Unfortunately there isn’t too much I can say about this game at this stage, due to it being all in Polish it seems. Thankfully, Havoc Crow via the comments has been on-hand to shed a bit of light.
The game borrows character graphics from Aliens, and has a basic interface to do some kind of interaction with the characters, but this is as about as far as I get.
It seems to still be very early days for the game, so we guess the developer just moved onto other projects and left this one to gather dust. With a developer lead though, we hope to find out soon what happened to this game.
However, Havoc Crow suggests that the game could well have been on sale at somepoint in Poland, as the magazine “Top Secret” in its December 1994 issue had a reader submitted guide and map (see scans). So it seems the game did find its way into at least one person’s hands and the guide implies that the game was finished enough to have an actual ending.
Havoc Crow described the game on MobyGames back in 2007 as follows:
“Cyberworm is an uncomplicated adventure game, where you take control of a cyborg sent to infiltrate a company and retrieve some documents. There are several maze-like levels to traverse. You move around them, trying to find necessary items and locate the exit. There are guards in some rooms who may very well kill you.
There are almost no graphics – all you get are exits written on the screen. The interface is limited to the buttons in the bottom-left corner and your face in the top-right corner.”
Thanks to Havoc Crow, we’ve added a translation from them of the CYBERWORM article that featured in Top Secret.
Also thanks to Mariusz Mlynski, we learn the following:
“The article in Top Secret was written by my brother, who used the nickname “M&M’S” at the time. Fun fact: he was rewarded with a one-year magazine subscription and a fancy book about the history of IBM for his submission :)
About the game: it was made by Robert Bieńkowski (Tocont Cracking Service) and released by Fiction Software, a friend of Robert. I’m not aware that it was ever “on sale” in the traditional sense, i.e. as an individual game with its own cover, although I can’t completely rule it out. Fiction Software was one of the most prolific import groups in Poland, selling tape compilations of foreign cracks with their intro slapped on the front.
That’s how my brother and I got our hands on Cyberworm: we found it on one of the many tape compilations of cracked games. That was before any intellectual property laws were enacted in Poland, so one could buy those legally in computer shops or flea markets, no one cared in the emerging wild west :) What is certain is that the game was spread in Poland, is in a complete state and can be finished, so the “Preview” status isn’t really accurate. I think it was a mistake of Gamebase64 to label it as a preview.”
If you know anything more, please do get in touch!
Contributions: Havoc Crow, Peter Parker
Supporting content
Available downloads
- Preview_Cyberworm (zip)
Gallery
Related articles
From Havoc Crow: “For those curious, here’s a translation of the aforementioned guide:”
Reader Submitted: CYBERWORM
Mr. Jons grabbed the phone in despair. His debt, reaching several million dollars, was keeping him awake at night. Our hero decided to make a final, albeit less than honest, move. He quickly dialled his old friend, an eccentric scientist-inventor who had just completed work on a new cyborg model called the “Cyberworm.”
In this game, you control the “Cyberworm.” Your task is to traverse six floors of the building of the “Cybernetics Company,” Mr. Jons’s creditor, to carry out a “minor” scam. To complete the game, you must collect several items. These are: an arithmetic coprocessor, a “Hercules+” card, a floppy disk with program codes, a blank floppy disk, and a lamp and battery for the “Mark 3+,” the company’s central computer. Furthermore, on all levels (except the fourth), you must find three pieces of the code that open the door to the next level.
While wandering the rooms, you might encounter a guard. There are two options: either you kill him, or he kills you. You have no control over the outcome of the fight – it’s randomly determined by the computer. Try to avoid the guards, as many encounters will end in your defeat. But if you’re ambitious and want to get 100% points, you’ll have to kill them all. On the 6th level, if you take a wrong turn, you’ll encounter a computer programmer. He’s an exceptionally clever beast, and your Cyberworm often loses its droid life in combat with him. On this same level, you must find three numbers that create a code that will allow you to hack into the central computer, after installing the items mentioned above.
And what then? Then you’ll discreetly erase Mr. Jones from Cybernetic’s debtors list, see a congratulatory screen, and your boss will reward you generously for a job well done.
The game features an interesting solution to the problem of controlling the hero. You control him using arrows pointing in different directions [is that really so groundbreaking? – Ed.]. You can also use the arrows to check what you’ve found along the way or quit the game at any time. You’re constantly seeing messages informing you about everything (e.g., what’s on the floor, who you’ve met, etc.).
The game’s graphics are primarily comprised of your cyborg’s image (quite good, actually). When you fight a guard or a programmer, his image also appears. The music on the title screen sets the mood for the game, whereas the gameplay takes place in blissful silence. It’s worth noting that “Cyberworm” is a Polish production, developed by the Tocont group.
In summary: the game is very addictive, and completing it without the aid of maps can be challenging. I won’t repeat the cliché “everyone should play this game.” I’ll say, rather, that this game is a MUST-play for every Commodore 64 owner who enjoys maze-adventure games.
