Agony (1992 video game)

Agony is a horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up set in a surreal fantasy world. Published by Psygnosis in 1992 for the Amiga, it was developed by Art & Magic, a studio previously called Ordilogic Systems. This was the only Amiga title released under the Art & Magic name; afterward, the company shifted exclusively to arcade game development. Players control a barn owl that flies through six worlds, firing waves of echolocation at enemies.

The manual's backstory explains that the sun-wizard Acanthopsis discovered the "Cosmic Power" at the cost of his life. Before dying, he taught it to his disciples, Alestes and Mentor. Alestes, transformed into a barn owl, must navigate Mentor's traps and monsters to reach the Cosmic Power.

Gameplay follows a classic horizontal scrolling shooter format. The player guides the owl through six levels, shooting enemies, avoiding hazards, and defeating mid-level and end-level bosses. The owl's basic shot can be powered up three times by collecting magic potions. Two flying swords can be picked up as defensive systems, damaging enemies and destroying their projectiles. A magic scroll grants temporary invincibility. A single hit from an enemy or projectile costs one of three lives and reduces power-ups. By obtaining related scrolls, the player can open a spell menu to choose from eight temporary spells offering advantages like extra firepower or defensive effects.

The theme song, a classical, piano-led instrumental, was composed by Tim Wright. The title song was adapted without proper credit by the keyboardist of Dimmu Borgir for their song "Sorgens Kammer" on the *Stormblåst* album, though the band was unaware of this. After months of communication between Wright and the band, they omitted the track from a later re-recording of *Stormblåst* as a nod to the composer. The title song also differs slightly from Wright's original submission. Franck Sauer advised Wright to source improved piano sounds and requested permission to change them. Wright agreed but did not hear the result before the final master, causing some notes to be transposed—a "mistake" later covered by Dimmu Borgir.

Around 2010, graphic artist Franck Sauer began offering the game's binary files (ADF format) for free download on his personal webpage, making it freeware. On July 4, 2020, programmer Yves Grolet uploaded all his Amiga development files, including the full source code for Agony, to WeTransfer.