Qbasic Gorillas
1991
- shooter
- turn-based strategy (tbs)
- comedy
The story
Gorillas is a video game first distributed with MS-DOS 5 and published in 1991 by IBM corporation. It is a turn-based artillery game consisting of two gorillas throwing explosive bananas at each other above a city skyline. The players can adjust the angle and velocity of each throw, as well as the gravitational pull of the planet.
What it’s like
Chunky EGA-style blocks of primary colour sit against a night-sky backdrop, with skyscrapers stacked in flat, blocky rows and two gorillas standing on the rooftops like simple pixel sprites. The look is hard-edged and bright, closer to a 1990s text-mode screen than anything painted, and the wind arrow and banana arc give the static frame its only motion. Sound is sparse: short bleeps, a wobbling throw noise and a burst of explosion static, with long stretches of quiet between turns. The vibe is retro, playful and slightly goofy, the kind of thing you open for five minutes while waiting for a kettle or a bus. Pacing is turn by turn and unhurried, with each shot set by typing an angle and velocity, then watching the arc play out. Emotionally it stays light and cheerful, with no real stakes beyond bragging rights. Intensity is minimal: cartoon explosions, no blood, no gore, no fear. It suits anyone who wants a cosy nostalgic dip into early PC gaming, or a quick, gentle, low-pressure bit of head-to-head fun.
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