I want to make this game justice. Fair warning, it was one of the first games I've ever played and has a special place in my heart, so I'm biased. This game is traditional fantasy in every sense: plot, setting, mechanics. It's also an action game, so don't expect deep RPG systems. You level up, you have stats, different gear and spells, but that's about it. No dialog options, branching storylines. You can sort of make different builds: you don't get attribute points, they remain the same throughtout the game (levelling raises health, mana and damage multiplier), but you can change your attributes with gear. So you could go for physical damage (Might), spells (Intellect for more mana) or speed or mix and match. Some find this limited, but I think it's the game focusing on the combat. I love the combat in this game, it's so fluid and dynamic for its time. Timing is important, block attacks and strike during openings in the defense of the enemies. Positioning too: a wall to your right might deflect your sword, you can put an enemy between you and a mage so that the fireball hits them instead of you. It's something I wish I could see in more games and not the classic mouse smashing so many CRPGs do. Having played Dark Souls, I find the combat similar in some ways. Of course, it's much more limited than DS, this game is 20 years old afterall. Some people compare it to Gothic 1&2, which came later, but the controls of the Gothic games are awful. Crusaders plays surprinsingly well in modern systems. With some key remapping you can play this with keyboard and mouse perfectly. I find this game beautiful even today. The graphics are dated, but come on. The art direction is awesome, a very classic fantasy style. The soundtrack is simply perfect, really, listen to the tracks. It's a very atmospheric game that takes me back to a time I'd really buy into game universes, be in awe and excited about the details and implications. It had magic. For me it still has.
