"Meretzky has constructed the most devious set of puzzles you're likely to encounter anywhere (with few exceptions)", Yans wrote. As a result, she echoed the latter two reviewers in recommending The Space Bar primarily to experienced adventure game players. Steve Smith of GameSpot called The Space Bars humor "tedious" and immature, and its art direction "uninspired and bland", despite Cobb's involvement. While Rausch found the character design "good, if a bit simplistic", Smith described the designs as "sterile and underdone". However, Smith still recommended the game, and praised its puzzle design and level of interactivity as a revival of earlier adventure game design. Next Generations reviewer disagreed, calling The Space Bars world non-interactive to a "frustrating" degree, and criticizing the design of certain puzzles. The reviewer liked its comedy and Empathy Telepathy mechanic, however, and concluded, "If you're a fan of Steve Meretzky, you might be slightly disappointed, but not by much." Summarizing the game, Michael Gowan of Macworld called The Space Bar funny and found its graphics strong. He considered it "good for a diversion" for fans of the Mos Eisley Cantina scene. Aftermath and re-release The Space Bar became Boffo Games' second and final release. The company attempted to survive through 1997, according to Dornbrook, but was "forced to give up" after concrete deals with publishers did not materialize. Meretzky noted that a failed project with MGM Interactive that year ultimately ended the company: the publisher requested several redesigns and platform changes, before canceling the game outright. As a result, Boffo closed in fall 1997, which Meretzky called in 2005 "one of the saddest days in my twenty-plus years in the industry." Dornbrook joined Harmonix by May 1998, while Meretzky became a consultant on Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans and joined developer GameFX in the late 1990s. After the failure of the latter venture, he began a job developing casual games at WorldWinner in August 2000. On October 28, 2022, The Space Bar was relaunched in a "Super Digital Deluxe Edition" by ZOOM Platform. This edition derives from an unreleased DVD version of The Space Bar. The game's revival came as part of an agreement between the Jordan Freeman Group and Boffo Intergalactic Games, a company co-founded by Meretzky and billed as "the successor to Boffo Games". See also The Feeble Files References External links Official website (archived) 1997 video games Classic Mac OS games Detective video