Ultima VIII: Pagan

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
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  1. Rox22
    Aug 22, 2015
    5
    Perhaps the easiest way to describe this game is that it is the biggest and best made empty game I have ever played.

    This game is huge (for the time) and was very well designed. But where's the gameplay. There are huge sections with very little in them. Imagine building a lavish mansion and the only furniture is a couple chairs. That's what this game feels like. Combat is a joke since    Perhaps the easiest way to describe this game is that it is the biggest and best made empty game I have ever played.

    This game is huge (for the time) and was very well designed. But where's the gameplay. There are huge sections with very little in them. Imagine building a lavish mansion and the only furniture is a couple chairs. That's what this game feels like. Combat is a joke since the only the weakest creatures are killable. Armor and weapons barely matter, they just make it easier to run away. However there are so laughably few enemies in the entire game, that you can skip almost all the combat if you wanted to, in fact most of the time it is preferable as you really want to avoid reloading (explain later.)

    Most of the gameplay is platforming, and considering the fixed camera 2D overview of a 3D space, makes this mechanic painful as heck. It is so unforgiving and takes allot of trial and error for every jump. That's right, EVERY jump. Normally this isn't so bad, just save and reload right? That's right, except, both saving and loading take an insane amount of time. Duke Nukem Forever kind of bad! Considering how much you HAVE TO save, it will drive you insane. From start to finish you will spend at least 2 or 3 hours on load waiting screen (for a game with a 10 - 20 hour play time, that's ridiculous.)

    But it does have a great story and good writing that do redeem it a bit. The magic in the game is also pretty cool, just a pity it isn't very practical outside of the story segments that introduce them.

    Also, as I said earlier, while the game does feel very barren, what is there, looks great.

    Overall:
    Ultima 8 is miles behind what Ultima 7 was. True it has better visuals, but that's it. If the saving and loading times weren't so bad, I likely would have scored this a bit higher. I hope that 20 years later this has been fixed, but my memory of this game is forever tainted. At best, this was an unfinished game, that was too ambitious for what it wanted to be.    … Expand
  2. soli
    Jun 12, 2016
    4
    This game is a very big let-down coming from Ultima VII. I think perhaps they were trying to target people who prefer platformers to gain a different audience -- this game is essentially a platformer game. The world is very limited in NPC's, most characters have an obvious game purpose (and that's all there is to them), it makes all the NPC's feel contrived and artificial. If you liked theThis game is a very big let-down coming from Ultima VII. I think perhaps they were trying to target people who prefer platformers to gain a different audience -- this game is essentially a platformer game. The world is very limited in NPC's, most characters have an obvious game purpose (and that's all there is to them), it makes all the NPC's feel contrived and artificial. If you liked the previous Ultimas, then you'll most likely be very disappointed in this game.… Expand
  3. Brogitzu
    May 28, 2020
    10
    After playing all Ultima games, this was for me the best one of a large series of incredible games.
    Yes, the platform parts was awfull, but the game have a pathos and a personality that you just absorbe yourself in his word.For me, by large the best game ever
  4. night4
    Dec 29, 2017
    8
    It's got flaws, but it's still a fantastic game, probably my second favorite in the Ultima series after 4.

    Pros:
    -Spell systems (yes, plural)
    -Extremely powerful spells
    -Story
    -Music/Voice Acting/Sound
    -The Avatar has to be "evil" to complete the game

    Cons:
    -Controls can be wonky at first
    -It's difficult to know where to go your first time through