Introduction: A Lovecraftian Adventure
Two years after the success of Shadow of the Comet, Infogrames returned to Lovecraftian horror with Prisoner of Ice in 1995. Whilst not a direct sequel in terms of characters or plot, the game exists within the same universe and escalates the cosmic horror stakes. Drawing heavily from Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, the game combines cosmic horror with wartime thriller elements, creating a unique and cool style that stands as one of the funniest Lovecraft adaptations in gaming.
Set during World War II, the game follows Lieutenant Ryan, an American intelligence officer aboard a British submarine in the South Pole. What begins as a rescue mission rapidly transforms into a desperate fight to prevent Nazi forces from unleashing an ancient horror that could doom humanity.
An Evolution of Its Predecessor
By 1995, the adventure game genre was entering a transitional period. The pixel-hunt era of early nineties adventures was giving way to more cinematic, streamlined experiences. CD-ROM technology had become standard, allowing for full-motion video, extensive voice acting, and larger, more detailed environments.
Prisoner of Ice represented Infogrames’ attempt to modernise the formula they had established with Shadow of the Comet. The interface was more streamlined, the graphics were higher resolution, and the game featured more action-oriented sequences alongside traditional puzzle-solving.
The game required 8MB of RAM—double what Shadow of the Comet needed—and recommended a 486 DX2/66 processor. Its higher resolution graphics were impressive for the time. Furthermore, the game made extensive use of pre-rendered 3D environments, a technique that was becoming popular in mid-nineties adventure games.
The Story of "Prisioner of Ice"
The game begins with a dramatic sequence where a military aeroplane attacks a group of soldiers positioned on the ice. In response, one of the soldiers operates a machine gun mounted on a submarine, successfully bringing down the aircraft. As the chaos unfolds, another soldier approaches a mysterious crate lost amidst the conflict. Without warning, the crate bursts open, revealing writhing tentacles emerging from within.
The Submarine
Our adventure commences at the South Pole, where we meet our protagonist: U.S. intelligence officer, Lt. Ryan. Ryan finds himself aboard the British Submarine U.S.S. Victoria on a special mission codenamed ‘Polaris’. The submarine carries two mysterious frozen crates alongside a Norwegian explorer named Bjorn Hamsun. However, Bjorn’s father has been taken prisoner at a secret base. As for Bjorn himself, whilst he has been rescued, his mental state remains critical.
The submarine soon comes under attack from an enemy vessel and sustains damage, triggering a fire that melts the ice covering the crates. This releases a horrifying creature. Meanwhile, Ryan records some words Bjorn mutters whilst delirious on a tape recorder: KAA NAAM’A FTAH’N CTHULHU!
Eventually, the creature reaches the submarine’s bridge. At this critical moment, Ryan uses Bjorn’s words as an incantation that defeats the creature—at least temporarily. In a desperate gambit, Ryan seals himself inside a torpedo capsule, which is then launched from the submarine to the surface. This allows him to transmit a distress signal to his allies. Both Ryan and the submarine are subsequently rescued.
Falkland Islands
Following the rescue operation, Ryan is transported to Edwards base in the Falkland Islands, along with the submarine. Bjorn is taken to the base’s medical ward whilst the crates are placed under maximum security. During a conversation with the base captain, Ryan learns about a film sent by a secret agent in Germany with the codename Miss Molly. After this briefing, Ryan receives his service orders from a man called Quincy, who appears rather displeased.
In the meantime, what appears to be Bjorn in the medical ward transforms into a blob-like entity, escapes through the ventilation ducts, and begins attacking soldiers throughout the base.
Ryan views the aforementioned film, which consists of footage documenting the construction of a base and the materialisation of a creature—the same one from the submarine—attacking a soldier. In addition to this, Ryan receives an encrypted message from Washington revealing that there is a traitor at Edwards base. His mission now includes identifying this mole. Upon attempting to locate the personnel files for the base, Ryan discovers they have already disappeared; someone has got there first. Nonetheless, he finds Parker’s file—yes, the same Parker from Shadow of The Comet.
