Frankenstein's Monster
Frankenstein's Monster — frequently asked questions
- Is Frankenstein's Monster on Steam?
- No. Frankenstein's Monster is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
- What platforms is Frankenstein's Monster on?
- Frankenstein's Monster is available on Atari 2600.
- When did Frankenstein's Monster release?
- Frankenstein's Monster was first released on December 31, 1983.
About Frankenstein's Monster
In the cold dark night you make your way through the ghoulish castle of Dr. Frankenstein. There you must prevent him from completing his creation. Your only chance is to gather stones from the dungeon and bring them to the tower where you must build a barricade around the monster before he has accumulated enough energy to come alive. You start at the top floor of the castle and must make your way to the dungeon to get a stone to wall in the monster, all the while avoiding ghosts, giant tarantulas, trapdoors, spiders and a pool of acid. Once you have the stone, you must make your way back to the top, again avoiding these obstacles. When you get near the monster, you switch to a new screen where you must make your way past bats to place the stone. You must do this four times and each time gets harder, with more ghosts, more and bigger tarantulas, and a harder to cross acid pool. You have three lives and falling into the acid pool will lose you one. You are also timed (see Difficulty settings) and you are trying to get and not lose points
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Atari 2600
- Developer
- Data Age
- Publisher
- Data Age
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer
- Themes
- Action, Horror
Details via IGDB.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America Data Age | Standard | 116008 | Rare |
| Europe Game World | — | — | — |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1983
- Controller
- Atari Joystick
- Players
- 1 - 2
- Authenticity
- Low
Data Age's take on Mary Shelley, a modest platform game with a monster-movie theme.
J. Ray Dettling designed Frankenstein's Monster for Data Age, released in March 1983. It is a platform game based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. It was released in North America only, with no PAL release.
How it was made
Designed by J. Ray Dettling and published by Data Age in March 1983.
What the press said at the time
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 2 No. 1 | April 1983 | Graphics ★★½ · Play-Action ★★★½ |
| Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 8 | June 1983 | 3 joysticks |
“While the graphics could have been better, play action is great—we had a tough time putting this one down to work on other cartridges to be reviewed!”
“But for those who aren't familiar with those two cartridges, or who found them an interesting challenge, Frankenstein should prove a formidable and engaging opponent.”
“Now here's an intriguing, and exceedingly challenging, videogame that uses that hoary staple of horror flicks … Very charming graphics and an interesting game concept.”
“While the special effects are great in this game (the charging monster is su- perb), it will take more than color to keep your attention on the predictable action.”
Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — stars in most years, diamonds in 1986–87 — comparing each game only with other games for the same system. Electronic Fun rated games out of four joysticks.
Cartridge & preservation record
Program size 4 KB, measured from the preserved dump.
Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.
Before you buy
Low risk. No fakes are documented. The box and manual carry much of a complete copy's value, so check that both are present. For a loose cart, ask for a working test and photos of the label.
Frankenstein's Monster screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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