372:, preventing the apocalypse. Baphomet can be found in a castle in an obscure location of the game which can only be discovered after finding and defeating the evil occupants of various other fortresses around the map. According to the official clue book for the game, the final battle location, as well as the location of some other quests, is randomized at the start of each new game.
418:, ranging from minor to major. These included many instances of what would now be called crash-to-desktop errors. Additionally, the "character colors bug" results in the colors of on-screen characters being replaced with random (often bright) colorings. Most of the bugs in the game were correctable by subsequently released
522:
for the "multitude of choices you get, which surpass the complexity and historical accuracy seen in any other contemporary computer game" and that its "attention to detail is exemplary". The review concluded "MicroProse should be congratulated for a truly heroic effort in creating a game for sword,
319:
There are no other species available in character creation—all players are human and are differentiated by occupation. Any party member is capable of performing what are known as class-based feats in many other role-playing games, but experienced players generally improve the party member's skills
281:
324:
in this game would be someone who specializes in religious studies as well as healing skills. What the character specializes in does not preclude him or her from learning artifice skills, such as lock picking. Age is a factor, as characters will begin to lose physical prowess as they grow older.
276:
gameplay in role-playing video games. The player is free to complete quests that will give them a positive reputation, or to pursue a negative reputation by performing evil deeds. The player's reputation may vary across geographic boundaries, allowing the player to be simultaneously hated in one
494:
repetitive encounters and—more seriously—many bugs and missing features, such as the inability to save within dungeons, which, she reported, was a problem given the game's instability. She concluded that "the game ultimately brings little or no satisfaction when 'finished'". Johnny L. Wilson
32:
512:"is a great adventure and is certainly one of the best multicharacter FRPGs we've had the delight to play. With well-drawn graphics, multiple quests, good character generation, and flexibility in play, the game's detail is phenomenal." Alfred Giovetti, writing for
391:. We originally underestimated the time, complexity and cost of the project by a large factor. When development costs rose past the stratosphere, there was a great temptation to either give up or just 'publish whatever we've got', regardless of quality." An
308:, but some are within the modern borders of other countries in Western and Central Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. The cities are referred to in the game by their
495:
acknowledged the bugs and repetitive nature but emphasized that "I still like the game", citing the importance of skills and an "open-ended feel and an element of free-will that I haven't previously experienced in a CRPG". In 1993, Scorpia called
328:
While the majority of the game uses text-based menus enhanced with hand-painted illustrations describing the player party's available actions, the party's movement between cities and during battle uses a graphical user interface. The
441:
was supposed to be the first entry in a series of games with related settings, but no follow-up was ever made; sales were not high enough to justify a sequel, and the
333:
is dependent not only on the characters' skills, but also the type and quality of weapons used against the enemy and their armor. For example, using swords against
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downloads by modem owners and through informal person-to-person copying, and thus many people were only able to play the originally released version. This gave
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took almost three years to make and cost three million dollars, which was a very large sum for video game development at the time. According to the manual, "
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purchased the rights to the game in 2013 and digitally published it through its
Retroism brand. In 2020, the publisher became
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However, the older the player is when the character is generated, the more skills and better equipment he or she starts with.
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during the 15th century. While the geographic setting is historically accurate, the game features many supernatural elements.
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Keizer, Gregg; Yee, Bernie; Kawamoto, Wayne; Crotty, Cameron; Olafson, Peter; Brenesal, Barry (January 1993). "Best of
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361:, where monsters and magic actually exist. The plot is nonlinear and there is no set path for the player to follow.
364:
However, there is a main quest to follow in order to finish the game, which involves hunting witches and heretics.
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and repetitive nature. In recent years the game's reception has been more positive. It was later re-released on
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a "perfect example of a fine idea ... gone wrong" with a "horrible ending", and "not a recommended game".
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Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (February 1993). "The Role of
Computers".
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422:. Before ubiquitous Internet connectivity, such patches were typically only available through
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Despite the bugs, the game was well received by other critics. It earned 4 out of 5 stars in
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782:"Purchase Agreement between Atari, Inc. and Rebellion Developments, Stardock & Tommo"
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and the potential market of hard disk-equipped Amigas was not substantial enough.
