Ultima™ Underworld 1+2

I wasn't prepared for how engrossing this game is. 30+ years on and it is still more than capable of evoking a keen sense of mystery and wonder that kept me coming back. It will take a bit to get into for someone who is more used to modern control schemes, but don't consider it archaic: there are benefits to the way this game plays. Managing items and casting spells can be done while moving through the environment, which can alleviate potential frustrations with backtracking. Aside from that, the mouse-centric movement is still novel and fun, even if the execution is a tad finicky. Combat, navigation, and platforming are all more than possible to get good at, and it's satisfying to deftly navigate the depths, so I'd say a stellar job was done considering the pioneering nature of this game. I really appreciated the way the writing tied different floors, factions, and items together in a way that felt believable. Coupled with the thoughtful placement of key (and inconsequential) items, the Stygian Abyss feels more like a real place than I expected. A heavy dose of secrets and hard-to-find clues (some of which are required to finish the game) give the impression that the game world is more far-reaching and mysterious than it probably is. Thorough exploration and use of the map's note feature (and a handy notepad) are all you really need to get through the game, but the manual and hint book are invaluable if you're stuck. Just go into it with an open mind and a willingness to learn and play around, and you'll have just as great a time as I did. This is my first time playing this game and, as someone who is not overly familiar with traditional dungeon crawlers, this has quickly become one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had in years. I can't imagine what this was like in 1993 - but if it's anything like what it feels like to play now, I can see why this game was so influential. A true masterpiece.

In a time before Doom and even before Wolfenstein3D, there was already a game with 3D graphics superiour to both: Ultima Underworld. A game where you could actually look around freely and with terrain that was not restricted to rectangular blocks. So, graphically Ultima Underworld was a few years ahead of its time and it had an early phyics engine too, for interaction with the world. Of course nowadays these tech-marvels are outdated. But what remains is an enchanting world, great stories, many very believable NPCs to talk to and generally hours and hours of roleplaying-gameplay. So it still stands as a legend among computer games and still is very captivating.

If I had to rank all the games I've ever played, these two (Ultima Underworld I and II) would be numbers one and two at the top. Simple as it its: go get 'em!

This review is for Ultima Underworld 1, but any review I did for UW2 would have just as much praise. Quite simply, this is close to the best CRPG/dungeon crawler of all time. This game was revolutionary for its time and I spent many a long night playing this in the early 90s. It's old and it creaks, but its gameplay, story and immersion are rarely rivalled, even 30 years on. Not all is perfect though. Jumping is still a drama, and you get caught on walls and ledges a lot, but there are mods out there that make these things easier. But why is the GOG version of this game bundled in a Windows wrapper? To play it on Linux requires you to unrar the .gog file and run the installer that way - why was this even bundled as an .iso to begin with? It's not difficult to deal with, but it's annoying you have to at all.

The best game ever done, with Ultima 7 of course. Welcome back Avatar, happy to see you again.