Play Gateway Online

Gateway was a Game Boy release from 1992, developed by Apollo and published by Asmik. It arrived when the handheld was well established, offering a top down adventure that fit right in with the exploration focused titles of the time. You don't hear much about it now, but it had a particular mood all its own.

You control a lone explorer navigating a vast, interconnected world screen by screen. Your main goal is to find the scattered pieces of a powerful artifact. You use a sword for close combat and a bow to hit switches and enemies from a distance. The game involves a lot of backtracking through its dungeons and overworld as you find new keys and items that open previously inaccessible paths. The pacing is deliberate, and some of the environmental puzzles can be quite challenging. It feels like charting a quiet, forgotten map where every new screen holds a small secret.