https://gamerant.com/digital-eclipse-wizardry-remake/Digital Eclipse announces the remake of one of the oldest RPGs ever made, which influenced countless other titles in the genre.
Digital Eclipse is currently working on the remake of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, and an Early Access version is available for PC right now. Wizardry is among the most influential games in the genre, but it’s one of those classic RPGs that are almost impossible to play today in their original versions, so a remake is great news for fans of old-school PC games.
The first Wizardry was released back in 1981 for Apple 2 and it became one of the most successful dungeon crawlers of its time. Together with the Ultima series, Wizardry became one of the most influential RPGs ever made, as not only did it inspire several Western RPG series such as Bard’s Tale, but also the Japanese Dragon Quest, one of the first prominent games of the JRPG genre.
Now, Digital Eclipse announced out of nowhere that it’s working on Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, and that an Early Access version of the old-school RPG is already available on Steam and GOG. The goal of the remake is to modernize the graphics and gameplay of the original Wizardry while keeping the core experience as intact as possible. To achieve this objective, Digital Eclipse has been working for two years using the original code from the Apple 2 release. When playing, gamers can expect a fully new interface, though, as well as easier methods for party management.
Right now, the entire game is playable in Early Access, according to Digital Eclipse. However, a few more textures, animations, and environments will be added before the title is considered complete. Players can also expect text localization to other languages, a guide to enemies, and other special features for the 1.0 release.
Digital Eclipse is specialized in remaking retro games, so it feels like a good fit for this project. Last year, the company released the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration collection, which compiled several classic Atari games, as well as interviews, design documents, and documental footage regarding these projects.
2023 has been an excellent year for remakes and remasters so far. Among the most well-known examples of the year, it’s easy to remember Metroid Prime Remastered and Resident Evil 4. PC gamers who like old-school classics had nothing to complain about, though, as they got the System Shock remake. The game is a very faithful adaptation of the immersive sim from the 90s that overhauled the graphics and gameplay, modernizing how the game feels but maintaining its design.
The Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord remake is currently available for PC in Early Access.
