Darklands is a game of which, after nearly 20 years, I still think of fondly. I even keep the original 5 ¼“ disks though I lack the means to read them, but a working copy made it to every new PC I owned since the early 90ies. The game is fascinating from the first time you play it, even though, or maybe just because, it lacks quite a few oft he must-haves you expect in a RPG. E.G., while there is a main story arch and a sort of a main quest, calling its presentation unobtrusive is bordering on euphemism. You might as well completely ignore it, but this caters to my open world sandbox tastes (I play Oblivion with the main quest modded out). The character generation and development is unique and has never been reached again. You can choose to start with a young character, which lacks proficiency in his skills and has weaker equipment, or you can start with an older character, who has better stats, more equipment. But be aware that your characters age and after a certain age, their stats deteriorate. Certain “classes” have to older to be useful though, forcing you to trade stamina and hitpoints for skill and knowledge. The game also has a faction and a reputation system with numerous groups, like two different banking houses, and regions, with whom you may cooperate or which you can confront. The real time, but pausable, combat was a challenge in 1992 (the terms pulling and kiting weren’t developed yet) and I think, it matured well, despite the keyboard centric approach and the dated graphics. There are several concepts, some based on time or astronomical occurrences, you might not grasp on your first play-through, like the wild hunt, or even the miracle system, but they add depth to your consecutive sessions. The setting is unique because it’s based on real Germany in the late Middle Ages, but not from a historian’s point of view but from a fantastic realism point of view, where the superstition, the myths and legends of then are as real, as the medieval peasant believed them to be.
