Akalabeth: World of Doom

“Akalabeth” was the last game designed by Richard Garriott before he rose to fame with “Ultima”, and while “Ultima I” is rough goings these days, “Akalabeth” is even less accessible. It’s possible to hit a failstate as early as one second after character creation—you consume one item of food every time you move and die if you have zero, and since you start with zero food, stocking up enough at the store before setting out is the difference between dying of starvation and dying from a skeleton. Historically important, I suppose, but this was bad even for its time.

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