I completed this game today. Total playing time was an impressive 43 hours, though I spent much of that time waiting for my stats to recover: a resting function would have helped, especially early on. I also spent much time finding my way round the world map, where every other square is an obstacle, and the 3D is as confusing as it is ambitious. Other than that, there is no denying this game is a looker: The 3D inside dungeous is nice; NPCs and monsters are very imaginative, occasionally busty, and all are well-drawn. When you cast a spell, you see yourself spelling it out with mana, which is cool; at first I thought you had to draw them yourself like in Arx Fatalis, but you don't.
I chose Foxwen, who seemed to be a ranger type of character. However, I soon gave up on ranged combat, since I had a great sword before I even found my first crossbow bolt; you're using a sword towards the end anyway. On the other hand, your opponents' arrows can traverse passages as long as an entire dungeon: Sometimes one will hit you, slowly drifting through the dense fog as they do, from an area of the map you haven't even discovered. You can pick up your own bolts and throwing blades after firing them.
Combat is just the click-fest you would expect, with very little strategy involved. In one level you get to choose whether to sneak through between enemy lines or clear the entire area. The latter is a bit of a pointless chore, since you achieve the «Master» rank in your primary weapon and spell class fairly early on. You can master two weapon classes and two spell schools, though, with the points you earn.
Choosing a character with very low strength was not such a good idea, since you have to carry around trice your own weight in boulders to put on pressure plates. Luckily, being encumbered doesn't hurt you until you get in a fight, when it will make you lose strength and agility quicker than normal. Also, you can put most of your stuff in bags and chests, and leave them at the entrance of a dungeon, fetching them only as you need them.
You can write on the map, and even print it or save it as ASCII art. A journal helps with keeping track of the fairly linear quest, which is useful since dialogue is far between. As
this walkthrough says: «The game allows a player to take any course they want, rather than follow a predestined path. But there is a right order to follow and a wrong order.» Other than that, you won't have much need for a walkthrough; the puzzles are more annoying than challenging (except for the last level, which is a
joke).
I'm not huge on hack and slash games in general. Still, Anvil of Dawn is a solid game, and it certainly looks great. Worked in Dosbox like a charm, thanks for uploading!
3.75/5