Earlier this week the sad news emerged that programmer Mike Singleton had died, aged 61, after losing his battle with cancer.

Lords of Midnight was a little before my time, but I do have many fond memories of playing Midwinter on the Atari ST. As with many of my earlier gaming experiences, much of the time spent with this magnificently ambitious game was not invested in attempting to achieve its primary objectives. Instead, I preferred to arse about, skiing from village to village in search of a snowmobile, or another character to recruit. Most of the time I failed, with my quests usually ending after one head-over-heels fall down a hill too many, breaking most of my character’s limbs in the process.

On that basis, I’ve been reluctant to review the game here. But, while I might not have made much progress, trust me: I spent ages with it, and it represents a significant part of my early gaming life. So I reckon it’s worth giving it another go, and attempting to play it properly this time.

For more on Midwinter, Eurogamer brought us a retrospective a couple of years ago, while Mr Creosote also reviewed the game over at The Good Old Days.