FANDOM NAME: Avernum (aka Exile) Why two names? Well, in the 90s, indie game developer Spiderweb Software released the Exile trilogy of RPGs. Since then, the games have been remade twice, under the new name Avernum. They all tell the same story, with very minor changes to dialogue and character names, etc. The main differences between each version are the graphics and gameplay.
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: A great old-school RPG, with a fantasy setting just a little bit out of the ordinary. There’s the usual swords and sorcery trappings, but the land of Exile/Avernum is a hellish system of subterranean caverns that the evil Empire who rules aboveground uses as a penal colony for all its petty criminals, rebels, and misfits, all eking out a precarious existence and fighting the various beasties who already live in the underworld. You follow the fortunes of various bands of adventurers as they explore this strange new world, make allies and enemies among the other denizens of the caves, drink lots of mushroom beer, rebel against the iron might of the Empire, and, finally, find a way back to the surface world.
It’s a great story, with lots of quirky humour, some cool recurring characters, and it wears its worldbuilding just lightly enough that there are loads of enticing gaps just begging to be filled in with fanon!
And it’s addictive. Very addictive. I don’t even want to think about how many days of my life I’ve lost to these games. With (mostly) non-linear storytelling, plenty of sidequests, and a great big game world to explore, you’ll find yourself getting happily lost for hours on end ("just one more dungeon, honest!"). There’s tons of replay value, too.
Oh, and it has Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Spiders who sometimes give you spider kisses. If that doesn’t entice you, nothing will.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: All of Spiderweb's games can be purchased via their own site. For the Avernum games, you can download free demos, and the entire original Exile trilogy is available to download for free.
The newest trilogy is also available on Steam and GOG. GOG also sells the first Avernum trilogy as part of a package. (This package includes Avernum 4-6, a follow-up trilogy to A1-3, but I've never played those.)
All games are available for Windows and Mac. The new trilogy is also available for iPad.
Exile | Avernum
Why two names? Well, in the 90s, indie game developer Spiderweb Software released the Exile trilogy of RPGs. Since then, the games have been remade twice, under the new name Avernum. They all tell the same story, with very minor changes to dialogue and character names, etc. The main differences between each version are the graphics and gameplay.
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: A great old-school RPG, with a fantasy setting just a little bit out of the ordinary. There’s the usual swords and sorcery trappings, but the land of Exile/Avernum is a hellish system of subterranean caverns that the evil Empire who rules aboveground uses as a penal colony for all its petty criminals, rebels, and misfits, all eking out a precarious existence and fighting the various beasties who already live in the underworld. You follow the fortunes of various bands of adventurers as they explore this strange new world, make allies and enemies among the other denizens of the caves, drink lots of mushroom beer, rebel against the iron might of the Empire, and, finally, find a way back to the surface world.
It’s a great story, with lots of quirky humour, some cool recurring characters, and it wears its worldbuilding just lightly enough that there are loads of enticing gaps just begging to be filled in with fanon!
And it’s addictive. Very addictive. I don’t even want to think about how many days of my life I’ve lost to these games. With (mostly) non-linear storytelling, plenty of sidequests, and a great big game world to explore, you’ll find yourself getting happily lost for hours on end ("just one more dungeon, honest!"). There’s tons of replay value, too.
Oh, and it has Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Spiders who sometimes give you spider kisses. If that doesn’t entice you, nothing will.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: All of Spiderweb's games can be purchased via their own site. For the Avernum games, you can download free demos, and the entire original Exile trilogy is available to download for free.
The newest trilogy is also available on Steam and GOG. GOG also sells the first Avernum trilogy as part of a package. (This package includes Avernum 4-6, a follow-up trilogy to A1-3, but I've never played those.)
All games are available for Windows and Mac. The new trilogy is also available for iPad.