Re-loving Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM)
ADOM, or Ancient Domains of Mystery, has somewhat of a following since its original release in 1994. Even as far as roguelike games go, ADOM has quite the reputation as being a difficult game. You play as a warrior who must fight against the forces of chaos, but only if you packed enough sandwiches that you don’t have to eat random animals. Eating innocent creatures causes your character to feel guilty, guilt leads to your character being more easily corrupted which winds up causing your character to join the forces of chaos after some time, tantamount to a game over. See? This is why you’re always told not to forget your lunch.
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So, ADOM is a tough, tough game. Some people who have been playing every so often for over a decade may yet to have seen the endings, yet they keep returning because ADOM is an incredibly rich and complex experience. Players who need a fancy user interface or intuitive keybindings may dislike ADOM greatly, while those who prefer hard-as-nails RPG experiences may enjoy ADOM thoroughly and not put it down for an extremely long time. This game is an acquired taste – the beginning of the game, the first village and its surrounding area, is known for being quite harsh and that is unchanged even in this release. Those willing to stick with the game, even after a few unlikely deaths, will undoubtedly discover a deep roguelike experience underneath the paperdoll surface (or letter surface, should you decide to go with the old school ASCII visuals).
Score: 4.5/5
