Gates of Zendocon is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Epyx and published by Atari Corporation in 1989 in North America and Europe for the Atari Lynx. It was released in Japan on December 23 of the same year, where it was distributed by Mumin Corporation.[1][2] One of the first games written for the platform, it was one of the launch titles that were released along with the system in North America.
In the game, the eponymous evil spider has trapped the player's space fighter in his web of universes, which are interconnected by a series of teleportation gates and riddled with alien bases, with the primary objective of finding and defeating him while recruiting friendly allies along the way. Programmed by Todd's Adventures in Slime World author Peter Engelbrite, Gates of Zendocon began its development prior to the existence of functional Lynx hardware.
Gates of Zendocon received positive reception from critics after its initial release, with praise towards the presentation, originality and gameplay but the sound department received criticism. An updated conversion for the Atari Jaguar was planned but never went into full production due to a lack of internal interest.