Summary: If you are a connoisseur of the RPG genre, then Arx Fatalis is a game that you will not want to miss. Its moody, gritty atmosphere combined with excellent story-telling will keep you hooked. Gameplay: Arx Fatalis is a first-person RPG in the vein of the Elder Scrolls series or Ultima Underworld. It is often compared to the latter because of they share a similar setting. The basic game mechanics work alright, although combat is not always as smooth as it could be. Still, the game is enjoyable here and doesn't do anything badly. Graphics: Some feel that Arx Fatalis has aged well in the graphics department. To be sure, the environments do look good and will often leave you with a sense of wonderment. It's easy to get drawn into Arx Fatalis' world and imagine yourself as having grown up in an underground world. However, the character models were somewhat low-poly even for the time that the game came out. Your eyes may find that they need to adjust a little to the lack of detail. Sound: The games music is unfortunately not very memorable for an RPG. In fact, some areas actually opt for no music, giving you the creepy feeling of the silent, underground world the game takes place in. Other times the music is almost more like environmental background noise. The voice acting ranges from mediocre to downright bad, but is not too difficult to overlook. Story: Arx Fatalis' story is very engaging and has a few twists along the way that will keep you guessing. The game also does a great job of getting you to revisit past areas with a new perspective or under new conditions. A variety of quests keep you ascending and descending between the underground world's many levels. Replayability: The game has a small number of side quests and a few points in the main quest that have multiple solutions, but for the most part it is fairly linear. This isn't always a bad thing. If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the feeling of "what should I do next?" in an Elder Scrolls game, Arx Fatalis is a welcome relief. Modability: As of yet there are very few mods available for the game and I have seen reports that they are incompatible with the GOG version. That said, the source code for the game was released earlier this year, and enthusiasts of the Arx Fatalis world have already begun a source port to Linux. If interest remains high, full mod capabilities may be available in the future.
