

Dungeon Master had puzzles like that, too, but it kept you guessing. Push a switch here to open a door somewhere else. For 14 of the 18 levels I've experienced so far, the enemies have been staggeringly easy, and for 17 of the 18, the puzzles have been entirely of the rote mechanical kind. Abandoned Places, at least for most of its run, does none of them. Ultima Underworld went largely with the latter two but also had some interesting puzzles. They usually present some form of additional challenge, but come with a reward too! The tower is riddled with secret passages that contain unique items and notes of its inhabitants, giving you an insight into their lives and events that precede your arrival.Dungeon Master made itself famous with the first two options, particularly the second. There are many optional areas in the game that you can choose to explore. All major story points are narrated by the main characters and they are fully voiced! Don't worry, though, you can safely ignore all the text. If you want to get into the backstory and uncover the mysteries of the tower, you can delve right into it by reading all the notes you can find. Nothing makes sense to you, but it is all strangely familiar.

Stranded on a small islet in the middle of an ocean, you enter a gigantic mechanical tower. On the other hand, as you progress, you get to unlock useful circuits on your exo-rig, gaining significant permanent attribute bonuses and passive skills. The gadget-based system allows you change your loadout of gadgets at any time, giving you a great deal of flexibility to deal with various situations. The game combines a "you are what you wear" aspect with a long-term development of your exo-rig. Instead of increasing the abilities of your human character, you will improve an exoskeleton rig you wear. While most puzzles and riddles are contained in a single room, progression objectives can span an entire level or even multiple levels. Solve intriguing puzzles and level-wide objectives where you have to use both your wits and reflexes. These gadgets are powerful, but some enemies are immune to certain types of attacks, so you will have to figure out the best way to deal with every encounter the game throws at you. You will find many types of gadgets: direct attacks, area attacks, offensive & defensive buffs. Weapon types have each a set of unique bonuses and behaviors which adds more depth and thought when choosing what weapons to equip. Each enemy has a distinctive set of strengths and weaknesses so you have to employ different tactics to beat each one.
