The Legacy: Realm of Terror

“It's frustrating at times, and you can 'ruin' your adventure/character with point allocations that ultimately only work for one thing in the story and never really needed again.”

“Well in an interesting twist to the genre, you do not gain any experience at all by fighting enemies of all sorts in the entirety of the game as, instead, you must read all manners of letters, documents and even maps spread throughout this game's 11 floors in order to gain sufficient experience to improve either one of twelve sub-skills or one of the five core stats (strength/dexterity/knowledge help to raise all sub-skills slightly alongside its main stat whilst for stamina/willpower it is exclusively the main stat) to further improve your character's chances of survival, something that is quite unusual when game progression via 'levelling up' is tied directly to the exploration of a large environment and reading important notes about the overall plot and lore of the game gives you said needed experience to face off against more dangerous threats the further you stray away from the 1st floor of the mansion.”

“Though my harshest criticism comes from the game design itself in relation to progressing the story, seeing as the game's stats present its gameplay in such a manner that various different classes are completely valid ways of playing the game that offer not just differing challenges of combat but also unique solutions to puzzles that require the use of certain sub-skills to progress more efficiently.”

“The presentation, while dated, contributes to this effect, with visuals and sound design that reinforce the sense of isolation and danger.”

“Seeing how this is also an old-fashioned RPG of sorts, bearing a vague resemblance to the classic Dungeons & Dragons games with its labyrinth structure and facing wandering monsters that can either be fought or evaded in whatever manner you deem fit for the specific encounter. This game features early 3D graphics when exploring the map, unlike D&D's 2D labyrinths. Approaching this from the perspective of someone with easy access to a vast array of modern games, this will be a hard sell for most in 2024.”

“Definitely gives you a creepy sense of isolation playing this, and even with dated graphics, the monsters give you the heebie-jeebies something fierce.”