Ancient Domains of Mystery

 PC
  • Release Date: 1994
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 30
  3. Negative: 7 out of 30
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  1. Elcs
    Nov 17, 2015
    9
    One of the most popular roguelikes of all time has finally made it to Steam.

    There's a reason why ADOM and ToME4 usually fight it out for #1 and #2 on the Roguelike of the Year awards and that's because they are both bloody good and worth your cash. ADOM is one of the most challenging games I have encountered. The mechanics are deep and rewarding for those that play and discover.    One of the most popular roguelikes of all time has finally made it to Steam.

    There's a reason why ADOM and ToME4 usually fight it out for #1 and #2 on the Roguelike of the Year awards and that's because they are both bloody good and worth your cash.

    ADOM is one of the most challenging games I have encountered. The mechanics are deep and rewarding for those that play and discover. Death, like in any real roguelike, is common even for the experienced player and there's a major sense of satisfaction when you discover a new trick, enter a new dungeon or simply cave in the head of some nasty monster that has taken you all of your ammo, your power points and left you barely functional.

    I started my journey back in 1995 on the Amiga playing this game made up of @ signs and & signs and wondering how such a bland, simple looking game could ever hope to hold my attention. 20 years on, new content has been added and colourful tiles presenting a much nicer GUI have arrived.

    And one piece of advice.... never EVER eat a kobold... it's like Montezuma's revenge (wait, you might meet him) only worse!!!    … Expand
  2. PoGSTAR
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    Wow! I have to admit, that I was a bit skeptical. The community has been trying to put rogue-like games together with non-ascii graphics for at least a decade, and, for me, none has ever worked. However, ADOM is different. Already one of the very best rogue-likes of all time, with a compelling, rich story-line and hundreds of hours of challenging gameplay, the Steam version is actuallyWow! I have to admit, that I was a bit skeptical. The community has been trying to put rogue-like games together with non-ascii graphics for at least a decade, and, for me, none has ever worked. However, ADOM is different. Already one of the very best rogue-likes of all time, with a compelling, rich story-line and hundreds of hours of challenging gameplay, the Steam version is actually very good. I put this down to clever little touches, atmospheric sounds, and some nice design. The original game remains as compelling as it ever did, and this release breathes new life into it. If you played ASCII ADOM, or even if you didn't, in my view, this is a must-buy. Even better if it results in further expansion, e.g. via DLC in the future!… Expand
  3. abase
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    Simply the oldest Rougelike sitll alive and in development! Awesome gameplay and decent story with multiple endings. Endless replayability with dozens of classes and races.

    Overall hundreds of hours of fun! If you enjoy roguelikes you should already know this title if not - you should rush towards it immediately
  4. FritzCouch
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    I've been playing this game since my teens and I've yet to beat it. Despite looking like a basic hack'n slash, it is one of the most mentally stimulating games I have ever played. Highly recommended.
  5. lexrem
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    My first roguelike game with which I got acquainted in 1997 and still constantly come back to play it.
    Awesome. Deep, interesting, highly replayable. And not require supercomputer as many games today.
  6. benappo
    Nov 18, 2015
    10
    I have played ADOM since around 1996, and it has been simply the best true roguelike game, without question. Other roguelikes come and go, but ADOM remains on every PC I've had.

    Pros: Depth but not overwhelmingly so. Great character classes with very striking differences in gameplay The pace is perfect, not too slow, not too fast. Immense replayability - different classes and races    I have played ADOM since around 1996, and it has been simply the best true roguelike game, without question. Other roguelikes come and go, but ADOM remains on every PC I've had.

    Pros:
    Depth but not overwhelmingly so.
    Great character classes with very striking differences in gameplay
    The pace is perfect, not too slow, not too fast.
    Immense replayability - different classes and races are always fun to try
    The "Si"
    Now - fantastic graphics, music and extras

    Cons:
    None that I can think of!    … Expand
  7. jkashb
    Nov 18, 2015
    10
    ADOM is a two-decade labor of love - handcrafted gaming goodness, targetted at gamers who are willing to struggle, fail, learn, and refine their playing skills to earn (oh yes, EARN) victory. Every starting character comes with its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, some crafted by the player and some randomly-assigned by the game itself, making each playthrough a uniqueADOM is a two-decade labor of love - handcrafted gaming goodness, targetted at gamers who are willing to struggle, fail, learn, and refine their playing skills to earn (oh yes, EARN) victory. Every starting character comes with its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, some crafted by the player and some randomly-assigned by the game itself, making each playthrough a unique experience of its own. Resourcefulness, character management, and inventory management all play a role, but at its heart this is simply a game about saving the world and collecting a ton of cool stuff. Go get some!… Expand
  8. iseeall
    Dec 9, 2015
    7
    I played ADOM in its DOS version a lot, and it was a great game despite its obsolete controls and presentation even by 90s standards. It's possibly one of the deepest or even the deepest PRG game ever made. The amount of things you can do is greater than in any game I've ever seen. The game is extremely challenging and offers high replay value with its permadeath feature and endlessI played ADOM in its DOS version a lot, and it was a great game despite its obsolete controls and presentation even by 90s standards. It's possibly one of the deepest or even the deepest PRG game ever made. The amount of things you can do is greater than in any game I've ever seen. The game is extremely challenging and offers high replay value with its permadeath feature and endless variety of randomly generated dungeons. For that DOS version I give a full 10/10, recommend it to any and all gamers, and consider it the best RPG ever made together with Fallout 2 and Baldur's Gate 2.

