The population lives in a domed "megapolis", and, perhaps due to the war that occurred during Return to Eden, there is not any contact between the cities and the surrounding natural world.

Standard features include a 1,000 word vocabulary, a very highly-advanced English input, memory-enhancing text compression, the now familiar and very much appreciated type-ahead, and multi-tasking so a player need never wait while a picture is drawn.

And while game play remains the same, the backdrop is no longer an action adventure, but a political thriller that resembles the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

"[10] John Ransley for Commodore User said "You'd have to spend an evening with a Roget's Thesaurus to come up with enough superlatives to do justice to The Worm in Paradise; it not offers stunning (albeit it at times disturbing) originality in the overworked realm of science fiction but also embodies state-of-the-art programming techniques which will allow you effortlessly to give full rein to your powers of creative deduction – and there are always those 200 or more colourful graphics to visually help you along the way.

"[11] Derek Brewster for Crash said "The story, descriptive depth, vocabulary, and the many sophisticated features go to make Level 9's latest a really good adventure game.

"[13] Keith Campbell for Computer and Video Games said "Here is science-fiction-based political saga which you can just sit back and enjoy, or, if you prefer, involve yourself at a more challenging level in an attempt to reach the seat of power and save the world.

"[14] Roger Garrett for Popular Computing Weekly said "Even the more experienced player, who has a certain amount of knowledge about Level 9 games, will find it quite taxing but definitely rewarding.

"[15] Your Computer said "This latest text and graphics masterpiece has all the splendid qualities we've come to expect of Level 9 – masses of locations with a colourful fast-drawn picture for every one of them (except BBC B versions), type-ahead ability (no waiting for text or picture to be completed on screen), a massive vocabulary, advanced command parser, lashings of rich prose, a plethora of puzzles, and a plot lovingly crafted, and beautifully executed.