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Posted January 6, 2020 by Peter in News
 
 

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls – for the old nostalgic?

Wizardry LoLS logo
Wizardry LoLS logo

This makes me feel old. The burst of nostalgia for flick-scrolling dungeon exploration, with random enemy encounters, map drawn as you go… and amplified with the name of the Wizardry series attached. The (re) announcement of Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls being released on the PC, due January 15th, is definitely something to catch the attention of that kid who cut his gaming teeth on CRPGs during the 80s.

Of course there are a lot of reality checks that need to kick in – this is the second time the game’s PC release has been announced, having been bumped back from a May release last year. And it is already a re-release of a PS3 title from 2009, which – it has to be said – got pretty middling reviews at the time. And it’s also not a core Wizardry series game, the eight being released by Sir-Tech between 1981 and 2001, but rather a spin off by Japanese developer Acquire. And… have I moved past the types of game I played over thirty years ago?

Wizardry LoLS screenThe answer to that last one is easy – given how this release announcement caught my attention, “no”. It’s promising a gameplay loop that still appeals, one of ‘venture out, explore a little further than that last outing, fight lots of random battles, return to town to level up, change class and heal, repeat’. Adding a little modern polish – the PC release is promising HD visuals, a variety of control methods, and a ‘turbo mode’ – should only help the old gamer settle in. But there’s still plenty it can get wrong.

It’s unlikely to draw in newer gamers. And while old ones like myself might be already half sold between the genre, the franchise and the memories, it is now competing with the quality of more recent titles in this genre niche such as Legend of Grimrock and StarCrawlers . Simply put, it needs to make a better impression than its original PS3 release managed.

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls is due for release 15th Jan on PC via Steam and the Humble store.


Peter

 
Peter can be described as an old, hairy gamer, a survivor of the console wars of the 1990s, and a part-time MMO addict. He has an especial fondness for retro gaming and observing the progressions in long running gaming series. When scandalously not caught gaming, he can also be found reading comics and fantasy fiction, or practising terrible photography.