Nice graphics, great dialogue/voice acting and engaging story. The end was different than expected but not necessarily worse. Indead, I think it is still pleasing and fits well to the overall theme and mood. What I really liked is that the game manages to create a creepy atmosphere in bright daylight. That's still someting games/films rarely try. (Let's be honest: It's quite easy to scare players by putting them in a dimly lit mansion, forest, military complex etc.) Unfortunately, the game is very short. And as a „walking simulator“ you should not expect any real challenges in regards of gameplay. I got it for 10 $ and that's a price I was happy to pay in retrospect.
[Please excuse any spelling mistakes... I'm not a native speaker] I bought Arx Fatalis some years ago, so I can't really talk about the version offered on gog.com. I had some framerate and vertical-sync problems, but managed to handle them with a graphic card driver update. Well... it didn't work perfect, but at least the game was playable without getting headaches :) The crashing to desktop also stopped. Maybe it's best to do some "pro"/"con" listing, as it is the kind of review I would like to read :) + + Atmosphere: one of the most creepy I have ever experienced! Sometimes claustrophobic (very dark and narrow caves), other times just disgusting (in the best sense of the word :) ). I absolutely don't suffer from arachnophobia, but in this case... + Quite a lot to explore: many side-quests and secrets + The magical system, that is one of the most interesting/challenging I have ever played + Big areas without loading. There is much walking in this game but somehow it's not annoying + Almost no respawning of enemies, which I do prefer instead of fighting over and over the same enemies in the same area + Real-time battles: changing weapons or using items without pausing in the menue makes the game more challenging/realistic + Technical side: yes, it's old, but imho it's enough to create a great atmosphere - - A bit too easy - Map: quite useless, as there are almost no markings of special areas. I would recommend to print them and make your own markings with a pen - Story: not too overwhelming - Controls: sometimes a bit clumsy (f.e. jumping) Many people may compare this game to the Elder Scrolls Series (especially Morrowind), but I think that sucks :p Both games are great, but have a whole different approach. If I could, I would give Arx Fatalis 4,5 stars!