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received mixed reviews upon release, with praise for its historical detail and
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would have been impossible without the faith and vision of the management of
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At least one third-party commercial character editor was advertised for
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was considered, but the game was judged as too large to be played on a
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704:"GameSpot Presents: Games That Should Be Remade, Volume I - GameSpot"
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542:. The game also won the 1992 "PC Special Achievement Award" from
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liked the historical setting and use of religion but criticized
284:
Travel screen during winter. The game features changing seasons.
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ends once the final battle is completed against the demon lord
220:
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806:"5 classic games from Ziggurat Interactive join GOG.COM today"
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was released by MicroProse in 1992, albeit with a number of
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prize for the best role-playing game of 1992, but lost to
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may visit in the game are real places that existed in the
1053:
706:. 2005-03-07. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005
453:
as a downloadable title for Linux, MacOS and
Windows OS.
320:
only in the appropriate area. Thus, the equivalent of a
445:
was not reusable. The game was re-released in 2014 on
559:
on their lists of "The
Greatest Games of All Time".
981:Belfiglio, Alexander "Ghostfig101" (July 9, 2009).
899:
908:
845:
237:gameplay, but criticism directed at its numerous
1089:
316:; the new local names are given in parentheses.
1173:Video games with gender-selectable protagonists
606:"Matt Chat 78: Arnold Hendrick Interview Pt. 1"
731:
866:
812:
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304:of the 15th century. Most are in modern-day
1032:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
927:
684:(advertisement). December 1992. p. 115
1168:Video games developed in the United States
1118:Fantasy video games set in the Middle Ages
636:"Darklands Interview with Arnold Hendrick"
483:offered contrasting opinions of the game.
30:
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980:
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1218:Video games set in the Holy Roman Empire
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670:
279:
1123:Games commercially released with DOSBox
872:
818:
787:. BMC Group. 2013-07-22. Archived from
1090:
983:"15 Years of The Elder Scrolls Series"
603:
567:' popular fantasy role-playing series
1213:Video games set in the Czech Republic
1047:Valentine, Rebekah (June 12, 2022).
1103:Video games set in the 15th century
1040:
846:Wilson, Johnny L. (December 1992).
13:
1223:Video games set in the Netherlands
696:
657:"Darklands Domain - Neon Hair Bug"
563:cited the game as an influence on
337:foes is less effective than using
14:
1264:
1163:Video games scored by Jeff Briggs
1072:
875:"Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games"
638:. Thecomputershow.com. 1995-08-01
956:"The Greatest Games of All Time"
915:Giovetti, Alfred C. (May 1993).
740:"Darklands: The Last Generation"
604:Barton, Matt (16 October 2010).
1253:Works about the Warsaw Uprising
1049:"What Is Obsidian's Pentiment?"
974:
948:
616:from the original on 2021-12-12
296:. All of the cities that one's
277:region and exalted in another.
1208:Video games set in Switzerland
1158:Video games based on mythology
798:
774:
750:
649:
628:
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430:a reputation as a buggy game.
375:
1:
1198:Video games set in Luxembourg
738:Alexander, Mark (June 1994).
590:
577:was a direct inspiration for
312:names, some of which are now
272:features an early example of
1233:Video games about witchcraft
944:: 20–22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32.
678:"Darklands Character Editor"
523:sorcery and history buffs."
473:
16:1992 role-playing video game
7:
848:"A Dark and Stormy Opinion"
659:. Darklands.net. 1999-02-23
264:
215:developed and published by
10:
1269:
1243:Ziggurat Interactive games
1193:Video games set in Germany
1183:Video games set in Denmark
1178:Video games set in castles
581:'s 2022 role-playing game
406:
1203:Video games set in Poland
1188:Video games set in France
1153:Single-player video games
1021:. And of course, D&D.
1005:The main inspiration for
819:Scorpia (December 1992).
808:. GOG Editor. 2020-03-20.
742:. Letters from Paradise.
723:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
223:. The game is set in the
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98:
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62:
50:
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29:
24:
1148:Role-playing video games
873:Scorpia (October 1993).
