Berzerk

The game

A room is a decision

Each maze holds between one and eleven robots, with electrified walls shaping your route through them. Contact with either a wall or a robot can destroy your humanoid. Any marked exit leads directly to another robot-filled room, and you can leave before clearing the current one. There is always a choice between pursuing points and moving on.

Pressure that grows

The first robots do not shoot, but rising scores bring faster movement and more enemy bullets. Lingering introduces another threat: Evil Otto, a smiling pursuer who crosses walls and cannot be killed by gunfire. You begin with three humanoids and earn another for every 5,000 points. Losing one to a robot or Otto sends you into a different maze.

This edition

The Vectrex edition

This version uses the original Vectrex controller's joystick and a single action button. Its firing rule ties shots to your direction of movement, so steering also determines where your attack goes.

Start here

1. Read the entrance

   Your humanoid blinks when entering a maze. Locate the nearby walls, robots, and marked exits before committing to a direction; choose an opening path with room to maneuver.

2. Practice one moving shot

   Use an open stretch to move toward a robot and fire. Watch how your travel direction sets the shot's course, then steer away before closing into contact.

3. Make your first exit

   Once you have space to reach a doorway, try leaving. Learning to recognize and use an escape route early gives you a useful habit before the rooms become more aggressive.

Original controls

These are the original game's controls. For keyboard, controller and touch settings in this player, see Controls & help.

Joystick

Move your humanoid in eight directions.

Button 4

Fire bullets in the direction you are moving.

Buttons 1, 2, and 3

Unused.

Playing tips

• Price the last robot

  Each destroyed robot earns 50 points; clearing a room adds 10 points for every robot originally present. Weigh that extra reward against the danger of chasing a distant survivor.

• Leave clearance for turns

  Eight-way movement gives you diagonal routes, but electrified boundaries punish contact. Allow space around corners instead of trying to squeeze past them while lining up a shot.

• Change priorities when Otto arrives

  Stop spending time on a firing position once Otto appears. Head toward an exit, remembering that a wall between you and his approach cannot hold him back.