The character generation system alone is a better game than many I've played. Many choices with characters that evolve in age and skill with each new phase of their life selected. You can have young characters in their prime, aging ones with many skills, or anything in between. In most games a lack of education and people skills is no problem, or easily corrected at worst. Darklands is so brutal and deep that those are major hurdles. It is difficult to get many services without education (literacy, language skills, and/or some knowledge about the subject). Being uneducated is a hard, though not impossible, hole to climb out of. It is very difficult to get tutors if you are uneducated as the elite don't like dealing with bumpkins. And even when one agrees to teach you for a while literacy influences how quickly you could learn. Simply finding an alchemist is nearly impossible without moderate knowledge, and even then they are egotistical and easy to anger so you'd better have people skills. Universities and especially doctors are easier to find. However universities are very picky and refuse to even deal with you using the common tongue. Most doctors have poor skill, and you need medical knowledge to avoid finding out the guinea pig way. Want to bust through the game using magic? You can't, at least not easily. There are two low fantasy magic-like systems. You can expend "divine favor" (MP) to pray to a saint. What saints do is generally subtle, so don't expect them to do direct damage or healing. They might allow you to walk on water, end battle, or get money. Or they just might not answer if your virtue is low. The other is alchemy. This is far more direct, but requires getting lots of ingredients and spending time making potions. Making potions successfully is heavily dependent on alchemy skill, intelligence, and more so it is not something just anyone can do. Events with menu choices are used brilliantly, and this is what truly sets this game apart. Want to enter a city? You cannot just walk in, but must pass the gate. You can pay the toll, try to sneak in, or convince the guard to let you in without paying. Trying to leave allows such options as climbing the walls, swimming, or simply walking past the guards. There is almost always a saint or potion that can help, though you often won't have it. Death is permanent, and events can kill or permanently injure. Thankfully it has oldschool wherever-you-want saving, so this is only as nasty as you want it to be. The worst I can say about it is there are too few character graphics to choose from, and gritty low fantasy where characters age is not to everyone's taste.
