Rescue at Rigel

Also known as: StarQuest: Rescue at Rigel

Developer: Automated Simulations

Automated Simulations seemed to like the formula that they created in the Temple of Apshai and the Dunjonquest games, so they cloned it, for the most part, and created Rescue at Rigel, the first game in the StarQuest series of RPGs, which was a science fiction spinoff of the Dunjonquest series. I guess star is hard to spell in an odd way, so they didn't bother like they did with dungeon. Maybe they could have called it Stahrquest or something like that. Anyway, Rescue at Rigel plays mostly the same way as the Temple of Apshai does. The game does seem to be a little faster-paced, and the load times as you advance from room to room also seem to be improved in this game. The faster times are needed, too, since the goal of Rescue at Rigel is to find and free ten prisoners from an alien moonbase within a sixty minute time limit. According to the back of the game's box, the alien base that you're invading is from the Tollah race, an insectoid race that walks erect, but has mandibular jaws and long abdomens. If you fail to save the prisoners, then it's likely that they will be transformed into members of the Tollah race. If you do manage to rescue all ten prisoners hidden throughout the base, then you've also got to make it back to your rendezvous point before your ride takes off without you. This different goal and time limit makes Rescue at Rigel feel a little different than the Temple of Apshai, even if the gameplay feels mostly similar.If you enjoy the style of turn-based RPG that the Temple of Apshai had, but would rather shoot down androids than swing a sword at skeletons, and play at a little bit of a faster pace, then you'll likely find something to like with Rescue at Rigel.

Review added: 12/08/2025