Play Challenger Online

Challenger was a 1985 release for the Nintendo Entertainment System from Hudson Soft, a company better known for its later work on the Adventure Island series. It arrived early in the NES library's life, a time when many games were still figuring out what the console could do, and it stands as a strange, almost experimental title from that period.

You control a lone astronaut who must navigate a series of single-screen maze levels, collecting all the orbs to unlock the exit while avoiding or shooting the patrolling aliens. The core loop involves careful navigation through tight corridors, memorizing enemy patterns, and making quick decisions under pressure. The game is notoriously difficult, with instant death upon any contact with an enemy, demanding precision and patience from the player. It feels like a tense, methodical puzzle where one wrong move sends you back to the start.