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Welcome, Watchers of Illusion, to the Castle of Confusion... such were the opening words of the groundbreaking children's TV Knightmare, as spoken by its master of ceremonies, Tregard of Dunshelm. And the legendary dungeon master - played by Hugo Myatt - is set to don his robes once again for a new video game adaptation.
Developed by a small team led by Ewen Watson, and officially licensed by Anglia Television and approved by show creator Tim Child, Knightmare will be a short-form point-and-click adventure released gratis for PC in 2027, just in time to celebrate the smash-hit show's 40th anniversary.
Along with Hugo Myatt's return, Knightmare will feature a knapsack of actors reprising their roles from the original show, including Edmund Dehn as bad-tempered knight Gumboil, Iona Kennedy as sorceress-in-training Sidriss, Clifford Barry as staff-wielding monk Brother Strange, and, of course, Mark Knight as the villainous but perpetually exasperated Lord Fear.
Airing between 1987 and 1994, CITV's Knightmare blended Dungeons & Dragons, video games, and quiz shows into a singular slice of Gothic (and surprisingly grim) children's entertainment. A team of three hapless kids would lead their friend through a series of dungeons - solving riddles, avoiding traps and monsters, and conversing with wacky, equity-card-earning actors - in hopes of leaving the castle WITH THEIR VERY LIVES.
Well, not really, as Knightmare's dungeons were, in actuality, luscious, hand-painted backgrounds chromakeyed directly onto a green-screen set. The lead contestant (or "Dungeoneer") wore the iconic HELMET OF JUSTICE, which operated as a blindfold to prevent them from realising that they were actually just standing in a cold warehouse in Norwich.
Still, for the home audience, it was thrilling stuff, especially given that the show was rock hard. Only eight of around 70 competing teams successfully made it through the labyrinth of rock monsters, goblins, giant spiders, and bad accents. The treacherous nature of Knightmare led to some delightfully iconic "deaths", sometimes caused by simple spelling errors or occasionally not knowing your left from your right.
This new release will not be the first Knightmare adaptation, although previous efforts have left a lot to be desired. Frustrating for a franchise so beholden to gaming itself. Activision's 1987 effort, the first Knightmare game, was The Shits, failing to capture the show's concepts and featuring boring gameplay that lacked any sense of intensity or excitement. If you like throwing rocks, it's the game for you.
In 1991, Mindscape fared a little better with its own Knightmare game for the Amiga and Atari ST. This first-person adventure was almost Knightmare in name only, but at least featured recognisable characters and locations from the series, and built upon an icon-driven, dungeon-crawling experience.
In 2024, bedroom programmer Tom Potter (SausageWare Games) released a homebrewed adaptation for the ZX Spectrum. This version blended adventure gaming with arcade action, finally bringing a spirit of fun and authenticity to the proceedings, along with many recognisable elements of the original show. Sausageware's Knightmare is far closer to the game we envisioned as kids and is well worth checking out.
For those of a certain age, myself included, Knightmare is nostalgia incarnate. Through modern eyes, it can sometimes seem a corny and slow-moving endeavour; it was borderline gospel for many British kids, especially at a time when Gothic adventures, D&D archetypes, and video gaming typically eschewed the mainstream. Knightmare was new and bold, even edgy, and deserving of its place in televisual history.
It's great to see tribute paid to this unique piece of entertainment, almost four decades on from its seminal debut... Even if there is no sign of my gal, Majida... deep sigh...