Ultima 8

From Play It Hardcore

Overview information

Beren is about to find you Guilty

Ultima VIII: Pagan

Publisher/Year:	Origin Systems, 1994
Genre:	RPG
Difficulty earmarks:	Instant death scenarios, linear progression, combat imbalance, high time/focus investment.
Guide Name:	Ultima VIII Hardcore Guide
Time for 1 run:	15-20 hours
Primary Contributor:	soulmata

Ultima 8 was the first Ultima in the cardinal series to truly disappoint fans, due in part to a buggy first release. After numerous patching, the game was playable through from start to finish with minimal bugs. Unfortunately, it also received criticism due to the fairly non-Ultimaesque gameplay, which made it more into an action RPG rather than an Ultima. Interestingly, this is exactly the component that makes the game a good PIH candidate, as you are in direct control of combat and your character the entire game.

The game is chock full of danger, in particular instant death scenarios. Lava rivers, falling into water, explosives in your backpack, touching someones plate, stepping over a bad part of a walkway; all of these can lead to your instant demise. Similar to Fallout 2, the game requires extensive metagaming in order to remain alive from start to finish. It isn't all bad, however.