B.A.T.

Year 1990, the monitor glows blue, something between noise and music comes out of the speaker, and I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to do. B.A.T. was exactly that kind of game — fascinating, impenetrable, and utterly merciless without the manual.

B.A.T., full name Bureau of Astral Troubleshooters, is a French adventure from Computers Dream set in a sci-fi future world. You play as an agent of the titular organization, moving through an alien environment filled with strange characters, dark bars, and opaque conspiracies. The atmosphere is thick — cyberpunk vibes, exotic locations, the feeling that around every corner lurks either information or death. The French knew how to wrap this in a style that American productions of the time lacked.

The game combines adventure elements with RPG mechanics and direct action. You have stats, inventory, money, and a time limit that marches on relentlessly no matter what you do. The interface is extensive and initially confusing — you click, read, experiment. Without a manual you're basically lost, which was true then and doubly true now. The game world is open in the sense that nobody holds your hand, but nobody warns you either when you make an irreversible mistake. You simply die, or time runs out, and you have no idea why.

What I remember most about B.A.T. is that feeling of a world functioning without you. Characters have their own rhythm, places their own purpose. It wasn't an open world in the sense of today's sandbox, but back then five screens of a bar with its own music was enough to make you believe you were somewhere else. Graphically the game was solid for its time, the music on a PC speaker suffered like everywhere else, but whoever had a Sound Blaster at least had the illusion of atmosphere. Today the game has aged in the harshest way possible — it doesn't hold your hand, gives no hints, and assumes you'll read the manual. Which hardly anyone has.

B.A.T. today suits those who love old French adventures, aren't afraid to experiment blindly, and can appreciate world design more than smooth gameplay. Play it in your browser as a historical artifact — not as relaxing entertainment, but as a window into a time when games expected patience and curiosity as standard equipment. Download the manual first. This time I really mean it.