Great game! I was able to run it on the Mac terminal finally, and the issue had to do with user error (mea culpa) than the file being "corrupted."
When I looked at the notes on the download page to give the file permission, I thought it meant going to System Preferences > Security and Privacy > General to let the file run (it's been the answer to most downloaded software that Apple doesn't like). However, even after the permissions have been given, clicking on the file would just open up jibberish in the TextEdit software.
So, I went to the zsh terminal that comes with Mac OS, navigated to the folder containing the file using a combo of 'pwd' and 'cd' (to move from folder to folder until I got there; you may have to looks this up if you've never done it before), and then tried to open it there using commands like 'open' or 'bash' or 'od -h' or 'xxd' but still no dice.
It turns out that binary files have to be opened in a very specific way by first using 'chmod -x desolate' to give the file permission and then using './desolate' to run it (reminder: within terminal, you need to be located in the folder that houses the desolate file in order for this to work; all commands are entered withOUT the single quotes).
I've been playing around on the terminal for the last few weeks in order to get comfortable to with using Git and it looks like I still have a lot to learn when it comes to using the terminal effectively. I only know the most basic commands.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my findings and also to let Kemp know that even in 2025, there's somebody that's having fun with this game!