Amberstar is a huge, sprawling Role-Playing Game that was first released by German developer Thalion in 1992. It’s a game that certainly does owe a debt or two to Richard Garriott‘s famous Ultima series, although Amberstar is unique (and good) enough to stand on its proverbial own two feet.

Amberstar is a truly brilliant game, but it does have a problem or two. Mostly with getting started – or gaining a foothold. It’s a slow and painful process. The interface and conventions are all a bit old skool and archaic, but when you get used to them the game really opens up. Getting past the first few dungeons, though, is a real task. Especially if you attempt it blind. I recommend playing with a walkthrough or guide – otherwise you’ll likely get nowhere.

In my mind, though, Amberstar is arguably the best game ever to come out of Germany. At least during the 16-bit era, and that’s saying something because a lot of good games came out of Germany during that period.

High praise indeed, but Amberstar is a classic game that plays much better than it looks and is well worth a play today.

See also: Amberstar PC MS-DOS version on The King of Grabs

More: Amberstar on Wikipedia