Posted on: January 3, 2024
massplus
Games: 368 Reviews: 3
Okay
I own the game on steam and played it extensively but I somehow gave up on it as it didn't offer as much as I had expected. It's worth mentioning that the game can be launched on a real Apple 2 machine and one should keep in mind that it was created with the limitations of that machine (which I owned in the 80's and have fond memories of). There lie one of the strenghts of Nox Archaist: it's aesthetically impressive for such a dated computer, a real blast from the past, it instantly fuels up nostalgia. But at the same time, the interface is SOOOO irritating (changing equipment is a chore and involves delving into menus and sub menus). Progression is nice at first, the story unfolds with fresh twists and a nice sense of freedom and mystery but then fighting quickly becomes stale and one soon realizes that the amount of things you can do ingame is somehow quite limited: -Not so many subquests -XP value of slain enemies dwindles with each series of kills; it's some sort of level scaling, I dislike that kind of mechanic. -Enemies spawn in unending waves, with little benefit for the player; all it does is slowing the progression and making you lose track of your quest. -NPCs have routines but are sometimes hard to find. It's not always clear where to go or who to talk to for certain quests. -Dungeons, castles and caves are a pain to navigate most of the time; a map and automap feature inside buildings could have been a great help since many are interconnected mazes. -Casting spells, changing equipment, leaving team mates at the inn and picking someone else is tedious. -If you don't use NOX COMPANION (download it already, it's free, if you intend to play the game), everything is slow as hell. NOX COMPANION allows you a few nice modifications. In a nutshell, the game draws a lot of inspiration from old Ultimas but apart from the incipit, I didn't feel as engaged as when I discovered Ultima IV and Ultima V for the first time as a child.
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