Wizardry
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is a 1981 CRPG developed by Sir-Tech, and it stands as one of the foundational computer role-playing games. Players guide a party of adventurers into a deep, dangerous dungeon rendered in first person.
You assemble a team of characters with different races, classes, and alignments, then descend through a grid-based labyrinth, mapping corridors, battling monsters in turn-based combat, casting spells, and managing limited resources under constant threat of permanent death. Its party-based, first-person dungeon crawling proved hugely influential, shaping both Western RPGs and, notably, the design of early Japanese role-playing games and the entire dungeon-crawler genre.
The series ran for many entries over the following decades and remains especially revered in Japan, where its formula continues to inspire new dungeon-crawling games and where the original was recently remade.
Play it today
Modern alternatives to Wizardry, with the devices they run on and their price. Ordered editorially by how well each one stands in for the original, with community votes weighted in as they accumulate.
Prices, platform availability and Steam Deck compatibility can change at any time. Always check the store page before buying.
Legend of Grimrock Indie
€ 14,99An indie grid-based dungeon crawler with real-time puzzles and combat.
Legend of Grimrock runs on PC, Mac. Not available on Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Unsupported.
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
€ 34,99A faithful modern remake of the original dungeon-crawling classic.
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord runs on PC. Not available on Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Playable.
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