amount of content packed into 34 levels. For collectors and retro aficionados, it represents a fascinating “what if” scenario: Doom on a budget machine.

On original hardware, performance is impressively consistent. Casual players will revel in blasting through neon-lit corridors and discovering secret caches, while completionists can grind through every level to uncover hidden passages and master the password system. The split-screen deathmatch, though imperfect, adds a social dimension that few Amiga titles dared to explore.

Death Mask may not rival its PC inspiration in fidelity or narrative depth, but it captures the spirit of frantic, monster-filled mayhem with remarkable efficiency. Newcomers to retro gaming should approach with tempered expectations, but those seeking a technical novelty or a dose of Amiga nostalgia will find plenty to admire and enjoy.

In the crowded landscape of early ’90s shooters, Death Mask carves out a unique niche. It’s part technical showcase, part homage, and part pure blasting fun. If you own an A500 with at least 1 MB of RAM and dream of experiencing Doom-style action without leaving the Amiga ecosystem, Death Mask is an essential addition to your library.

Retro Replay Score

5.9/10