I wouldn't say is a mod but rather a total conversion or even standalone GZDoom game. The gameplay kinda feels like Duke Nukem 3D and Strife actually. They made use of many advanced GZDoom features borrowed from Build Engine such as destructibe terrain, mirrors, rooms over rooms, portals etc.. So it doesn't feel so much like a standard Doom game. There are 3 episodes (and a 4th one is in the works but not out yet). All episodes have overlap in terms of enemies, weapons, story but they are a bit different. Having played them all this is my personal impression of the different episodes: -Ashes 2063 / Enriched this is the original game which became first episode. You get the motorcycle early on, features towns and has less of a hub feel. The game is more story focused but also feels like it has some mini hub areas but overall there is a linear progression. -Afterglow is very long with different hub areas and can be grindy at times. You finish one hub then move to the next. It plays most like Strife. The ending is very good! Some levels are really good design too. -Hard Reset which is the last one to be released in 2024 is shorter but has very unique mechanics on how weapons are upgraded and more linear and story focused as well as some unique enemies. This one is a bit more horror themed and very weird sometimes. The game world feels like Fallout but the story is unique and I would say more inspired by Stalker game. Weapons are pretty standard shotgun, machine gun, sniper rife, pistols etc. What is cool is weapon mods and the fact that you have have multiple weapons of the same type in 1 slot. You have work benches to mod your weapons damn good. Hard Reset goes even harder you can only do some upgrades by finding the right people. You have ability to use some vehicles, talk to people and solve quests or puzzles in different ways, explore the world etc.
You're a wizard on a magic carpet with an impressive arsenal of spells a castle and baloons that collect mana. This game works across genres. Is a kind of first person flying simulator with some real time strategy elements. The levels are quite diverse and the landscape deforms and you even have reflections of the sky into the water. The controls are akward. They are more like a flying simulator moving mouse up moves player down and moving mouse down moves player up. Reverse controls. Takes a bit of getting used to. Overall 5/5. A bit more polished and better version of this game is Magic Carpet 2 which expands the game and creates a more cohesive experience.
Plays a lot like Doom but in a fantasy world. Interestingly enough it doesn't feel at all like Heretic. Rekkr world I think is much more low tech meets high tech where as Heretic is more medieval. The Engine is a bit more modernized however the controls are dated. If you have never played original Doom you might find this somewhat awkward. No mouse look and no jumping. You can cheat mouse look and jumping from console but be aware that jumping can break puzzles. Reduce jump height to reduce the chance of breaking puzzles. The world is very grim. Is a kind of prehistoric ice age meets magitek. Imagine Conan the Barbarian wielding a magical shotgun shooting magical robots. The monsters are very unique including for example floating eyeballs, or spitting monsters or even kind of magic turrets. The weapons are quite interesting and you have fist, shotgun, bow, staff and more. Some weapons use souls as ammo. The levels are very Doom like. Finds keys to progress, kill monsters and avoid dying. Level design is more limited and straightforward. You will not get lost as much and is easier to figure out how to progress. Overall is a nice game but I found it the gameplay too simplistic for me personally but you might enjoy it. If you enjoy Doom and fantasy or for example Heretic you gonna love this one.
I think the first one is slightly better in terms of story/plot. You have the rat plague and the dishonoured protector, the "hidden rebel base" and the princess. It had so many elements that made everything make more sense why he has to go to all these places and do what he has to do. In this second one you have the ship and travel to various locations though some of these locations are more loosely connected by an overarching plot though at times feels more like the plot is a gimmick to make all these different locations more united. It does get better as you progress in the game. The final level is quite impressive. The design is much better and the world is more pretty and realistic than the first one.
This is a relatively obscure and massively underrated RPG game. This is the 3rd incarnation of Realms of Arkania 3 where you no longer travel like in the previous games but instead you're stuck in one huge city called Riva. The story absolutely incredible. Is one of the best RPG stories. The entire game is quite well written and has incredibly good plot and character development. Various random events and party members dialogue make it feel so much more alive. You will uncover sinister plots, befriend vampires, travel underwater, miniaturize to enter small places, summon or kill deamons, discover horrific human experiments and much more. It features an obscure RPG System that at the time only existed in german called Das Schwarzen Auge or DSA for short kind of a german D&D. I think right now since 2nd edition has been translated into English but the version in this game I think is first edition which for me is better is simpler. DSA Is set in the world of Arkania. Is a kind of high fantasy European/Germanic/Nordic world populated by orks, evil wizards, good magicians, drunken craftsmen dwarves, pirates, seafaring Thorwalians, ice and forest elves, witches and warlocks etc. The main appeal of DSA is that is much more gritty and realistic. You have both positive and negative attributes and you roll every time you level every skill.
A lot of people seem to prefer first one due to the atmosphere but I personally think second one is better: better graphics, bigger size for the visible game area, more diverse locations. The one thing where I can agree is first game as you went down the level deeper into the abyss felt like it had a nicer progression. This game is a bit all over the place and relies on user's imagination for example what the Goblin tower world or Tarna's desert might look like. It only gives you quick bits and pieces from each world but you're left wanting for more. Overall I think is a great game and highly recommended. For those who have a hard time with the control look up online to Ultima Hacks github repo and look visit the website which allows you to patch the executable to add mouse wheel support and mouse freelook making it a slightly bit more modern experience. If you combine the mouse look with Dosbox-X with scalers for example to make it slightly nicer looking then you can get a bit better experience.
It's based on a modified D&D system. Primary statistics are expanded Wisdom is split into Willpower and Perception which makes more sense and Charisma into Charisma (mental/social) and Beauty (pysical). Skills have have levels and require training using skill/advancement points. You still have levels and xp but every time you level up to gain 1 skill/advancement point that you can buy things with. Backgrounds are a great tool for roleplaying as well and add lots of replayability. Overall I find Arcanum better than og. Only minor weakness for me is that the whole tech/magick mechanic feels a bit uncooked. Many or most guns seem underwhelming and magic system needs needs a re-design. Fun game with great story, world design and a huge map to explore. Look for unofficial arcanum patch UAP 2.0 which restores cut content, adds dark elves and orcs as playable races, high resolution patch, graphics fixes, bug fixes... Improves the game experience quite a lot while keeping it vanilla.
