Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun Series

A great old game, hours of fun

shattered lands is good, but wake of the ravager sucks

Had never played [or even really knew about] this series before, and just finished Dark Sun 1 a couple nights ago. It's exactly the type of RPG I was hoping for -- more than the Eye of the Beholder or Gold Box games I had been looking at trying. The game(s) is story centered with branching dialogues, and the turn-based combat is really fun. The other games I mentioned (and many others from their general time period, until Baldur's Gate) had fun dungeon crawling, but actual story was kind of sparse and dialogue mostly non-existent. The only thing I don't like about this Steam release is that the first game doesn't work with Dosbox Staging -- which has some really nice scanline options, for a VASTLY cleaner & vintage look (without it the graphics look too blocky on modern monitors). I had to actually find an abandonware version of the game to have that work, but still used the manual and cluebook from the Steam Release. It would be nice if the Steam release integrated Staging support. The second game DOES work with Dosbox Staging, so I didn't have to do the same for the sequel. It's a shame that Baldur's Gate gets so much (fully deserved!) praise...while Dark Sun seems mostly a forgotten gem of a series. The game isn't nearly as long as Baldur's Gate, which in my mind works to its advantage -- ultra-long RPG's are a lot to ask time-wise. I spent about 30 hours in Dark Sun 1 (Shattered Lands), and it felt just right. I've now imported my party into Dark Sun 2 (love that you can do that!) and am just starting the second game. Looking forward to continuing the adventure!! UPDATE: I'm decently far into Dark Sun 2 now (I'm launching it into Dosbox Staging for the CRT scanlines, so sadly Steam isn't keeping track of my hours for the second title). I'll say that it's VERY impressive what they set out to do with the game. It's not nearly as polished as the first, but it also seems to be trying to do far more. There are a LOT of fully optional side quests in fully different areas / maps, and they're just as well written as all the primary stuff. I really miss games like these Dark Sun games. The second title it definitely buggy, and trips of what it's trying to do [pretty often], but aside from a few spots it has been a whole lot of fun thus far! As a really fun side-note: The second game is set after the events of the first novel in the 5-book series. So, if you happen to have read them (which I listened to on Audible, after I loved the first game)...you'll recognize a lot of the situation in the second title as having been influenced by the first book. From there they seem to have diverged into very different directions...but whatever -- they're all fun! Book series is wonderful, by the way...highly recommended. :)

One of my all time favourite games from when I was a kid. I always find myself going back to this game, regardless of how flawed it is, and loving it.

Even tho the graphics are a bit aged,through the really outstanding unique setting the games can still hold up today. It feels gameplay wise like an early Baldurs Gate,and the devs of it surely must have seen it as there are alot of similiarities. Wouldnt recommend it to everyone,but i have to say these games also work without nostalgia. Never played them back in the day,just tried it several times over the years cause the setting is interesting to me. Finally i was hooked,maybe cause other modern retro like games make you more familiar with the feeling of the true classics. Not finished yet,but already much further than i was during the last years. Wish we could get atleast an remastered some day,cause the game gets slowdowns from time to time. But im not sure how a remaster in this setting would feel today,so maybe it is good how it is. Little Tip: Keep the big Gems you get from quests,they are important and make your life in the wasteland of Athas easier later on.

Blast from the distant past but caution those less than 50 years of age who may find the graphics off putting but I enjoyed reliving my early PC gaming years.

If you are an old school DnD Gold box fan. Yes. If you are a new to RPG's then move along. There are prettier, more detailed, RPG's out there...