What is Lighthouse: The Dark Being?

I always wanted to work in a lighthouse. Climb the stairs every evening to turn on the light. Climb up in the morning to turn it off. Free the rest of the time to read and play computer games.

Of course, it isn’t all that easy. If you want to see how thoroughly difficult the job can be, try Sierra’s Lighthouse. After some of the more convoluted puzzle solutions, you might be tempted to douse the light and let oncoming ships crash on the shoals.

A scientist’s child is kidnapped by a Dark Being. You’ll have to plunge through a glowing port into the mystical past to give chase. The Dark Being is out there waiting, and you must track him to his lab and zap him with a hand-built phaser-vacuum cannon to save the world.

Sound like another Myst clone? Maybe. But the Lighthouse beacon shines through its whimsical graphics. This ancient world has some intriguing machinery and characters to play with. You’ll encounter metallic birdmen, submarines that swim like fish, ornithopters, a maze of underground railway tracks, and at least a half dozen repair shops where you’ll be expected to fix aging equipment.

Before diving into this game, you might consider a semester at a trade school to learn basic mechanics and wiring. You’ll have to mend a dizzying array of mechanical wonders, using tools, levers, cranks, and spare parts and wires. Each in its proper sequence, of course. Unfortunately, the steps aren’t always logical. There’s a crank, for example, that must be turned precisely 14 times to do its job. Fourteen?

If you’re strong on patience and mechanical know-how, you’ll enjoy Lighthouse. Otherwise, keep in mind the old Spanish proverb, “At the foot of most lighthouses, one finds darkness.”

Lee, John. (September 1997). Lighthouse. MacAddict. (pg. 75).

Download Lighthouse: The Dark Being for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

System Requirements

From Mac OS 7.1

Compatibility notes

Minimum Requirements

• PowerPC processor
• 16 MB RAM
• 20 MB hard disk available
• 640 x 480, 8-bit color display
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• System 7.1
• Sound Manager 3.1

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver