GAME
OF THE
DAY
NothingDoor
Puzzle game in dark dimension
Shed your swords and pitch your potions: Only an empty-handed adventurer can pass through the NothingDoor. To escape this puzzler’s diabolical dungeons, pelt goblins, demons, and other creatures with weapons and elixirs; if any items remain in your inventory when the last foe’s beaten, that finicky exit door won’t let you through. Plan ahead!
What we love: The deviously clever design. Figuring out how to use up your last item can be wonderfully tricky, especially as foes and gear grow more complex. Try to deal two points of sword damage to a snake with one point of health, for instance, and it’ll morph into an undead version of itself with one point of negative health—and you’ll need a healing potion to kill it!
Quick tip: If you’re stacked with swords, use potions on monsters to boost their health so it takes more hits to slay them. It may seem strange to heal an enemy before attacking, but it works!
Meet the creator: Based in Ontario, Canada, the husband-and-wife team of Adam Frank and Kathleen Light concocted NothingDoor during a 1-bit game jam; the theme was “start with everything, end with nothing.” The door’s evil laugh when you fail a level is Frank’s own voice, compressed and pitched down.