The Temple of Apshai Trilogy includes updated graphical versions of three classic Apshai games: -Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai -Dunjonquest: Upper Reaches of Apshai -Dunjonquest: Curse of Ra
Mixed
16 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
I've read that this is the DOS release of Apshai, which has some really bad bugs and is essentially unplayable. My review is just for the Apshai Trilogy games themselves regardless of platform. Given that these on Steam seem to be buggy ports, it might be best to seek out the earlier TRS-80, PET, or Apple II versions instead.
This is a major classic in RPG history for home computer systems, first released in 1979, and had a major wow factor when it came out. That being said, it's unlikely to appeal to a modern audience. Game pace is slow and uses an arcane command set. Graphic quality varies between releases but all are pretty basic. There aren't tons of stats. You'll need to draw a map.
Despite all this Temple of Apshai is a challenging game, and arguably was the finest 1979 had to offer in this genre. It has the basic elements that computer-based RPGs still have today, and no doubt was an influence on many games over the years. If you're here for the historical perspective and didn't experience Apshai in-situ, I hope you find something you like about the game and can understand why it was such a big deal in the time it first appeared.
The other two games in this trilogy are pretty much more-of-same, what we could consider DLC today except you went to the store and bought the content on physical media.
Another one of these old school CRPGs that does not run or play well.
I played this game when it was released on the C-64 and have fond memories of this game but there are no instructions to tell you what keystrokes do what. I expected the graphics to be not so good but these are worse than that. \It's nearly impossible to tell what you're looking at. Save your money.
i remember back in the 198s growing up and playing the several apshai games. they were great games.
Played this way back in the Commdore 64 days and it's exactly how I remember it. Just more proof that the older games can still bring a smile to your face.
8-bit turn based dungeon crawler. Although very very dated, it has it's own challenges. This game reflects how the old dungeons and dragons genre should be played.
Map reveals itself slowly and you must vanquish your enemy to get to the treasure chest. However!, that chest may be trapped and hold nothing but trash.
Those who love nostalgic games will love this one! 8/10
Epyx <3
[u]Recommendation[/u]: Learn from my mistake and [i][u]do NOT buy this[/u][/i]. It is a distribution of the 1989 re-release of the 1985 DOS port of the game, [u]not[/u] the 1979 TSR-80 original. The DOS port was broken when it was released in 1985, and has never been fixed in any subsequent release over the last 38 years. The most egregious problem is that [u]your character cannot gain levels in the DOS version of the game[/u], but there are numerous other bugs on top of that.
This happens sometimes. Back in the 80s, there were many games that were originally released on any of a dozen different computer platforms, and were only ported to DOS when they were wildly successful and the PC began to catch up to the other computers in processing and graphics powers years later. Many programs - not just games, but particularly games - were often ported to DOS long after the original developers had left the project and without any serious attempt at QA testing. The PC didn't really develop as a respectable gaming platform until about 1990; you should always research whether re-releases of titles originally published before 1990 are adaptations of the original games from a different computer platform, or just images of the lousy DOS ports from that time period. I didn't take my own advice in this case, and am sad as a result.
I wish Steam had the Commodore 64 version instead.
Brings back memories of using my TRS-80 computer in 1980. The first real dungeon crawl in vivid 4 colors.
Some people went to the trouble of following up on the apparent bugs in this re-release.
https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=77242
After a lot of digging it isn’t certain, but seems like the original 1985, floppy disk DOS port had the same bugs and they’ve survived right up to this re-release *facepalms*. If Epyx really did half-arse the DOS port in '85 how did they get away with it? Oh well I’ve played other half-arsed, '80s DOS ports so I guess that was the way. Maybe hardly anyone bought the DOS port, the C64, Atari ST and Amiga versions making up most of the sales.
