Thanatos (1986)

Thanatos is a 1986 arcade adventure game released by Durell Software for the ZX Spectrum. The game was created by Mike A. Richardson, who handled the code and in-game graphics alongside Jane Richardson, with music composed by Julian Breeze.

Designed for a single player, the game features side-view 2D graphics with horizontal scrolling. It utilizes the AY sound chip and supports Kempston joystick controls for navigation.

The cassette version cost £9.95.

Thanatos received significant critical acclaim, earning a «Crash Smash» award from Crash and a «Megagame» title from Your Sinclair. It was also recognized as a «Monster Hit» by ZX Computing.

The game gained a strong following in Russia, where it was widely distributed. Numerous TR-DOS versions were created by various groups, and many cracked tape releases circulated among users, including those by Ducky and Bill Gilbert. It was also frequently referenced in the context of software cracking in publications like ZX Power.