TL:DR; This game is great, totally worth the price, download Arx LIbertas (it isn't a virus), disable Alpha Cutout AA (It crashes the game)

Arx Fatalis is a game that does nearly everything right! While that may sound off-putting at first, I mean this in the best way possible. I enjoyed nearly every minute I had exploring the world of Arx and its 8 levels. The world was incredibly interesting, the gameplay is phenomenal, exploration is engaging, and the magic system has got to be one of the most ingenious implementations of magic I have ever seen in a game before. This game is certainly worth your time and pennies (I got this game for less than two dollars, lol).

However, I said it does NEARLY everything right. What it gets wrong, it gets quite wrong. My complaint mostly boils down to the fact that its super easy to play this game out of order, which can render the game nearly impossible without a guide. For me, I accidentally killed the snake ladies who tell you about how to enchant the greatest weapon, which could have bricked my game if I didn't resort to the internet. There's a lot of these moments, such as not being told you have to go to the crypt, or not being told about the key ring (which is VITAL for maintaining sanity). Also, the final boss SUCKS and is perhaps the worst final boss I've ever fought (probably an exaggeration). While this is annoying, it is par for the course for older games, so just don't be afraid to crack out a guide once you get lost on the eighth level before you're even sent there.

I would note that, to have the best experience, you must download the free program Arx Libertas, which dramatically enhances the game (the machine says its a virus, but it isn't). Also, disable Alpha Cutout AA. That was crashing my game on load.

Shows its age but a very good game and it's easy to see why Arkane has gotten as much renown as it has.

Weird game that I played in my early teenage years. Pretty cool how you can interact with the world. The magic system is neat also