Set in a dark-fantasy timeline version of the Roman Empire, Ludus Mortis is a dungeon crawler like the classics but with plenty of modern touches now in Early Access with Linux Support and Steam Deck playable. No official rating yet for the Steam Deck but the developer mentioned it should be just fine.
Direct Link
Features:
- Create your characters choosing from 14 classes
- Manage and develop you Ludus (Gladiator School) by improving facilities, acquiring gladiators, crafting new equipment.
- Explore catacombs and dungeons.
- Manage your party changing formation, equipment and skills: you can try different combinations for every different dungeon.
- Turn-based combat: think carefully and use your Action Points wisely.
Story: "Rome, 4th Century AD. Over the last few decades the Senate has become corrupt and has progressively lost power and influence, while the Emperor Diocletian and his army ruled unchallenged outside the eternal city.
Seeking to return to a dominant position, the members of the Roman Senate decide to use necromancy to increase their power, creating an army of undead and demons to fight against imperial soldiers.
By waging war on its own emperor, the Senate has caused a rift in the Roman population, which slowly began to live in fear.
Year after year the armies of undead summoned by the Senate have taken over, imposing themselves on the senators and enslaving the Roman population.
In this climate of chaos, an ancient gladiatorial school continued to train soldiers for the games. But the purpose of these gladiators is now different: to rid the city of the undead and invaders...to allow Rome to return to its former glory."
Nice to see more first-person dungeon crawlers like this. So far on Steam it's managed to get a Positive rating, but that's not from many reviews yet. It entered Early Access on September 29th and since then the developer has continued to upgrade it with bug fixes and new features, like a newly added lockpicking mechanic. Looks like it's worth a go if you love these types of games.
williamjcm Oct 20, 2023
slaapliedje Oct 20, 2023
Quoting: williamjcmLooks interesting indeed. And I'm glad they went with turn-based combat. Grid-based dungeon crawlers that are party-based play better when turn-based.Legend of Grimrock was realtime, and that's my favourite from the genre - we'll see what exactly they mean by turn time.
williamjcm Oct 20, 2023
Quoting: PikoloLegend of Grimrock was realtime, and that's my favourite from the genreI played Legend of Grimrock (the first one), and I found out that managing a party of four in real-time isn't exactly a pleasant experience, especially since you also have to manage the characters' hunger. Can't remember if there was equipment durability on top of that, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was. I didn't enjoy it at all, and quit after completing the first floor of the game.
However, I've had more fun playing Vaporum and its prequel, which are both single-character dungeon crawlers.
For party-based ones, I've kinda enjoyed some of Experience Inc's JRPG-like dungeon crawlers. So far, I only tried three of their titles in the genre, Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited and Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi. On Switch, though. Dunno how the PC versions compare.
Last edited by williamjcm on 20 October 2023 at 6:00 pm UTC
Luke_Nukem Oct 20, 2023
wvstolzing Oct 21, 2023
Quoting: Purple Library GuyWow, that is . . . amazingly old fashioned. Like the monsters are still images and everything.
Yeah for a moment it felt like I was looking at an Amiga magazine.
Quoting: williamjcmI played Legend of Grimrock 1 and 2 and Operencia: The Stolen Sun in coop mode - one person playing the keyboard moving, the second person playing the mouse to do the attacking/switch activation. Happy to see this genre comming backQuoting: PikoloLegend of Grimrock was realtime, and that's my favourite from the genreI played Legend of Grimrock (the first one), and I found out that managing a party of four in real-time isn't exactly a pleasant experience, especially since you also have to manage the characters' hunger. Can't remember if there was equipment durability on top of that, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was. I didn't enjoy it at all, and quit after completing the first floor of the game.
However, I've had more fun playing Vaporum and its prequel, which are both single-character dungeon crawlers.
For party-based ones, I've kinda enjoyed some of Experience Inc's JRPG-like dungeon crawlers. So far, I only tried three of their titles in the genre, Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited and Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi. On Switch, though. Dunno how the PC versions compare.
Legend of Grimrock did not feature equipment degradation - you did have to pull ranged weapon ammo out of the corpses of dead enemies though. I was paranoid about hunger at the beginning too, but all it did was place a limit on how long you could linger to re-try puzzles. In LoG II there were a few areas with re-spawning edible wolves that made food a non-issue
Last edited by Pikolo on 22 October 2023 at 9:25 pm UTC
slaapliedje Oct 23, 2023
Quoting: wvstolzingHave you checked out that Eye of the Beholder 1&2 got an AGA upgrade? I have tested the C128 port too, freaking awesome! I need to actually sit down and play that (two monitors and all!)Quoting: Purple Library GuyWow, that is . . . amazingly old fashioned. Like the monsters are still images and everything.
Yeah for a moment it felt like I was looking at an Amiga magazine.
wvstolzing Oct 24, 2023
Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: wvstolzingHave you checked out that Eye of the Beholder 1&2 got an AGA upgrade? I have tested the C128 port too, freaking awesome! I need to actually sit down and play that (two monitors and all!)Quoting: Purple Library GuyWow, that is . . . amazingly old fashioned. Like the monsters are still images and everything.
Yeah for a moment it felt like I was looking at an Amiga magazine.
Yeah (from what I've been seeing on youtube) the C64/128 port is absolutely incredible.
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