It’s easy to see why a 20+ year-old FM like this might fly under the radar—but for fans of old-school missions, there’s solid fun to be had here.

While I'd always recommend playing the series in its entirety, this installment is actually where the "gem mine" part of its title really takes off. You’re tossed into an abandoned mine/temple complex filled to the brim with treasure and the unknown.

As you'd expect, there's a lot of footwork—trying different items in different places—and the layout is huge and confusing. Thankfully, you get more than a dozen pages of detailed maps along with a working automap feature, which is a priceless addition you'll definitely want to make good use of.

The series as a whole has a nice unpredictability that keeps you engaged, even without providing a lot of fireworks. The Trickster Rift Gem Mine is no different, and the gameplay feels smooth—as long as you don’t try to rush it and pay attention to what you get. I always find it exciting to play a 20+ year-old FM made mostly with stock res and still encounter something unexpected or fresh, and The Trickster Rift Gem Mine absolutely delivers in that respect.

The second mission gives a futuristic spin to the series, which unfortunately falls short of the mark. The spaces feel unnecessarily large and quickly become samey and stale. The same gameplay style carries over from the previous missions, but it doesn’t work as well with the sterile, more predictable environments. This was the first time in the series I was struggling to keep playing. To make matters worse, a ton of equipment you collect in the first mission doesn’t carry over to the second—even though it’s a direct continuation of the story.

The overall cheesy writing of the series is continued, with items like the “Key of Blue Wetness” making an appearance, and a “Dr. I. Jones” recounting his adventures as a staple character. It's also one of the closest FMs I’ve played to being a note-reading simulator—you’ll be wading through piles and piles and piles of lore. A compilation of texts from this series could easily make a moderately sized novel. Background info is almost never a bad thing—UNLESS you place critical gameplay information inside a 16-page tome on local history, which, unfortunately, happened at least once for me. The story itself is okay-ish - if somewhat drawn-out and meandering - but it holds your attention reasonably well, at least until the end of The Trickster Rift Gem Mine.

If you love the lost places adventure vibe and aren’t put off by the vintage look of stock resources, you might really enjoy The Trickster Rift Gem Mine. As for Elsewhere, I feel rather ambivalent. I’d love to hear your thoughts—was it such a slog for you too, or is that just me?