Ultima 1+2+3

Rice Digital

Pete Davison

Unscored

Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness is a weird game and I wouldn’t fault anyone for bouncing off it for being so peculiar, obtuse and, at times, unforgiving. But, returning to it in 2022 with the eyes of someone who has played a lot of RPGs over the years, I can’t help but like its admirable expression of unbridled creativity. While one can see the elements that later RPGs would pull from this first Ultima game clearly, it’s just as interesting to look at the aspects the genre as a whole chose to leave behind in the long term. Because those are the things that make this game really stand out.

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