M&M’S
—
Alternate translation from Peter Parker (see comments)
CYBERWORM
Mr. Jons desperately picked up the phone. His debts, amounting to several million dollars, were keeping him awake at night. Our hero decided to take one last, albeit not entirely honest, step. He quickly dialled the number of his old friend, an eccentric inventor who had just finished work on a new cyborg model called ‘Cyberworm’.
In this game, you control the ‘Cyberworm’. Your task is to traverse six floors of the Cybernetics Company building to commit a ‘small’ fraud. To complete the game, you must collect several items. These are: an arithmetic coprocessor, a ‘Hercules +’ graphics card, a floppy disk with program codes, a blank floppy disk, a lamp and a battery for the ‘Mark 3+’, the company’s central computer. You also have to find three elements of a code on each floor (except the fourth) that opens the door to the next floor.
While exploring the rooms, you may encounter a guard. In this situation, there are two possibilities: either you kill him or he kills you. You have no influence on the outcome of the fight – it is determined by the computer. Try to avoid the guards, as most encounters will end in defeat.
But if you are ambitious and want to score 100% of the points, you will have to take them all out. On level 6, on the other hand, if you take a wrong turn, you will encounter a computer programmer. He is a particularly cunning fellow, and your cyberworm will often lose its droid life in the fight against him. On the same level, you must find three numbers that form a code you can use to hack into the central computer after installing the before mentioned items in it.
And then what? Then you discreetly delete Mr Jones from Cybernetic’s list of debtors, see a screen with congratulations, and your client will generously reward you for a job well done.
The game offers an interesting solution to the problem of controlling the hero. We control him with the help of windows with arrows pointing in different directions (is this really so innovative? A&G). With the help of the windows, you can also check what you have found along the way or quit the game at any time. You are constantly accompanied by messages that inform you about everything (e.g. what is on the ground, who you have met, etc.).
The game’s graphics mainly consist of your cyborg’s image (which isn’t bad at all). When you fight a guard or programming programme, their image is also displayed. The music on the playing field is introduced by the title.
In summary, the game is very addictive and it can be difficult to play through without the help of maps. I won’t repeat the banal statement ‘Everyone should play this game’. I’d rather say that every Commodore 64 owner who likes adventure and role-playing games MUST play this game.
Update history
- 04/12/25 – Fix to status and titles
- 03/12/25 – Alternate translation added.
- 10/10/25 – Added new details about the game and article.
Translation of the polish magazine where the game is described.
FRANK – “Moved translation as alternate translation under Articles”.
Unfortunately written in Basic, so not worth to spend time to translate into it.
Thanks Peter! I suspect no-one will translate the game, but you never know. Thanks for the translation – we had one from Havoc Crow, but i’ve added yours as well as an alternate one.
FRANK – Moved Havoc Crow’s comment into “Articles” tab above.
Hi there – since I happen to be Polish, I think I can say a few things about this game. :)
First, it’s possible the game was available in Poland at some point. The magazine “Top Secret”, in its December 1994 issue, has a reader-submitted guide and map (here: https://archive.org/details/TopSecret33/page/n49/mode/2up). So one way or another, the game did find its way into at least one gamer’s hands. And the guide implies that the game was finished enough to have an actual ending.
I described the game on MobyGames back in 2007, based on an emulator image I found somewhere on the internet: https://www.mobygames.com/game/29531/cyberworm/ But I did not get far in the game and I do not know how complete it was. From my brief experience with the game, and from reading the guide, it doesn’t seem too interesting :) – apparently, nothing more than going room-to-room like in interactive fiction (except without any descriptions more fancy that “You’re in a room.”), with the occasional combat which kills you randomly 50% of the time.
Hi Havoc Crow, thanks so much for the great inforamtion and details – just updating the page now with credit to yourself and with your translation added to the articles tab too. Really appreciated!
The article in Top Secret was written by my brother, who used the nickname “M&M’S” at the time. Fun fact: he was rewarded with a one-year magazine subscription and a fancy book about the history of IBM for his submission :)
About the game: it was made by Robert Bieńkowski (Tocont Cracking Service) and released by Fiction Software, a friend of Robert. I’m not aware that it was ever “on sale” in the traditional sense, i.e. as an individual game with its own cover, although I can’t completely rule it out. Fiction Software was one of the most prolific import groups in Poland, selling tape compilations of foreign cracks with their intro slapped on the front. That’s how my brother and I got our hands on Cyberworm: we found it on one of the many tape compilations of cracked games. That was before any intellectual property laws were enacted in Poland, so one could buy those legally in computer shops or flea markets, no one cared in the emerging wild west :) What is certain is that the game was spread in Poland, is in a complete state and can be finished, so the “Preview” status isn’t really accurate. I think it was a mistake of Gamebase64 to label it as a preview.
Thanks Mariusz! Some great info, just added to the page :)