Arx Fatalis

can not get either fatalis or libertatis to work

One of my favorite game ever. The only one I started a second time right after the credits.

This game seems really good but it is FAR TOO BUGGY. I can not understand why it is being sold here at gog.com. It just doesn't make any sense. The game crashes, freezes and sometimes simply doesn't start at all.. and trust me, I know my way around computers. I've tried it all. This one is just far too crippled. If you read some of the old reviews from the days it was released you'll notice a very common theme. Promising game, far too buggy to be played. I'm going to request a refund on this one, even if it's just a few dollars. Gog.com must take down this download.. it's impossible to play it more than a few hours without getting some bug of a show stopping nature.

An atmospheric first person dungeon crawler role playing game with main focus on exploration, puzzle solving and simple crafting. I actually like the concept, but there are still some things I didn't like so much. The story is generic nonsense and very linear. Character development system is simplistic and not interesting. There’s almost only one play style to play the game. Almost the only right way is as a warrior with some spell casting abilities which is quite limiting as a RPG. There are lots of things and stuff you can interact with which I liked, but it still feels like there could be even more. Crafting with drag and drop system is very handy without too much menus and such. The combat system is okay, but it could’ve been even better. In combat there’s nothing else to do than just swinging your weapon and that’s it. Fortunately, there are not too much fighting like in other RPGs. Spellcasting system is interesting, but way the system recognize gestures are bit too fiddly. Spellcasting is difficult in the heat of a battle, but at least there’s a way to make quick spells. The biggest problem is the game design. It’s not always clear where you’re supposed to go and what you’re supposed to do. There’s a journal, but the way it gives necessary information is poor. There’s also a chance you get stuck so badly you cannot complete the game, like losing an important quest item. It feels like there would’ve been much more potential to be a better RPG but the potential is almost wasted in some ways. After all, the game is playable and I had good moments with it. The gaming experience has been mostly positive.

Arx Fatalis is often referred to as an "immersive sim," and for good reason: Much like in System Shock (1994), you can interact directly with your surroundings through a cursor, drag objects around, roast meat, and so on. The controls are rather simple, but some actions are more cumbersome than they'd need to be. As an RPG, on the other hand, Arx Fatalis is a very basic game. For 95% of the time, you'll be pursuing the main quest, conveyed solely through voice-acted cutscenes, and without the ability to insert player agency through dialogue options or similar. The plot is far from interesting, and story progression can be sloppy: For instance, there is a scene where a city gets invaded, and the cutscene tells me that the outpost before the city got ravaged first—the same outpost I entered the city through a minute earlier, and which was completely intact. There are maybe five side quests in total, and doing those can be safely skipped, as the maximum character level is capped at 10, and you'll be just fine at a lower level. This is due to the fact that Arx Fatalis clearly favors a specific build: Melee for fodder-type enemies such as rats, which you'll still be encountering in the penultimate dungeon, and magic to deal with the tougher foes, which are close to unbeatable otherwise. As long as one sticks to this build, combat in Arx Fatalis won't be difficult at any point. The challenge mostly comes from the puzzles, which often are obtuse, as the game typically provides no hints whatsoever, and due to the immersive sim-type of design, it's not always clear what can and cannot be done. I ended up resorting to a walkthrough, which of course is a very boring way to play, but necessary more often than not. Thankfully, the game isn't too long, but looking back, I wish I had quit instead of finishing it. If you're curious regardless, at least make sure you're using the Arx Libertatis source port, which enhances the game on just about every level.