Nox Archaist

In the tender month of May in the less-than-tender year of our Lord 2022 yours truly was playing [i]Deathlord[/i]. Before all zero of you who understand the implications start pooling funds for a monument to my [i]Venus in Furs[/i] levels of masochism, I'll disappoint: it was the modernized infinitely more humane [url=https://rikkles.itch.io/deathlord-relorded]Relorded version[/url]. For everyone else, [i]Deathlord[/i] is a 1987 early [i]Ultima[/i] clone with a multi-continent fully-traversible open world. I disliked the linear character development system with no builds, and the subject was as bland as they tended to be, but the freedom [i]Deathlord[/i] delivered was only comparable to that feeling one experiences when firing up their first [i]Elder Scrolls[/i] project and stepping out of the restrictive intro setpiece for the first time. There's a whole world out there. See that mountain? You can... - etc. No surprise there - [i]TES[/i] is also an [i]Ultima[/i] offshoot. However, [i]Deathlord[/i] got fairly stale fairly fast. Same enemies, same town interactions, same dungeons. You'd think it should only take a couple of additional lines of description here and there to diversi…

Extremely good Ultima-like for the old school gamer (most of my playtime is through the Nox Companion app which is just an alternate way to run the game that now includes an annotatable automap option). Unbelievably high quality labor of love

Nox Archaist is a rare example of a game that goes beyond simple nostalgia and instead attempts to preserve a specific moment in gaming history. Developed and published by 6502 Workshop, this fantasy role-playing title was designed with the limitations and spirit of the Apple II era in mind, resulting in an experience that feels like an unearthed classic from the early days of computer gaming. While many retro-inspired RPGs borrow visual styles from the past, Nox Archaist fully embraces the mechanics, pacing, and sense of mystery that defined the genre's formative years. The result is a game that is as much a historical tribute as it is a standalone adventure. Set in the world of Vali, the game sends players on a quest to confront a growing darkness tied to a sinister cult and the secrets surrounding an ancient power. The story unfolds naturally through exploration and conversations rather than cinematic storytelling, encouraging players to immerse themselves in the setting. There are numerous towns, dungeons, and hidden locations scattered across the world map, and the sense of discovery remains consistently rewarding. Every journey into an unfamiliar region carries the possibili…

I respect the tribute to Apple II, but for me it was a bit much (I can’t even read the text properly). If you feel up to playing it, it seems to be a great tribute. PS: Having said that, I’d personally have gone for keeping the characteristic approach, while stripping away what were nothing but drawbacks in my view. That’s just me, though, so I wish them the very best of luck.

If you're a fan of old RPGs like the early Ultima games, you will probably love this game. I've been playing on my actual Apple ][c hardware and also on my Linux pc. (saves don't sync with steam, but you can move the file over manually) I've never seen a game that can be played on the actual vintage hardware. The graphics and music match the old look as does the gameplay. If you're a fan of the older rpgs, give this a shot!

I somehow missed this game when it came out and picked it up at a steep discount, but I am glad I did so. I am very familiar with the type-in style of interface (this game does give a nice tutorial) and although I never owned an Apple II I did have other home computers of the era and still enjoy emulated computing mostly on a C64 but have delved into other systems as well in search of these types of games, recently including The Magic Candle series. All that out of the way, this game hits all the right notes for me. It has that charm that's hard to explain - for example when you enter the first town and see a door just slightly within view, and you want to know what's behind it. That's the experience I had with Ultima III long ago. So, props and bravo to the developer(s) for giving me something fresh to sink my teeth into. And lucky me I got the expansion on discount too!