Wizardry 7, Crusaders of the Dark Savant, feels like an early-90s game. But in all the years since, I've never found its particular mix: an open, nonlinear world full of surprises and hidden side quests; a rich, genre-crossing plot that spills off the edges of the page; and most uniquely, NPCs who move unpredictably around that world with their own agendas, fighting and permanently killing one another as you follow rumors and cast spells in an effort to chase the right ones down. Some similar RPGs: the early Fallouts, Ultima Underworld, Knights of the Old Republic. All very good, but none in quite the same way. I played it when I was 12 or so, and my imagination no longer seems interested in lingering long enough inside a game to imbue it with the magic it could at the time. But it'll always be precious to me. 25 years later, with several playthroughs over the years, I still somehow find myself thinking about this game and its sequel (Wiz8, similar and also good) almost once a week or so.
