Posted on: October 26, 2025
Macander
Verified ownerGames: 57 Reviews: 2
Best RPG of the era!
Amazing ambitious open world RPG!
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Darklands
Description
Prepare yourself to enter Darklands - the first realistic fantasy role-playing game. Leading a band of four adventurers across the sinister landscape of 15th Century Germany, you’ll face the Middle Ages as people believed it to be: land filled with mythical beasts, religious power-mongers, and bloodthirsty robber-knights!
Watch savage battles unfold before your eyes! Travel hundreds of miles by land and sea from Frisian Coast to Bohemia, from the alps to Prussia, visiting over ninety cities along the way.
Your quest for fame and fortune can take you through raucous city streets and dark mine shafts, or from a robber knight’s tower to the terrifying Witches' Sabbath! Get ready for the astonishing wonders of a realistic fantasy adventure in the mysterious Darklands!
We share the earnest reasons that make a classic game so dear to us!
Recommended by Judas, Technical Customer Support Specialist at GOG: If you're looking for an RPG that is different from the usual Dungeons & Dragons fare from the early 1990s then look no further. Set in medieval Germany, Darklands offers real time with pause combat and an interesting magic system that uses the power of prayer and alchemy. Break apart witch covens, perform quests for the Hanseatic League, and free people from the oppressive rule of various Raubritters (robber barons).
Click here to discover the Throwback Thursday collection of games.
Watch savage battles unfold before your eyes! Travel hundreds of miles by land and sea from Frisian Coast to Bohemia, from the alps to Prussia, visiting over ninety cities along the way.
Your quest for fame and fortune can take you through raucous city streets and dark mine shafts, or from a robber knight’s tower to the terrifying Witches' Sabbath! Get ready for the astonishing wonders of a realistic fantasy adventure in the mysterious Darklands!
- One of “The Greatest Games Of All Time” according to Gamespot®.
- Improve each character's attributes and skills as the game progresses. No artificial character classes or levels!
- Active pause system lets you to freeze the action and give new orders to characters any time you wish.
Throwback Thursday Recommendation
We share the earnest reasons that make a classic game so dear to us!
Recommended by Judas, Technical Customer Support Specialist at GOG: If you're looking for an RPG that is different from the usual Dungeons & Dragons fare from the early 1990s then look no further. Set in medieval Germany, Darklands offers real time with pause combat and an interesting magic system that uses the power of prayer and alchemy. Break apart witch covens, perform quests for the Hanseatic League, and free people from the oppressive rule of various Raubritters (robber barons).
Click here to discover the Throwback Thursday collection of games.
Goodies
manual
cluebook
map
soundtrack (MP3)
reference card
extended soundtrack (FLAC)
System requirements
Minimum system requirements:
Recommended system requirements:
This game is powered by DOSBox.
Game details
Genre:
Tags:
Adventure, Role-playing, Classic, Pixel Graphics, Open World,
show 3 more...
Sandbox, Historical, Medieval
Languages
English
audio
text
Deutsch
audio
text
User reviews
Posted on: August 7, 2025
The.Parzival57
Verified ownerGames: 26 Reviews: 1
Not recognizing mouse
Game is keyboard/mouse controls, but is not recognizing mouse. It is possible to play without the mouse if you know the keyboard controls--but you'll need to download and open the game manual from the install folder.
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Posted on: July 11, 2014
endra7
Verified ownerGames: 123 Reviews: 1
Just awesome!
I love this game! Now, it is important to note that this game is not for everyone. It is tedious and repetitive, but I love it! Just creating a party can take hours... if you are someone like me who almost enjoys that more than actual game play. But seriously, there are so many options for creating characters, and it is easy to screw it up and find out you have made a somewhat useless party. That being said, you can just use the pre-made party provided by Microprose. I love the music in this game, the look of it, and how historically accurate it is (not that the monsters and such really existed, but it is accurate based on what people at the time believed... or so I have been told). I would love to see this game re-done to have each city match the actual city... but I think I am asking a lot with that one. :)
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Posted on: October 13, 2011
menschenfresser
Games: Reviews: 7
Fond memories
It's been a very long time since I played this game, so don't sick the Spanish Inquisition on me if I'm wrong. I doubt there's anything in this game you can't find elsewhere. Cakes are made of flour, sugar and eggs, but they don't bake up the same. So it is with games. Darklands is a unique combination of game elements that is hard to find nowadays. I don't mean it's quirky. It's arrangement is without a solid genre footing. That's what I like about the older games. A game could contain anything. Expectations weren't so rigid. This was one of those games in which I left no stone unturned, so I doubt I'll buy it again. I believe there is a central story to the game, but just as well, you can wander around looking for side quests. It's very open, and while I'm not a big fan such games, I played this one thoroughly. Perhaps I was younger then and more patient. Combat is turn-based or you can pause real time combat...I forget. In either case, it does require some thought when taking on bands of enemies. Placement and weapons must be considered. I think this was the first game in which I discovered the old trick of sending a fighter forward only to retreat in order to draw the enemy into a kill zone of archers. A skill that came in handy once I found the AD&D games. There's a world map over which you cross the old Hansa territories. There are towns to visit. Banks. Things to buy. People to save. There are a lot of things to do in this game. I do recall that some missions are rather repetitive, but that didn't strike me until close to the end. I'm only giving it 4 stars because, while it is a game of fond memories, I'm rather sure I wouldn't enjoy playing it very much today. Not because it's bad, but because my tastes have changed.
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Posted on: March 7, 2012
dustytrails
Games: 7 Reviews: 1
Replayable
I bought it in 92, [5+ floppys and a devil of a config.sys expanded memory vs extended memory, and configuration file]and have replayed it about every 4 years since then. Graphics are awful by today's standards, but the clash between good and evil is timeless. The plot is linear, but the skill set is up to you. I think the team concept is/was fairly unique. I hope they have made it playable on superfast machines 20 years in the future of its original development. Dusty
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