Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos/Gameplay

Game structure
The player must guide the wizard Shadax in his exploration of the fortress of Kâstleröck, in search of the six pieces of the legendary Staff of Demnos. There is no subdivision by levels, but a single huge level, the castle, consisting of over 250 rooms that form a big maze. Shadax is armed with only a few magical potions and an enchanted map. You will therefore have to be very careful while moving around the rooms, where there are monsters ready to attack you and dangers of all kinds. The fortress is very large and intricate, making it easy to get lost. Try to remember where you have already passed and consult the map frequently. Each room is shown on the screen in isometric axonometry, on a black background, as shown below. Shadax, too, can only move along axonometric lines. Only one room is shown at a time. Exits on invisible walls (those facing you) are indicated with arrows.



You will start the game with 4 lives. Whenever Shadax comes into contact with an enemy or falls on dangerous ground, you will lose a life. If you lose all lives, the game is over. You can get extra lives or the ability to continue the game by collecting special items (see Collectable Items section).

The Castle
SQUARES They are the basic squares, which make up the structure of many rooms in the castle. They are usually safe and you can climb on them without any problems, however in the course of the game you will encounter some pitfalls, with squares that disappear when you climb on them, causing you to fall. They can have different shapes or colors (sometimes almost reminiscent of barrels), but basically they are always the same. In some rooms there are also invisible squares, which can be made to appear by touching them or activating a Green Potion.

DISAPPEARING SQUARES These squares with only the visible outline are usually very fragile and disappear an instant after you step on them. If you are quick to jump elsewhere though, you can go through them anyway. Sometimes these blocks are solid and do not disappear.

PYRAMID SPIKES These spikes are lethal and if you step on them you will immediately lose a life, even if you are protected by the Blue Potion. However, you can place a block on top of these spikes to protect yourself and get past them.

NEEDLE SPIKES These spikes are even more dangerous and you cannot protect yourself from them in any way, neither with a Blue Potion, nor with a block, as anything that gets on them disappears. So avoid falling on them.

CONVEYOR BELTS These conveyor belts move in the relative direction. Then climb up carefully, avoiding falling into the void. You can't stop them in any way, not even with a Yellow Potion. The game also features a disappearing conveyor belt and a couple of conveyor belts disguised as normal squares.

PORTALS In some rooms you can find teleportation portals. Climbing on them and pressing button B you will be transported to another room with a portal.

BLOCKS These blocks can be picked up (but not stored) by Shadax by climbing on top of them and pressing the B button and then released in another place, pressing the same button again. They can also be moved by pushing them. Positioning them correctly is essential to proceed, for example to overcome obstacles that are too high, or to protect yourself from pyramid spikes. You can only take one block with you at a time and you cannot take blocks to a room other than the one they are in. These blocks can fall from above when you enter a room, or you will find them already on the floor. Whenever you enter a room, any blocks present will be in the same position. The blocks can have different shapes and colors, but basically they are all the same.

MOVING PLATFORMS In several rooms you will find blocks that move, horizontally or vertically. You will be able to climb on them to reach other locations, but you will not be able to pick up these blocks.

FLOATING BLOCKS These blocks are similar to regular blocks, but are suspended in the air. If you climb on them, they will slowly descend to the bottom. You cannot pick up them.

CRYSTAL BALLS These balls can also be used to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. By pushing them, these balls move in the desired direction, until they encounter an obstacle. You can then jump on them after pushing them, to reach the desired area. However, you cannot pick up them.

BLASTING BOMBS AND DETONATORS These rotating blasting bombs are dangerous and if you touch them you will lose a life. However, they can be detonated by jumping on the special detonator. When they explode, a new passage is released on the wall next to them. The detonators, however, are found in some nearby room and you have to look for them.

Magic Potions
There are four magic potions and they are kept in as many beakers. Each potion has a different color and a different effect. To activate a certain potion within a room, you must first select it from the Select Screen and then press the Start button. The effect of each potion will last as long as Shadax is in the room, but will immediately wear off as soon as he leaves. You can also activate more than one potion within the same room. The effect of each potion is shown below:

BLUE POTION – THE SHIELD OF LIFE By activating this potion while inside a room, Shadax will become invulnerable to enemy attacks, but not to spikes. You can also use this potion to jump on enemies and thus reach otherwise inaccessible areas.

PURPLE POTION – THE ELIXIR OF DESTRUCTION By activating this potion, any moving object that is inside the room (enemies, moving platforms, etc.) will disappear immediately. A very powerful potion, to be used with caution. While, on the one hand, it can wipe out any enemy, on the other, it can also destroy useful elements to proceed.

YELLOW POTION – THE GUARDIAN OF TIME By activating this potion, everything moving inside the room (except the conveyor belts) will be immobilized. However, you will still be able to move the blocks by pushing or picking them up. Note: even if enemies are immobilized, any contact with them will still be lethal.

GREEN POTION – THE EYES OF THE BLIND By activating this potion, all the invisible elements that are inside a room will become immediately visible. However, any invisible object, if touched by Shadax, becomes visible even without activating this potion.

Each beaker can contain up to four doses of the potion (at the beginning of the game you will have only two doses of each potion) and each time you activate a potion, one dose will be consumed. To fill the beakers, you'll need to find the potions scattered around the castle. When you find one, it will completely fill the potion beaker of that color. However, keep in mind that it is never possible to have more than four doses of the same potion. For example, if a Blue Potion is collected when the Blue Potion Beaker is already full, it will be completely wasted. The ideal is therefore to collect a potion when its beaker is empty. If not, you can also come back for it later. It is strongly recommended that you use magical potions sparingly, as they are available in limited quantities. Also, there are some points in the game where you can't proceed without using a potion. Better to activate a potion then only when strictly necessary.

The Select Screen
By pressing the Select button at any time in the game, you will access the Select Screen, which contains various informations:



1 - Magic Map. The map will be of great help to you during your mission, so it is best to consult it often. On this map, in fact, every room Shadax has already entered will appear and is therefore very useful for finding your way around the fortress. The relative exits are then reported for each room. However, only the rooms you have already entered will appear. If a room is shown on the map with a white border, it means that there is another room above or below that room. In these cases, it is advisable to analyze the room well and try to find out if there is a way to go up or down. In addition, sometimes exits are shown on the map that actually seem non-existent. This means that in order for those exits to appear, you will first have to perform a certain task, such as detonating a spinning bomb or finding a magic key. But remember: the map never lies. By pressing the A button while consulting the map, you can also see the number of rooms you have already crossed and the percentage of the game completed.

2 - Number of remaining lives available. Even if they are reported up to a maximum of 8, you can continue to collect them without limits.

3 - Pieces of the staff collected

4 - Magic keys collected

5 - Available doses of Blue Potion

6 - Available doses of Purple Potion

7 - Available doses of Yellow Potion

8 - Available doses of Green Potion