The captain informs Ryan that the crate under maximum security has been found broken and that soldiers at the base are dying. Furthermore, the base is being sabotaged, and chaos has descended upon the facility. After speaking with the doctor responsible for Bjorn, the doctor reveals that Bjorn’s blood contains non-human cells. He then hands Ryan a book explaining the Prisoner of Ice. Apparently, there exists a stone capable of sending a Prisoner of Ice into the void: the Stone of Mnar. This stone, together with a confidential report, is hidden behind a map in the captain’s office. Ryan uses the stone to eliminate one of these creatures roaming the base. He then discovers the files stolen by the traitor, identifying him as a soldier named Sears.
Argentina
With the documents decoded, Washington uncovers the whereabouts of John Parker, Bjorn’s friend. In his letters to Bjorn, Parker mentions a book housed in a library in Buenos Aires. Ryan travels to the library, but discovers the place is experiencing difficulties—a stone disc has been stolen from the premises.
At the library, Ryan meets a young woman whose father has disappeared. This woman is Diane Parker, daughter of Professor John Parker. Both meet with the curator, who is studying the book in question. Before vanishing, Parker had been studying the solar disc that was stolen, and the police suspect Parker himself may have taken it.
The book tells a tale about the reign of Xiclitchli, where a people lived peacefully until the arrival of a man wearing a metal mask and wielding the power of the solar disc. Through this power, he dominated the people and became the god Nyarlathotep. Before the appearance of mankind, there existed a group of beings called the Great Old Ones, who imprisoned their rebellious slaves in the ice of the South Pole. Nyarlathotep swore a curse that those who attempted to free the prisoners from the ice would become possessed by the powers of the masters and could summon the Great Old Ones back to Earth.
The story is interrupted by an armed German demanding the solar disc. At that very moment, Ryan materialises suddenly in the room carrying a futuristic weapon that dissolves the German before vanishing once more. Both Ryan and Diane hide from the police who arrive at the scene.
Ryan and Diane attempt to flee via the library’s rooftop. There, they discover three statues, with one holding the solar disc. On the library roof, they are cornered by the Nazis and taken prisoner, losing the solar disc in the process.
German Base
At the German base surrounded by snow, Ryan is placed in a cell next to John Parker. Parker recounts to Ryan his mysterious experience in Illsmouth and its malevolent cult that intended to bring back the Old Ones. According to him, the Nazis possess a powerful weapon. Here we learn that Ryan was an orphan, and they only knew his name through an identification tag found with him. In truth, the tag read: R Yan.
Ryan manages to escape through the ventilation ducts and drops into a deeper section of the base where the floor consists of stones above hot magma. This area is an ancient city containing a statue shaped like Cthulhu’s head. The statue teleports Ryan to another location within the cavern.
In the meantime, the German general holds Diane captive and uses a machine to bring forth the native Narackamous (also from Shadow of the Comet). The general orders one of his subordinates to be brought before him—this being Miss Molly, who has been discovered as a spy. Miss Molly is forced to enter the machine and disappears in its beam of light. After this, the general recites an incantation, materialising more creatures before stepping into the beam alongside Narackamous and vanishing as well.
Ryan rescues Diane from the summoned creature using the spell, but he is pulled into the machine and disappears.
2037
Ryan emerges in the future through the beam of light. The device was, in fact, a time machine. Here, he watches a recording by Howard Philips Parker recounting the end of humanity. In his account, his father, John Parker, escaped from the German base with Ryan’s assistance, but no one believed his story about the Prisoners of Ice. Parker taught everything he knew to his son and gave him the stone that allowed one to summon the Necronomicon. Howard invented a weapon capable of defeating the Prisoners of Ice; however, it was not enough to stop the creatures. Consequently, he sent the solar disc discovered by his father and despatched alongside it his son Yan and Lieutenant Shelton, with his name engraved on a tag: P Yan, with P standing for Parker.
Ryan manages to return to the past through the machine with the solar disc. He sends the base survivors, including Diane, into the machine as he prepares to send them to a base. Before departing, John Parker warns Ryan about time paradoxes. Ryan then enters the machine and travels to Buenos Aires to save himself and Diane from the German. After that, he travels to Illsmouth.
Illsmouth
In Illsmouth, Ryan finds the Necronomicon resting upon a stone circle. A spectre of Boleskine appears and reveals that the stone circle can be destroyed if sent together with the solar disc into the abyss. The method to repel Cthulhu involves convincing the man in the metal mask to enter a certain force field.
