Avernum 3: Ruined World

I would skip this if you enjoyed Spiderweb Games of old. I played the Exile series many years ago after stumbling upon it on AOL Shareware file sharing. Bought the game disks. Played them all. I even played Nethergate and enjoyed that. Maybe I've just gotten old but this was, as the game describes itself towards the end, "a cynical rewrite." As a programmer, I constantly found the lack of feedback irritating. I had to guess if I was on the right path and then redo, redo, redo onerous puzzles. A little flute tune a la Legend of Zelda when you got the puzzle right or an in game message confirming progress would've been great.

I've just played all three re-remakes of the Avernum Games now in a row (Escape from the Pit, Crystal Souls, Ruined World) so this is a bit compilation of all three. From an RPG standpoint, all three are absolutely great games. EFTP is a great fresh exciting experience, Crystal Souls is one of the better actual sequels I've seen and then Ruined World rewards you with an amazingly different experience after getting to the "end" of the Journey. I know a lot of people have nostalgia for the studio and look on the remakes fondly as they remember the old games - but honestly (as a person who didn't play the old games /w no nostalgia), they really do hold up in terms of pacing and satisfying storytelling. I'd highly recommend playing all three, in order, to anyone - even modern RPG players looking for a new fix after Baldurs Gate 3 and so on - they might look old, but you give them a bit of time and they really, truly grow on you.

Finally, after more than 2 decades I was able to finish this game! Exile 3, later to become Avernum 3 and then Avernum 3: Ruined World, managed to fill my teenage years with wonder while trying to find a deep and engaging RPG game for my Pentium 200 MHz PC. While not graphically intense, it certainly was able to grab one's attention thanks to its great lore and world building. Now, I only wish to be able to complete A1 and A2 as well - hopefully before another decade passes along.

An intriguing setting and some interesting dialogue, but these things don’t even come close to making up for the repetitive main quest chain, unimaginative filler sidequest content, bland character building and mind-numbingly dull & repetitive combat. Honestly, this is the worst kind of game to have in one’s backlog: just inoffensive and intriguing enough to warrant pushing a little further to see if things improve, but never ascending beyond the mires of abject mediocrity.

I had been enjoying the game until when i ask about a rainbow pen I get the answer that it's a matter of pride. I do not want real world issues coming up in a game. I do not want virtue signaling in a game. This completely ruined the immersion :<

Having played the Avernum games on and off for almost 20yrs I always find myself enthralled by the world development and progression from each game to the next. I may go a year or two between playthroughs but it always draws be back. fun little games to sit back and enjoy. Avernum 3: RW was, has been, and is a pleasure to play and just freely roam the world, excellent for those who love to role-play their game characters. Can't wait to see the remake of Avernum 4: Greed and Glory when it gt's released later this year. Josh

Had it sitting in my library for ages. It was a fun game and I am glad i played it. Thank you for making it.

Ok, so I started Avernum 3 right after Avernum 2 (and Avernum 1 right before) and despite of loving it, got burned out somewhere in the middle. Tried other games, like Caves of Qud, Crystal Project, Skald to name a few. And for example somewhere 10 hours into Skald I suddenly realised that ANY battle in Avernum 3 is better than ANY battle in Skald. Went back to Avernum 3. started from the beginning. And... My God this game is amazing! Just needed a pause from Avernum 1 and 2 to fully appreciate it!

Another great game from Spiderweb! I will say this is the weakest in the original trilogy but i had fun with it. Laughed alot at some clever writing as well. Overall this was a solid end for the trilogy that leads to many possible stories to explore in the next trilogy.

30 years and it still works. The formula is still fun.