I don't use the word masterpiece often, but it absolutely applies in the case of Grimoire. This is the natural progression from Wizardry 7, and it captures everything that made that game great. The world is huge and full of mystery. The sense of adventure and discovery are unparalleled. The game looks and sounds amazing. The dungeons are fun and always worth exploring. There are very few RPGs that last as long as Grimoire does, and even fewer that manage it without wasting the player's time on nonsense. Even knowing the time investment involved, writing this review makes me want to replay Grimoire right away.
The original PC version of this game had a beautiful UI that was brimming with character. Unfortunately GOG are selling a port of the iOS version, and it looks very shabby by comparison. Text fields often overlap, and buttons sometimes disappear if you tab out, resulting in a soft lock. However the gameplay is still excellent. The various mechanics of warring, exploring, trading, negotiating, appeasing the gods, and dealing with random crises all mesh together wonderfully. Every action feels important, and there are usually significant consequences, both positive and negative, for the choices you make. There's no save-scumming either, so you'll get a unique experience full of ups and downs every time you play.
I never played The Dark Heart of Uukrul when it was new, so I'm definitely not blinded by nostalgia on this one. This is almost exactly what I want out of a dungeon crawler. The combat is decent while not frustratingly frequent. It uses a top-down perspective similar to the Gold Box games. Every round you get a move phase and an attack phase (use Space to cycle through the characters). Enemies can flee from combat. Character health is divided into Healthy, Weak, and Critical stages, and keeping everyone in the green is essential. The UI is surprisingly easy to read and use despite the game's age. Everything is done with keyboard, and the commands are always shown on screen. The viewport is big enough to see what's going on, without it dominating the window, and there's plenty of room for descriptive text when it comes up. The artwork is fairly simple, but it's always easy to tell what's happening and it's not an eyesore like some other games from this era. There are some very good illustrations when you encounter enemies or special NPCs. The environments look great, and contribute to the game's eerie atmosphere. The magic system is unique and a lot of fun. You have to type in the names of the spells you want to cast, and you'll end up consulting the manual pretty regularly. That might sound like a drag, but the manual features flavor text for each spell, and it really helps to immerse you in the setting. Priests in Uukrul are not your typical healbots; rather they pray to the various gods who might aid them (or might just smite them for their arrogance). The Dark Heart of Uukrul lacks the party creation options of Wizardry, but it does so much brilliantly that I don't even miss those options. I'm constantly looking forward to whatever new dangers and new mysteries lurk around every corner.
