The Crystal Key
| The Crystal Key | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Earthlight Productions |
| Publisher(s) | DreamCatcher Interactive/The Adventure Company |
| Platform(s) | Windows 95/Windows 98, Mac OS |
| Release date(s) | March 30, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Graphic adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | Two Hybrid CD-ROMs |
The Crystal Key is a graphic adventure video game published by DreamCatcher Interactive in 2000. A sequel entitled Crystal Key 2: The Far Realm was released in 2004.
Story
The storyline is set in the future, where the protagonist is sent to another planet to investigate the source of a cryptic message from an evil alien race. The player begins the game having crash-landed on the planet and must explore the world, find a crystal key and portal which would help the player defeat the race and bring peace to the galaxy.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to other games in the genre, such as Myst or Zork in that the player clicks around the environment to walk, pick up items, and manipulate tools.
Reception
The game received good reviews from adventure game sites such as Adventureland, and mixed reviews from more mainstream game sites.
The title sold over 500,000 copies and was PCData's "Best-Selling Adventure Game of 2000". It was Dreamcatcher's most successful title to date, and was their first title to break into the big box retailers in the USA, such as Walmart and Target.