Aztec Challenge on the Commodore 64 is a brutally tough, seven-stage reflex-based action game where you guide an unarmed Aztec runner through a gauntlet of sacrificial “trials” on the way to a temple. Each level is its own short obstacle course with different perspectives and controls: you might sprint toward a pyramid in faux-3D dodging spears from both sides, dodge boulders on narrow stairs, time jumps over temple traps and vermin, hop across trapped floor tiles, swim through a piranha-infested pool, and finally leap gaps on a crumbling bridge. The gameplay is mechanically simple—just a few moves per stage—but demands near-perfect timing and concentration, while Paul Norman’s steadily intensifying SID soundtrack and the constant threat of instant death give this early C64 classic its tense, almost ritualistic feel.