Ryan confronts the traitor from Edwards base, Sears. Sears is, in reality, Lieutenant Shelton, who became fascinated by the power of the Elder Ones because of the time travel. Ryan manages to defeat Sears, who dies in flames.
Ryan arrives at the ritual location where he finds Narackamous and the German general performing the spell. There, the general dons an iron mask, but the ritual fails thanks to Ryan’s intervention. Both the general and Narackamous disappear for good.
Following this, Ryan returns to Edwards base and reunites with Diane and Parker.
Epilogue
As an epilogue, there is a story about the Aymaras who lived peacefully in Tiahuanaco. However, a man appeared who deposed the king of the Aymaras. This man wore an iron mask, which suggests the cycle is beginning all over again.
Mythos
Prisoner of Ice continues Infogrames’ tradition of faithful Lovecraft adaptation while adapting elements for their plot. The game’s central premise revolves around the Prisoners of Ice, malevolent servants of the Great Old Ones imprisoned in Antarctic ice by their former masters. This concept aligns with Lovecraft’s ‘At the Mountains of Madness‘, where an expedition to Antarctica uncovers ancient, non-human civilisations and horrifying secrets frozen beneath the ice. Beyond this, there are aspects reminiscent of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’, particularly the mysterious creature attacks at the base. At least, such parallels felt quite evident during gameplay. Whilst Lovecraft himself never wrote about Nazis—he died in 1937, before WWII began—the idea of Nazis pursuing occult power has become a common trope in Lovecraft-inspired fiction.
Nyarlathotep, known as the Crawling Chaos, represents one of the most active and malevolent entities in Lovecraft’s pantheon. Unlike Cthulhu, who remains dormant, Nyarlathotep walks amongst humanity, manipulating mortals towards destruction. The game depicts him as a god-king who enslaved the people of Xiclitchli through the power of the solar disc, wearing an iron mask.
The Necronomicon, Lovecraft’s fictional grimoire of forbidden knowledge, plays a crucial role in the narrative… again. Moreover, the Stone of Mnar—capable of banishing these creatures to the void—references the ancient city of Mnar from ‘The Horror in the Gallery’ and ‘The House on Curwen Street”.
The narrative structure also echoes classic adventure serials and pulp fiction of the 1930s and 1940s. Secret bases, time travel, and globe-trotting adventures recall works by authors such as Robert E. Howard and others.
Critical Assessment
Prisoner of Ice retains the point-and-click adventure foundation but with significant improvements over its predecessor. The visual interface proves far more intuitive than before. The inventory system is more forgiving than Shadow of the Comet—players can examine items more thoroughly, and the game provides better hints about how objects might be used. In addition to this, the different frames allow for a superior experience throughout the game.
These refinements addressed many of the frustrations players experienced with earlier adventure games. Rather than obscure puzzle solutions, the game offers logical connections between items and challenges. The improved interface removes much of the tedious clicking that plagued earlier titles in the genre.
Prisoner of Ice represents a significant visual upgrade from Shadow of the Comet. The jump in resolution allows for considerably more detailed environments. Cutscenes are used more extensively than in Shadow of the Comet, with cinematics that explain the plot. The game’s atmosphere stands as its greatest strength. The combination of WWII thriller and cosmic horror works remarkably well, complete with the stereotypical evil Nazi general typical of pulp adventures.
Game Issues
The game is not particularly lengthy, which is not inherently problematic. However, it does end up being shorter than its predecessor, lasting approximately two hours. Of course, as with numerous other point-and-click adventures, finding certain items in the scenery can prove somewhat challenging. The pixelated visuals prevent certain objects from being immediately obvious.
This brevity works both for and against the game. On one hand, the tight pacing prevents the story from dragging. On the other hand, players seeking a lengthier experience may feel short-changed. The pixel-hunting issues, whilst less severe than in Shadow of the Comet, still occasionally frustrate players searching for that one crucial item hidden amongst the detailed backgrounds.
As for the story, it proves somewhat simple yet simultaneously confusing. By this I mean the cutscenes are highly expository, so you will understand the events as they unfold. Even so, the narrative contains numerous concepts that can become quite bewildering. The combination of all these aspects—monsters, Nazis, and time travel—makes the story feel more like a pulp adventure than Lovecraftian horror.