    However, this graphical Windows version 60 (which is now on Steam) is unfinished and as of now not ready to play with. The graphics look ok though frankly the hero models and faces could be more detailed - atm they resemble graphics in 2000s games for Java phones. The music is average, even a bit annoying. The GUI is terrible. It's taken from the DOS version and only allows you to click on some things which doesn't help much. For the most part you need to use the old keyboard system which I almost forgot after all these years and now find painful to use. So, first of all this Windows game needs to separate itself from the DOS version and go for a new, independent and completely different, much friendlier GUI design. Maybe it would be even better to call this new game ADOM 2 and leave the old DOS version for museums :)

    The items, the spells and other things desperately need tooltips which would show stats and explanations. The log should flow in a scrollable window and should be optional and for advanced gamers, like in World of Warcraft. The whole game should be playable without you ever having to look into the manual. It needs to start with a short tutorial explaining the controls. All controls should work with mouse alone without ever having to touch the keyboard (though hotkeys are welcome). The developer needs to re-think all the controls from scratch and design them with PC and Windows as primary platform (with inevitable ports to iOS and Android which would also require their own, mobile-optimized GUI with larger buttons etc). When the GUI is fixed for Windows, I'd be ready to pay 2x or even 5x the price the game currently costs on Steam, but for now I'll have to pass and only give it a 7/10 because, as a Windows game, it doesn't work well or even remotely reach a point where it could be sold. That said, I'm very happy this game finally became graphical. This is a game which deserves to be kept updated and preserved for generations.    … Expand
  9. HawkerHulk
    Nov 18, 2015
    8
    Pros:

    - Depth, length, complexity. Just insane. This game was developed for ~10 years without graphics, just ASCII art and content, content, content. If you're into roguelikes I suggest giving it a go. - Has a solid old-school DnD feel to it (dunno how to describe it) Cons: - Might be difficult to get into. Devs updated the UI, added mouse support and some quality-of-life    Pros:

    - Depth, length, complexity. Just insane. This game was developed for ~10 years without graphics, just ASCII art and content, content, content. If you're into roguelikes I suggest giving it a go.
    - Has a solid old-school DnD feel to it (dunno how to describe it)

    Cons:

    - Might be difficult to get into. Devs updated the UI, added mouse support and some quality-of-life improvements, but there are still a lot of key commands to master. They say this will be improved...we'll see.

    If the UI is indeed improved I'd give it a solid 10. It's THE roguelike for fans of the genre, just needs more polish and streamlining to help new players sink their teeth into the content.    … Expand
  10. bigrobotgames
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    I've been playing this game for nearly 20 years (only beaten it once, before all of the Ultra Endings). This is by far the best roguelike available, and the new Steam release has added even more functionality and content. So many class and race combinations, combined with procedurally generated dungeons, randomized magic and treasure, and PERMADEATH make this game a must buy on Steam:I've been playing this game for nearly 20 years (only beaten it once, before all of the Ultra Endings). This is by far the best roguelike available, and the new Steam release has added even more functionality and content. So many class and race combinations, combined with procedurally generated dungeons, randomized magic and treasure, and PERMADEATH make this game a must buy on Steam: http://www.adom.de/steam… Expand
  11. tripsggg
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    Absolutely, hands down, the deepest, most enjoyable game in the rogue-like genre. The game has unlimited replay value. Keep in mind, you have to enjoy the genre to get it, but if you play games like NetHack, Angband or Moria, ADOM blows them away. I've been playing ADOM for years upon years, and much like the other reviewers, I haven't even come close to unlocking all of the content.Absolutely, hands down, the deepest, most enjoyable game in the rogue-like genre. The game has unlimited replay value. Keep in mind, you have to enjoy the genre to get it, but if you play games like NetHack, Angband or Moria, ADOM blows them away. I've been playing ADOM for years upon years, and much like the other reviewers, I haven't even come close to unlocking all of the content. Thomas Biskup, you are a master of your craft. Congrats on the Steam launch! It's a crime to see ADOM (2015) when I looked it up, since this game has been around for forever.… Expand
  12. jmkII
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    A fantastic old-school roguelike RPG with literally tons of content (and still more coming). Many games these days boast to have vast open worlds, open-ended gameplay and endless replayability - ADOM actually delivers.
  13. night4
    Oct 30, 2017
    1
    Pros:
    -Complexity
    -Graphics -Sheer number of classes Cons: -Developer leaves unprofessional posts on Steam -Keymapping -Tedious aspects of the complexity (more below) -Gets very repetitive very quickly -A little too expensive for what you get -Can easily screw your character at any time, especially creation -Magic seems too expensive (in terms of Power Points) It's one    Pros:
    -Complexity
    -Graphics
    -Sheer number of classes

    Cons:
    -Developer leaves unprofessional posts on Steam
    -Keymapping
    -Tedious aspects of the complexity (more below)
    -Gets very repetitive very quickly
    -A little too expensive for what you get
    -Can easily screw your character at any time, especially creation
    -Magic seems too expensive (in terms of Power Points)

    It's one thing to make a game intricate and complex yet fun (think FFT/ToEE). It's another to add extremely tedious things seemingly to just eat up the player's time without adding fun. The latter basically sums up ADoM, unfortunately.    … Expand
  14. hernaldog
    Oct 13, 2021
    0
    El mejor roguelike, mas adictivo, tiene modos de exploración para no morir a cada rato. Adictivo, entretenido.