Fit check
Is Arx Fatalis worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- RPG players who want first-person fantasy exploration
- Players who prefer character building across magic, combat, defense, and stealth
- Players who want choices and multiple possible endings
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking a linear RPG with one fixed route and ending
- Players who prefer combat without puzzles or gesture-based spellcasting
- Players looking for a modern multiplayer RPG
Our take on Arx Fatalis
Rather than using a fixed class and linear campaign, the game combines first-person exploration with freely allocated skills, drawn spell gestures, puzzles, and decisions that lead to different endings.
What is Arx Fatalis?
Arx Fatalis is a first-person RPG set in a sunless underground world where humans, trolls, goblins, rat-men, and other communities struggle amid war and scarcity.
The game combines exploration, combat, puzzles, and a nonlinear story across ancient temples, cities, and abandoned mines. A customizable character develops through skill points assigned to spellcasting, weapons, armor, and stealth. Magic uses a gesture-based system: players draw runes with the mouse and combine them to cast 50 spells. Choices can affect the world and lead to different endings. The central quest follows the threat posed by Akbaa, the God of Destruction, while artifacts, hidden secrets, and hostile creatures appear throughout the journey.
How Arx Fatalis plays
- 01Custom Character Skills
- Skill points can be assigned across spellcasting, weapons, armor, and stealth.
- 02Gesture-Based Spellcasting
- Mouse-drawn runes and combined gestures trigger a selection of 50 spells.
- 03Nonlinear Story Path
- Player decisions can alter the world and determine which of several endings occurs.
- 04Underground Exploration
- The journey visits ancient temples, populated cities, and deserted mines.
- 05Puzzle-Focused Progression
- Exploration and combat are accompanied by challenging puzzles and hidden secrets.
Arx Fatalis compared to similar games
Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition centers on an unconventional story and exploration of a strange city, while Arx Fatalis uses first-person exploration, gesture-cast magic, puzzles, and skill allocation. Back to the Dawn is a prison-escape RPG focused on survival, investigation, crime, and corruption; Arx Fatalis instead follows an underground fantasy quest across temples, cities, and mines.
Arx Fatalis: platforms & release
Is Arx Fatalis worth it?
It is worth it if: RPG players who want first-person fantasy exploration. Skip it if: players seeking a linear RPG with one fixed route and ending.
Where can I download Arx Fatalis?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Arx Fatalis's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Arx Fatalis on?
Windows only.
