Bedlam
In the arcade game Tempest, players controlled a blaster that could move around the outermost lanes of a bunch of geometrically-shaped levels and fire at ships that emerged from the middle or innermost areas of those levels. Bedlam, however, was a "Tempest in reverse", where players' ships (resembling the Millennium Falcon from several of the Star Wars movies) sat in the middle of sectors while ships emerge from points of those sectors and came inwards towards the player. Players turn their ships left and right and can spin them around quicker with the Fast Rotate button. Also, Zap, like the Superzapper on Tempest, will destroy everything onscreen and can only be used once per sector. There are several different types and mannerisms of enemies as well as sectors. Getting rammed by an enemy will cause the player to lose a ship in reserve and the game will end once the player has no more remaining ships.
SCREENSHOTS
PHYSICAL
HISTORY
Bedlam is a run and gun video game developed by Mirage and published in 1996 by GT Interactive for MS-DOS, Windows, Classic Mac OS, and PlayStation.
Gameplay
Players use a squad of three huge remote assault tanks (RATs) against mutated creatures known as Biomex.
Release
Bedlam was developed over a two-year period. It previewed under the working title of Mirage, with a version originally intended for the Saturn.
Reception
References
GAMEPLAY VIDEO
REVIEWS
Published elsewhere, collected here. Every score is the outlet's own, on the outlet's own scale. Follow the link for the full review.
“Whether you love fretting over turn-based shoot-outs or watching people become mutant food, Skyshine's Bedlam is an apocalypse of considerable intrigue and polish.”
“In all, Bedlam is like a love letter to gaming's history, and a relatively well-written one. By staying true to the idea of the game in which Quinn/Athena is trapped, it keeps itself well-centered. The variety to the levels keeps things interesting, and there's even a deathmatch scenario early on that's almost exactly like playing a game of Unreal Tournament with low gravity.”
“Though the game can occasionally feel a bit unfair in combat, it more than makes up for it with its fantastic atmosphere.”
“Skyshine's Bedlam is a tough but rewarding trip through a post-apocalyptic wasteland.”
“Overall, if you're in to punishing yourself with some turn based violence, than Skyshine's Bedlam is for you. It's not exactly polished and it still needs a little work, but it's definitely a worthwhile game.”
“Skyshine's Bedlam is a pretty good mix of turn-based strategy and rogue-like mechanics. However, the sheer difficulty at the beginning of a campaign and the randomized unit placement does make it very tough for players to survive their journey into the Wasteland. Already some patches are in development to solve some of these things, so the future of the game is looking relatively good.”
“I wish it were a little more approachable, but the unpredictability hosted alongside its premise and mechanics are a lot of what make it interesting. I look forward to continuing to play around with it casually and unlocking the many secrets I feel this game holds.”
“A punishing take on the Rogue-inspired genre, Bedlam is weird and colorful and stressful.”
“Encompassing many different genres, Skyshine's Bedlam will appeal to fans of a number of different genres. It may not be revolutionary, but the harsh world of Bedlam calls out to almost all types of gamer.”
“If it were for its gameplay alone, Bedlam would probably be regarded as a lacking first-person shooter that would have been better if it were released 30 years ago, but when you throw in its surprisingly good storytelling and amazing sense of atmosphere, it becomes an adventure worth embarking upon”
“While deliciously unpredictable most of the time Bedlam is still brutally difficult, thus sadly obliterating your chances of a potentially great turn-based tactical experience.”
“Skyshine's Bedlam is a worthy addition to my collection.”
“Not for the faint of heart”
“Shallow strategy and the lack of meaningful progression overshadow moments of amusement in this post-apocalyptic roguelike.”
“Skyshine's Bedlam is a competent game with a lot of surface polish, but somewhat unsatisfying gameplay. While it hits all the right notes for sci-lovers in terms of aesthetic and tone, it fails to satisfy for long with inexplicable mechanics that seem difficult for the sake of difficulty and a lack of opportunities to form an emotional investment.”
“Sometimes there are diamonds to be found out in the wastelands. Maybe with a different kind of combat system polish, Skyshine's BEDLAM could be one of those.”
“Bedlam unfortunately didn't have very many high points for me, other than having some solid gameplay that was plagued by mediocrity in its world. The sound design was nice, the graphics were lackluster and the overall experience left me wishing for an overall better experience.”
“I enjoyed Bedlam, without a doubt: it looks great, it motors along and the fights are thoughtful as well as punishing. I don't necessarily feel like I'm going to go back to it though. While it looks lovelier than FTL, it doesn't have the drama and tension which keeps me committed to that game of endless space danger.”
“I'd struggle to recommend Skyshine's Bedlam. It does have some interesting ideas and it's a fantastic setting to play around in, but fundamentally, there's a mix of ideas here that just doesn't quite work. I like that it's a difficult game, but it needs to be a fair one as well.”
Reviews are the work of the outlets named. Titles, scores and quoted excerpts are reproduced for identification and criticism; each links to the original.
SCORES
RELEASES 2 systems
PHYSICAL RELEASES 1 box
