It's the first three Wizardry titles, now with improved sound, graphics, better loot, and a few quality of life decisions that nevertheless leave the original titles terrible ethos intact.

An RPG system so old it uses THAC0 for calculating armor, the first three Wizardry titles are absolutely brutal exercises in the most hardcore and straightforward of 1st edition D&D combat. Existing at a time where simply having a party, meaningful character progression, and a somewhat competently designed dungeon were ends unto themselves, these titles do not respect the players time in the slightest, because there were no other similar games on the market with which a player might need to divide their time with. While this was no longer the case by the time of III's release, and the archaic design choices will not resonate with contemporary gamers, "Story of Llylgamyn" is a must play for anyone interested in the history of the genre, or simply the history of the medium itself.

Reviewed on Jul 17, 2022


2 Comments


1 year ago

Even on archaism, which I think its part of the course and not a detriment -game art yadayadayada-, I will never understand Wizardry's appeal by itself. Too much grinding and brutal difficulty for me. However the way it bled onto other RPGs is commendable and fair enough, so I respect it inmensely.

1 year ago

Oh don't get me wrong I like it raw (dont think too much about that) but maybe I got into Wizardry in the wrong way or wrong place. There's probably a newer sequel or spin off that's tamer or progressively bonkers in comparison. However I can't say I didn't try, because I did I swear!