But I don’t know how much it would help to fix the bugs anyway, is the point of the game really to endlessly amass wealth back at the inn? I’ve seen here that you need to follow the room guide in the manual as you play to get the intended gaming experience, but I thought the room descriptions were a bit repetitive and flowery, not doing much to flesh out a bare, skeletal game. The rest of the manual is a bit bullshitty too, not helping the game, more like falsely inflating the game into something it isn’t.
is pretty cool it hasnt age well and is really confusing to play but once you figure it out is a cool experience
I love this game, but not the bugs. The Temple of Apshai is definitely a retro/nostalgia game for 70/80s gamers -- or those who want to see what the first "legitimate hit" RPG game looked like. Unfortunately, they simply released the IBM version of the Temple of Apshai Trilogy (1985) without dealing with the bugs. The Trilogy features three different dungeons with four levels each. I've put 9+ hours into the game and unfortunately discovered a bunch of bugs. The biggest? It fails to track your experience, so while you gain money and weapons by killing monsters and retrieving treasures, you don't get better at fighting. This becomes immediately apparent when you run into the tougher Level 3 and Level 4 monsters.
I played the Temple of Apshai dungeon for hours on my family's Apple II in 1980-1982 and loved it, but I never found the Trilogy version for the Macintosh (which I had in 1985 in college). I just stumbled across this on Steam and in a fit of nostalgia decided to clean all three dungeons (it's nice to have accomplished something in the decades since high school).
Hours of play later I'm through the first four levels and starting on the "Upper Reaches", but to do that I have to constantly manually re-enter my character to level up the experience points. There are other annoying bugs, but the experience issue is the biggest.
This is still a fun (if hopelessly obsolete) RPG, but to play it right, you need patience. You'll have to manually re-enter your character to add experience. (How much? Who knows?) I am trying to complete all the dungeons the "right" way but could lose patience. When that happens I'll create a super character and just hack my way through the remaining levels just to say I finished something I started in 1980.
One of the best bits of the original games were the room descriptions, which they printed in the manual because the tape drives/disks lacked storage space. They offered a lot of clues about where to search for secret doors and the like, so if you want to play the game it's worth Googling up the manual and command card online.
This game scores extremely high in the nostalgia department for me and might be fun for younger gamers who want a taste of the 8-bit life, but the experience bug means you need to track some things yourself.
Pro Tip: if you really want to be methodical you need to make maps of the dungeons as you clear them. That way you can quickly run back to the easier levels for things like healing potions and weapons when you exhaust them in the harder levels.
This version of the game is broken an unfortunately that seems to have always been true of the DOS build. Issues:
* No experience is ever earned meaning character progression is completely broken
* Combat is broken, the enemies do very little damage. Temple of Apshai is a punishing game and it's fairly common to die without a proper build and paying attention to health.
* The item values are broken. For example, there's a Copper Ingot in a hidden room on the first level that's normally worth 20 silver - this version gives 450 silver. With the combat system broken as well, it's trivial to walk in, pick up that copper ingot a few times and have enough money to get maximum equipment. That's not supposed to happen.
I never thought I'd give Temple of Apshai a poor review as I have good memories playing the C64 version back in the day, but what's released here is a very broken version. It's sad that they didn't catch this themselves with some basic play testing. After talking with some others in the DOS retro gaming community and checking original disks, the DOS version has always apparently been broken.
They should really replace with this another emulated version (C64, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Amiga) that actually plays correctly. This version is just broken and as long as they're offering the DOS version stay away. It's a shame because this is a classic RPG and any other version of the Apshai Trilogy would be worth playing.
Has not aged well. Play Rogue from Epyx (1985) for a much better experience!
One of the first dungeon crawler games I played...in all its CGA glory.
Трилогия включает в себя три игры: собственно саму игру "Temple of Apshai" и два дополнения к ней "Upper Reaches of Apshai" и "Curse of Ra". Все игры не имеют определённого сюжета. Продвигайся из комнаты в комнату открывая сундуки, да моча монстров на своём пути. Нашёл подробный, огромный мануал к игре в интернете. Только любителям древности.
