Zork Nemesis

Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands
DevelopersZombie LLC, Activision
PublisherActivision
DirectorCecilia Barajas
ProducerCecilia Barajas
DesignersCecilia Barajas
Mark Long
ProgrammersMichael H. Douglas
Paul Gallagher
Ben Diamand
Gary Jesdanun
Andrew G. Silber
David Chien
Mason Deming
Edward Clune
Ted Huntington
Brian Dean Jennings
ArtistsMauro Borrelli
Scott Goffman
Jack Burton
WritersCecilia Barajas
Nick Sagan
Adam Simon
ComposerMark Morgan
PlatformsWindows 95, MS-DOS, Macintosh
ReleasePC
  • NA: March 25, 1996
  • UK: April 11, 1996
Macintosh
1996
GenreGraphic adventure
ModeSingle-player

Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands is a graphic adventure game, developed by Zombie LLC, published by Activision, and released in 1996 for Windows 95, MS-DOS, and Macintosh. It is the eleventh game in the Zork series, and is the first title not to be marketed under the Infocom label. It is the second Zork game by Activision after Return to Zork (1993).

The story, which is darker and less comical than previous Zork games, focuses on players investigating the sudden disappearance of four prominent figures and their children at the hands of a mysterious being known as the "Nemesis", uncovering a sinister plot during their investigations that they must thwart. The game's live-action cast included Lauren Koslow, W. Morgan Sheppard, Allan Kolman, Stephen Macht, Paul Anthony Stewart, Merle Kennedy, and Bruce Nozick.

The game received favorable reviews, despite some criticism of the puzzles and lack of relevance to the Zork setting, and won the 1996 Spotlight Award for "Best Prerendered Art". The game was later re-released by GOG to be compatible with later Windows editions.

The next game in the series, Zork: Grand Inquisitor, was released in 1997.