How to play Survival Island online
- Move (or paddle the raft): arrow keys
- Action button: Space (paddle faster on the raft, open the mode menu on the island)
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Pause: F9 toggles the right difficulty switch, which pauses the game
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
The game was too big for the Supercharger’s memory, so the tape held it in three separate parts, called loads. At the end of the first and second loads the game shows a 12-digit code. Entering that code at the start lets you continue from where you finished: move the pointer with left and right, press the button to change a digit, then select START.
Load 1: Shipwrecked. You are on a raft drifting towards the island, with 99 life points. Touch floating crates to collect food and water, because you will need them later. Sharks and sea creatures can knock you into the water, and if you lose the raft you lose your supplies too. Paddling faster with the button drains your life, but feeding the black octopus restores it.
Load 2: The Wilderness Island. Explore the island to find the temple, avoiding snakes, toadstools and hidden traps. A menu lets you switch between Normal mode for quick travel and Search mode, a slower walk in which you can prod objects with your cane without being hurt. You can also eat, drink, use or drop items. You need the key to the temple door, and once inside there is no way back, so collect everything you need first.
Load 3: The Secret Temple. The temple is a maze of sections. Each needs its own key object to pass a magic barrier, and there are one-way walls and invisible teleport squares. Your final result depends on how quickly you reach the hidden chamber and how much life you have left.
Tips
- Write down every code. It is the only way to skip ahead to the island or the temple in a later session.
- Stock up on the raft. Food and water from Load 1 are what keep you alive on the island.
- Use Search mode for unknown objects. Touching something in Normal mode can hurt you.
- Draw a map. The manual itself recommends mapping the island and each temple section on paper, including teleporters and one-way walls.
- Save before the temple door. A save state protects you if you go in without the right items.
History
Starpath began life in 1981 as Arcadia Corporation and launched the Supercharger in August 1982 for $69.95, bundled with Phaser Patrol. Only Starpath made games for it. As the video game market collapsed, the company ran into financial trouble. Survival Island and Sword of Saros came after the main run of Supercharger releases and were sold only by mail order. Epyx took Starpath over in 1984. Today AtariAge rates the Survival Island tape as very rare.
Similar games to play next
- Sword of Saros – the other late, mail-order-only Supercharger adventure
- Dragonstomper – Starpath’s three-part role-playing adventure
- Escape from the Mindmaster – a Supercharger maze game in first person
- Pitfall! – jungle exploration with its own share of traps
- Adventure – the original 2600 quest for keys and hidden rooms