Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds

Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (or simply Ultima Underworld 2) is the sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. It was developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems in 1993.

Like the predecessor, Ultima Underworld 2 is set in Richard Garriott's Ultima universe. The game uses an improved version of the first game’s engine, but is larger in size and scope. The world is much more interactive than the original, while keeping the first-person perspective and nonlinear emergent gameplay.

The game is, of course, set in the Ultima universe, and just like in the other games, you control the ‘Avatar.’ Believing that the Guardian is defeated, you are invited to a celebration. However, like most evil baddies, the Guardian is far from down and comes back with a vengeance. After trapping everyone inside the castle, the Guardian inadvertently opens portals to other dimensions. The Avatar must now travel to these dimensions and free the worlds from the Guardian’s influence in order to stop him.

As always, you can choose the gender, class, and skills of your Avatar. Borrowing from the first game, Labyrinth of Worlds also uses the same magic and combat systems. Branching conversations remain, allowing you to choose different responses. Although sales were not huge, the game earned high scores from critics and won the Best Game of 1993 award.

Created in just 9 months by a small team led by Doug Church, with Tim Stellmach as lead designer, and Paul Neurath and Doug Church himself as designers, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds is not only always present in the list of the best RPGs ever created, but it is also often considered one of the best games of all time. Not bad. The experience of Ultima Underworld 2 inspired Tim Stellmach when he was appointed as lead designer for Thief: The Dark Project, one of the most popular 3D stealth games. Doug Church instead would become the project leader for System Shock, another cult game.