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Illustration of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Overview

After having brought peace to Britannia during his previous journey there, the Avatar returns to our world. However, he is haunted by ghostly dreams that warn him of a great danger in Britannia. The Avatar decides to travel there once again. Upon his arrival, he witnesses the kidnapping of Baron Almric's daughter. Found guilty of the crime, the Avatar is thrown into the Great Stygian Abyss with the choice of either finding the girl or rotting in the dungeon. On his journey he will have to get along with the many inhabitants of the dungeon, who are survivors of a failed colony, and eventually find out that there's much more to this kidnapping than meets the eye.

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is commonly considered the first role-playing game with fluid first-person movement in a real 3D environment. Unlike earlier first-person RPGs such as Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder, the player can move in every direction and the graphics are updated continually. The player is also able to look up and down with the press of a key, jump, and swim. The dungeon is not made entirely of corridors and rooms arranged in a rectangular fashion, but has a lot of variety: slopes, stairs, bridges, underground rivers, and more.

The game's combat system is action-oriented. The player has to draw his weapon, aim at his opponent, and hold the cursor over the game screen to inflict damage; the longer the player holds it, the stronger is the attack. Some weapons have different types of attacks, depending on where the cursor is held: for example, jabs are executed when the cursor is near the bottom of the screen, while slashes are performed with the cursor in the middle.

In the beginning of the game, the player chooses the gender, the class, and the initial skills for the Avatar. Skills include various weapon proficiencies, lockpicking, bartering, and others. They can be increased by reciting mantras at special shrines after having accumulated a sufficient amount of experience points. Leveling up also increases the Avatar's hit points and mana. The magic system is based on runes that can be found in the Abyss. If combined in the right order, they produce a magical effect.

As the Abyss is populated by more than just monsters, there are various conversations the Avatar can conduct with non-playable characters. The player can also make choices regarding the Avatar's behavior towards these characters. Game progression is largely non-linear: the player is able to explore most of the Abyss in any order, though several specific tasks must be accomplished in order to complete the story. An auto-map displays all the locations the player has explored previously, and also allows the player to make notes on it.

Genre
Action
Alternate Names
No information available
Video
No information available

Media

Box - Back

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Box - Back (Japan) - 786x1159
Japan -  786 x 1159

Box - Front

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Box - Front (Japan) - 800x1167
Japan -  800 x 1167

Box - Spine

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Box - Spine (Japan) - 283x1599
Japan -  283 x 1599

Clear Logo

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Clear Logo (null) - 2500x1225
2500 x 1225

Disc

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Disc (Japan) - 776x773
Japan -  776 x 773

Fanart - Background

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Fanart - Background (null) - 3840x2160
3840 x 2160

Screenshot - Game Over

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Screenshot - Game Over (Japan) - 640x480
Japan -  640 x 480

Screenshot - Game Select

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Screenshot - Game Select (Japan) - 640x480
Japan -  640 x 480

Screenshot - Game Title

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Screenshot - Game Title (Japan) - 640x480
Japan -  640 x 480

Screenshot - Gameplay

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Screenshot - Gameplay (Japan) - 640x480
Japan -  640 x 480
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Screenshot - Gameplay (Japan) - 640x480
Japan -  640 x 480
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - Screenshot - Gameplay (Japan) - 640x480
Japan -  640 x 480