Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord review: Boomer looter

Wizardry is the quintessential dungeon RPG, the reason the “DRPG” acronym exists at all. It was the first major shot of the ongoing project of adapting pen and paper RPG games to digital media. It’s a relatively obscure property now, and weirdly enough transitioned to Japanese ownership over the years, where interest in the genre has thrived at a niche level. Now, Digital Eclipse, the studio best known for its documentary-like historical re-releases and classic compilations, has remade the original Apple II classic from the ground up. This remake aims to strike a balance between accuracy and approachability, while dressing the game up like the cover of an old Dungeons & Dragons handbook.

You can't get older school than this

My gaming tastes have shifted towards DRPGs in recent years, and the genre has been a fascinating intersection between JRPG aesthetics and extremely old school game design. Developers like Experience and Nippon Ichi have taken DRPGs to interesting new places without losing the core appeal, but in finding these games I’ve also looked backwards for context. Wizardry itself has seen a lot of changes over the years, and that even includes multiple remakes of the first game, Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. From the Game Boy to the Super Famicom and even the PlayStation, each time I encountered a new iteration I wondered more what Digital Eclipse could possibly bring to the table that hasn’t been done before.

Turns out there’s a lot of room left to cover. While IP-owner ASCII’s approach has often been about adapting the game to whichever platform and its strengths, Digital Eclipse is, predictably, about drawing attention to context. Why is Wizardry interesting and worth revisiting? What did the original game look like, and how did it function? How can we look back to answer those questions, but still have a game people can enjoy after decades of shifting perspective on games? The answer was, in this case, to be transparent and bring the audience along for the ride. What that looks like is a mix between explanatory text in the game itself, and utilizing Early Access.

The nerdiest rabbit hole ever (in a good way)

Digital Eclipse’s take on Wizardry is leaving Early Access, hence this review. And while it was in Early Access, the process was pretty straightforward. The game launched there in a relatively complete state (Wizardry is pretty short, in terms of scope), but what this format allowed was for new players and hardcore Wizardry sickos to come in and help workshop the bells and whistles. Mostly, that’s resulted in a list of settings you can play with at any time during your game, allowing you to choose between a modern, easier function or the more brutal original. And in the menu, you’ll see an explanation not only of the difference, but a little taste of the logic behind the setting being offered. It’s a neat look behind the curtain.

All that and everything else, including the very renaissance faire vibes soundtrack and corny (but detailed and thematically prudent) 3D visuals, is built on the original Wizardry code. We’re talking about the Apple II version, as OG as it gets. You can even press a button to toggle the Apple II version’s UI superimposed over the game, either in the corner or right on top of everything. It’s a stark look at just how far things have come in video games. It’s a little clumsy in some respects, and I wonder why there isn’t a hard toggle between the two styles entirely, but considering it’s literally a white wireframe box there’s only so much one could do with that. It’s cool that it’s there! I also found myself wishing more of the documentary-style vibe from other recent Digital Eclipse titles was here, as that may have done more to differentiate between this and other Wizardry remakes. Not that any of those have actually been localized and released officially outside of Japan, of course.

The hard part

If you’re playing Wizardry for the first time, you’re in for a doozy. Think about how games like Etrian Odyssey or something recent like Demon Lord Reincarnation lean on challenge, but provide lots of options and ways to eventually outmaneuver it. Now get rid of those options, and you get Wizardry. Digital Eclipse warns you, in the game, that your characters “WILL DIE,” and to not get too attached.

The tavern where you can recruit characters will always be populated by new bodies to fill an empty slot, and unless you’re stubborn it’s probably better to get someone new than spend half your money on a chance to revive a fallen comrade. There are no ranged weapons, spells run out super fast, and traps as early as the third floor will wipe you before you realize what happened. Playing the original Wizardry in any of its forms is an exercise in not only exploring history, but confronting how harsh and uncompromising history could be. Friction wasn’t a novelty back then, it was the norm.

If you can roll with the punches, and have a deep sense of patience, Wizardry can be a fun time. It’s rewarding to be able to navigate a map, get around traps that previously decimated you, and eventually climb your way back out. It’s an achievement on many levels, even with many of the new, friendlier features toggled on. There isn’t a ton of fanfare, nor hidden bonus rewards for replaying, but the sensation of diving deep and experiencing something old and influential is palpable. Playing Wizardry is like reading an old book in a genre you know and love, and tracing the roots.

Digital Eclipse’s new take on Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is an impressive and ambitious attempt to bring historical flavor and contemporary approachability and appeal into one neat, modern package. I may prefer the sprites and chiptunes of the Game Boy Wizardry remakes, but the effort and passion for video game history is just as powerful here as it is in other Digital Eclipse works. I would have loved some more museum-style content these folks are known for, but the laser focus on the game here is a fascinating new approach.

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is available for the Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S on May 23, 2024. A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher for review.

Lucas White

Contributing Editor

Lucas plays a lot of videogames. Sometimes he enjoys one. His favorites include Dragon Quest, SaGa, and Mystery Dungeon. He's far too rattled with ADHD to care about world-building lore but will get lost for days in essays about themes and characters. Holds a journalism degree, which makes conversations about Oxford Commas awkward to say the least. Not a trophy hunter but platinumed Sifu out of sheer spite and got 100 percent in Rondo of Blood because it rules. You can find him on Twitter @HokutoNoLucas being curmudgeonly about Square Enix discourse and occasionally saying positive things about Konami.