Amerzone was originally released for Microsoft Windows, the classic Mac OS and PlayStation in 1999, and re-released for iOS and Android in 2014 by Anuman Interactive, whom had bought out Microïds in 2009.

Like the comic, the game tells the story of a French explorer, Alexandre Valembois, who goes on an expedition to the mysterious South American country of Amerzone.

There, he discovers many fantastical animals including a species of magical White Birds, who require human intervention for their survival.

The Birds are born legless and as such spend their entire lives gliding over the thermals issuing from a great volcano, sustaining themselves on a diet of flying insects.

The Birds' limited range threatens their survival, as does their method of reproduction: every three years, a single, enormous egg is laid, containing many embryos.

Alexandre Valembois, a zoology buff fascinated by Amerzone, lobbies the National Museum of Natural History in Paris to fund an expedition to discover the exotic flora and fauna mentioned by Antonio Alvarez.

Valembois, Alvarez, and the Jesuit David Mackowski set out on October 22 of that year,[note 5] finding their way by following the migrating Amerzone geese.

On New Year's Day, he learns of the White Birds from one Luis Angel, and decides to pursue the lead despite widespread disbelief in the creatures.

On June 1, a young tribesman returns from the nearby mountains with a large White Bird egg, thus convincing Valembois of their existence.

The Museum fires him for bringing ridicule upon them, and after a stint as a lycée professor, he holes up in a lighthouse in Brittany, all the while longing for Yékoumani and wallowing in guilt over his betrayal.

His ties to the Museum now severed, Valembois independently builds a new Hydraflot with which to return to Amerzone with the egg, but comes to realize that he is too old and weak for the journey.

In the once-lively, now heavily militarized village, he encounters an aged Mackowski who tells him that a despondent Yékoumani committed suicide in 1935.

The journalist finds a whistle in a pile dwelling, which lets him call and ride a web-footed giraffe deeper into the swamp.

Some items are not required for puzzle-solving, but instead serve to flesh out the game's plot: this is the purpose of the explorer's journal and Valembois's letter.

The game has a resource management component in the Hydroflot: the player must constantly be on the lookout for fuel and floppy disks required to keep the vehicle running.

An optional hint system was added to get struggling players back on track, and certain puzzles were redesigned in an attempt to limit tedious back-and-forth travel between locations.

[8] Before entering the gaming industry, Benoît Sokal drew comic books like Canardo, which he colorized on a personal computer.

[A 2] His comic publisher, Casterman, approved of the idea, and after a successful demonstration Sokal began work on the project with software developer Gregory Duquesne.

[6] He credits Myst as his inspiration to make the game, and also cites Werner Herzog films like Fitzcarraldo and the writings of Gabriel García Márquez as influences.

[6] In 1998, Duquesne left to pursue a career at LightWave in the United States,[A 8] and Sokal called on the Belgian company Grid Animation to produce cutscenes and do further graphics work.

[A 9] The team considered using live actors keyed into computer backgrounds instead of time-consuming 3D character modeling, but found the compositing of real and fake elements jarring.

Concurrently, Duquesne and the publishers pushed for a highly interactive product, whereas Sokal had initially conceived of the game as a more passive experience.

[11][12] Tetraedge Games—a developer of adventure games for mobile devices[8]—was chosen to make the port, since they shared office space with Anuman and so could intercommunicate efficiently.

Tetraedge cofounder Emmanuel Zaza said that the greatest hurdle lay in parsing all the old development data, which had not been organized properly.

The port features greatly improved in-game visuals and cutscene video quality, and a new playable area: the top of the lighthouse.

[18] Following its release in France in March 1999, it sold 10,000 units by early May, a number that French paper Libération considered a promising sign.

[21] At the time, Mathieu Van Overstraeten of La Libre Belgique noted that these sales were unusual for Benoît Sokal's work, as each volume of Inspector Canardo averaged 30,000 units sold.

The presentation was ubiquitously praised: the visuals were called "magnificent"[27] and "amazing",[28] and frequently compared to those of Myst,[28][29] although some complained of excessive pixelation.

[26][30] The storyline and atmosphere were called "very good", "interesting and well-developed" and "sublime",[30] with some critics drawing comparisons to Jules Verne novels.

[citation needed] More divisive was the difficulty: some welcomed it for keeping players from getting stuck,[25][29] while others complained that it made the game too simple and end too soon.