Spirit of Adventure

I enjoyed my time with this game, but would only recommend it to people who grew up with 8/16 bit RPGs - it's very much of its time (1991) and this is a basic DOS-Box port so don't expect anything modern! It's open-world in the style of RPGs of this age - there's very little guidance about what you're supposed to be doing or where things are. Even the castle where you level characters up isn't initially shown on the map. The atmosphere this engenders is probably what I enjoy most about these old games, though! Get out the grid paper and be prepared for a lot of methodical mapping - towns don't have signposts and you have to barge into every random house to make sure you don't miss things. But streets do have names, which is a nice touch. The game's development was also quite rushed by the end - apparently the publisher pushed it out before the developer was happy with it and it shows. Oh, and make sure to read the manual, else some things won't make much sense! Especially you have to use J (for the German "Ja") for Yes/No options rather than Y! (And be prepared to use the "flee" option a lot - there's no penalty for it and a lot of enemy types aren't worth fighting when it cost…

It looks promising and I really, really want to enjoy it; however, the game play seems alpha and the coding 25 years old. If it were be improved to something similar to the updated Bard's Tale trilogy, Devil's Whiskey, etc. then it would well worth it.

Developed by Attic Entertainment Software and published by Unique Games, Spirit of Adventure is a faithful revival of a classic fantasy role-playing game that originally debuted during the golden age of computer RPGs. Instead of redesigning the experience for modern audiences, this Steam release preserves the original mechanics, presentation, and overall structure, making it feel like a genuine time capsule from the early 1990s. It embraces traditional role-playing concepts with confidence, offering a journey that rewards thoughtful planning, exploration, and persistence rather than fast-paced action or cinematic storytelling. For players who appreciate the roots of the genre, this release provides an opportunity to experience an influential title much as it was originally intended. The heart of the game lies in its party-based adventure. Players create a team of six characters, selecting from several different classes that each contribute unique strengths throughout the campaign. Building a balanced group is more than a simple starting decision, as the effectiveness of the party depends heavily on how well each member complements the others. Character development unfolds graduall…

Boring Combat, unfair enemy encounters and you're supposed to randomly walk over the map until you randomly find some hot spots, given no information whatsoever at the beginning of the game. Manual doesn't help either.