Exile is a single-player action-adventure video game originally published for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988 by Superior Software and later ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga, CD32 and Atari ST, all published by Audiogenic. The game was designed and programmed by Peter Irvin (creator of Starship Command) and Jeremy Smith (creator of Thrust). It is often cited as one of the earliest examples of a Metroidvania game and featured "realistic gravity, inertia and object mass years before players understood the concept of a physics engine... an astounding level of AI, stealth-based gameplay, a logical ecosystem governing the world's creatures and a teleportation mechanic that feels startlingly like a predecessor to Portal". Plot The player takes the role of Mike Finn, a leading member of a space-exploration organisation called Columbus Force, who have been ordered to the planet Phoebus as part of a rescue mission. Finn is tasked with abetting Commander David Sprake and the surviving crew of the disabled Pericles ship from a psychotic renegade genetic engineer, Triax (the titular Exile), who appears briefly at the very start of the game removing a vital piece of equipment called a Destinator from Mike's ship, the Perseus. As with Elite, a novella (written by Mark Cullen, with input from the game's authors) was included to set up the story, and to provide some clues as to the nature of the planet Phoebus' environment. The novella implies the events take place some time in the 22nd century. Gameplay The player is tasked with traversing a network of tunnels, collecting and interacting with objects, engaging hostile and friendly creatures, rescuing survivors and ultimately defeating Triax and escaping from Phoebus. Finn has a weapons and jet pack system which may be boosted by finding upgrades. Energy cells must be collected throughout the game to power the weapons and jet pack. Finn has a life-preserving teleport system. When he reaches a point near death he is automatically teleported to a safe location previously designated by the player, or ultimately back to his orbiting spaceship. Consequently, it is still possible to complete the game in many scenarios. Exile permits a degree of nonlinear gameplay – challenges may be overcome in a number of possible orders and not all events have to be completed. The player is awarded points depending on goals achieved and time taken to complete the game. However, in some scenarios it