821:"MicroProse's Darklands"
348:
213:role-playing video game
1143:Open-world video games
1009:comes from games like
579:Obsidian Entertainment
285:
1108:Cancelled Amiga games
991:. IGN. Archived from
879:Computer Gaming World
852:Computer Gaming World
825:Computer Gaming World
744:Computer Gaming World
682:Computer Gaming World
480:Computer Gaming World
353:The game is set in a
283:
988:Planet Elder Scrolls
508:, which stated that
460:Ziggurat Interactive
962:on February 8, 2006
389:MicroProse Software
565:Bethesda Softworks
527:was nominated for
464:with support from
355:historical fantasy
286:
210:historical fantasy
1019:Legends of Valour
1011:Ultima Underworld
1007:The Elder Scrolls
995:on August 8, 2012
570:The Elder Scrolls
551:Retrospectively,
467:Nightdive Studios
302:Holy Roman Empire
249:with support for
225:Holy Roman Empire
201:
200:
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1138:MicroProse games
1098:1992 video games
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129:Michael O'Haire
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91:Douglas Kaufman
83:Arnold Hendrick
69:Arnold Hendrick
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19:1992 video game
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794:on 2016-03-03.
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758:"Darklands on"
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1058:. Retrieved
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997:. Retrieved
993:the original
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960:the original
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883:. Retrieved
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854:. p. 54
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829:. Retrieved
827:. p. 52
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789:the original
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765:. Retrieved
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661:. Retrieved
651:
640:. Retrieved
630:
618:. Retrieved
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545:Game Players
543:
539:Wizardry VII
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219:in 1992 for
204:
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186:Role-playing
172:
167:
52:Publisher(s)
40:Developer(s)
1238:Tommo games
1133:MacOS games
1128:Linux games
923:(152): 102.
917:"Darklands"
620:9 September
561:Todd Howard
443:game engine
401:floppy disk
395:version of
376:Development
357:version of
170:Floppy disk
153:Platform(s)
146:Jeff Briggs
141:Composer(s)
113:Bryan Stout
107:Jim Synoski
76:Designer(s)
64:Director(s)
1092:Categories
767:2016-05-19
710:2016-05-19
663:2014-07-05
642:2014-07-05
591:References
548:magazine.
518:, praised
310:Old German
274:open world
235:open-ended
217:MicroProse
57:MicroProse
1113:DOS games
1083:MobyGames
1079:Darklands
1015:Darklands
966:March 28,
584:Pentiment
575:Darklands
557:Darklands
555:featured
525:Darklands
520:Darklands
510:Darklands
497:Darklands
489:Darklands
474:Reception
439:Darklands
435:Darklands
428:Darklands
412:Darklands
397:Darklands
385:Darklands
381:Darklands
366:Darklands
290:Darklands
270:Darklands
231:Darklands
205:Darklands
122:Artist(s)
25:Darklands
1248:Baphomet
1060:June 15,
1028:cite web
941:PC Games
921:Compute!
885:25 March
719:cite web
614:Archived
553:GameSpot
530:PC Games
515:Compute!
370:Baphomet
265:Gameplay
181:Genre(s)
45:MPS Labs
936:PCGames
762:Gog.com
610:YouTube
485:Scorpia
449:and on
447:GOG.com
420:patches
407:Release
339:hammers
314:exonyms
306:Germany
259:Windows
243:GOG.com
192:Mode(s)
164:Release
1017:, and
938:'92".
902:Dragon
858:5 July
831:5 July
688:5 July
505:Dragon
322:cleric
221:MS-DOS
175:CD-ROM
158:MS-DOS
132:Artino
792:(PDF)
785:(PDF)
534:'
492:'
455:Tommo
451:Steam
393:Amiga
343:maces
298:party
255:MacOS
251:Linux
247:Steam
208:is a
173:1995:
168:1992:
1062:2022
1034:link
1001:2011
968:2006
887:2016
860:2014
833:2014
725:link
690:2014
622:2013
416:bugs
349:Plot
261:OS.
245:and
239:bugs
1081:at
1054:IGN
424:BBS
341:or
292:is
1094::
1051:.
1030:}}
1026:{{
1013:,
1003:.
985:.
919:.
877:.
850:.
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717:{{
680:.
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608:.
587:.
573:.
470:.
437:.
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1064:.
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970:.
889:.
862:.
835:.
770:.
727:)
713:.
692:.
666:.
645:.
624:.
462:,
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
