Arx Fatalis Reviews

This is a toughie. There's a lot to like about Arx Fatalis, and the price is right. However, the things I loved most about the game in the first half really fell away, and the things that were most frustrating about the game really increased in the second half. As an immersive sim, this feels a bit like a prototype. There are a few open-ended puzzles (moreso in the early half), but there aren't that many options and there isn't that many interactions in the game's sub-systems. That said, the sense of exploration and finding your own way is really strong... until the plot just falls off the rails. After about the halfway point the game just feels sort of unfinished. The plot is half-baked and not well-articulated. And, I get that fans of this genre don't like to have their hands held, but it gets to the point where there's only one obscure, nonsensical solution for you to basically just guess at. I stopped playing when I had to re-explore the entire map in search of anything slightly that might have changed, and what I found was a plot nonsequitur that had nothing to do with player agency or open-ended design. The quests are increasingly like that as you progress, the difficulty spikes without warning, exploration becomes less and less worthwhile, many of the things you probably should have been able to explore are gated off for plot reasons, and most of the content is actually just hack and slash rather than immersive sim. Not to mention it gets progressively glitchier the longer you play. Arx had a lot of potential, but didn't follow through. I don't regret buying it per se, and it was interesting as a retrospective, but forced too choose between 'recommend' or 'non,' I'm afraid I have to say that most people won't find this very fun for very long, even if you like immersive sims.

I've found myself enjoying this even more than expected and it's becoming a comfort game to just sit and play for myself. It's a fantasy immersive sim from back when devs experimented with genres and worlds so it's a weird game that takes time to figure out. Spell casting is unusual with it being done by drawing the spell components in the air. Puzzles, interacting with the world and the inventory are halfway between elder scrolls and a point and click game. There's secrets everywhere, a stealth system and a game that's sprawling. Playing this is giving me a sense of mystery and exploration I've not had with a game in a long time! I already want to do more play throughs to see how stealth changes the outcome of a few things and one with a strength build to see the effect it has on a few mechanics. If you're not willing to install a community patch or you're not interested in old experimental games with a fantasy plot that isn't realistic then it's maybe not for you. If you're impatient and just want a fast paced game or you hate having to use menus and a mouse cursor mode then it's definitely not for you. If you like old experimental and weird games that make you think and take a little getting used to then you'll love it. This is a game for exploring, thinking and getting comfy with. I'm having a great time so far and even though you need to download the Arx Libertatis community patch to run it on modern systems, it's at least a painless process and the game is worth the extra 2 mins it takes. If you like old dungeon crawlers or immersive sims then it's well worth trying.

A comfy fantasy immersive sim from the late 90s. A little slow and rough around the edges but it is nonetheless a welcome breath of fresh air from the world of modern high-octane gaming. A great game before bed or to relax after a long day. I would recommend that you use a guide when playing this, it suffers from a lot of the "moon logic" and lack of instruction common to games from this era. Amazing magic system by the way!

for only a few benjamins you can say "FRICK YOU" to big woke and play an aweosme game that makes you manually draw out your runes to spellcast just like our forefathers intended

Apart from being unplayable without a sourceport, Arx Fatalis gets pretty boring during its second half due to cryptic puzzles, slow character progress and excessive backtracking. The first half of the game is brilliant, up there with Deus Ex and other immersive first person RPGs, but then it becomes a chore. Also, good luck trying to fight those Ylsides with a melee build.

Arx Fatalis walked so Dishonored could run. On a more serious note the game aged very well and with the Arx Libertatis is even playable at decent standard. Any negative thing I could point out would fall in the big bucket of "they didn't have the tech/budget/whatever back then" so all in all a very well crafted immersive sim and the genesis of the Arkane saga.

Played this on the OG Xbox over and over when it first came out. I can't explain why I like this game so much. The atmosphere? That's probably it.

This was a cracking game when I played it back in the early 2000s. Unfortunately its not actually runnable on modern operating systems. If you purchase from steam, there exists a patch that can be applied. This did not work for me. I personally don't believe that steam should be selling unpatched games that do not work.

Arx Fatalis is a unique dungeon crawler known for its innovative spell-casting system, where players manually draw rune combinations to cast spells. Additionally, its immersive setting and engaging story, combined with a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, set it apart from other games of its time. The game features a rune-based magic system where players draw runes on the screen to cast spells. This manual drawing adds a layer of interactivity but can be clunky, as players must accurately replicate rune shapes, which can lead to frustration, especially in fast-paced situations. It is recommended to use a patch to make it smoother. Almost every object in the game can be interacted with, allowing players to combine items to create tools, weapons, and potions, enhancing immersion. And that was pretty amazing for it's time. I recommend this RPG wholeheartedly

arx is a weird game, it does as much right as it does wrong. the atmosphere and setting of this game is great, one thing i don't see many people talking about is just how scary this game can be sometimes, traversing through underground tunnels while holding your breath to not run into any enemies really keeps you on edge. the game's mechanics while intriguing at first are not that complex and frankly kind of annoying, there is a lot of world interaction in arx meaning you can't just brew potions or repair equipment in your inventory, if you want to repair anything you must go to a blacksmith or find an anvil, if you want to brew some potions you must first find the right plant, then crush it with a mortar, then get an empty flask and finally find a still. while its immersive and charming, that charm quickly wears off and just turns into annoyance, so many little things are like that in this game. the combat is very janky, melee combat just consists of holding down left mouse button for as long as possible and the casting system is interesting, but awkward to use and ultimately basically useless in combat, you'll find yourself running away from the enemy while hastily trying to draw the right runes to cast your spell very often. i enjoy the world of arx, but the main storyline is nothing to write home about and the characters are very bland and uninteresting, also the quality of the voice acting is just lol. the game's difficulty is also pretty weird, the game starts out pretty easy, but gets progressively harder until you near the end of the game where the concept of 'difficulty' is just thrown out of the window as the game throws countless ylsides, liches and mummies at you basically forcing you to save scum to get out of some areas. ultimately, i think arx is as interesting as it is frustrating, i wouldn't recommend this game to most people unless you're a big fan of 2000s fantasy games.