9/20/20 Space: 1889 (1990)

Space: 1889 by Paragon, published by MicroProse in 1990 for DOS and Amiga. I will admit, Western CRPGs are not my forte. While I’ve had a longtime interest in games like Ultima and have dabbled in Fallout, I am by no means an expert. Still, I feel like Space: 1889 could have done a little better. Based on the tabletop roleplaying game of the same name created by Frank Chadwick, this adaptation puts you in control of a party of Victorian-era adventurers on the hunt for King Tut’s Tomb; at least, that is the goal at first. The game takes place in a steampunk world, where interplanetary travel has become possible by way of sci-fi technology, and Britain, of course, is intent on colonizing every planet in the solar system. You visit several planets and our own moon over the course of the game, motivated by a series of adventuring quests. It very clearly takes after Ultima, down to the UI, but everything feels… stiff. The controls are thankfully not too awkward, only asking you to use the arrows to move and having on-screen hotkeys, but your interactions with the world always feel limited. I couldn’t even figure out how to open a chest in the starting area, I don’t even know if you *can* open chests. Maybe it’s locked? The game doesn’t say. Part of the fun of tabletop RPGs is the freedom you have to not only make decisions, but also receive feedback that makes the world, however imaginary, feel living. Space: 1889 gives the feeling that the developers were trying to replicate that sense, but were restricted by technology and budget. There’s a serviceable character creator, there’s fine enough party management, the controls and interface aren’t awful, it just never really comes together. Add on the lack of music save for a horrible walking sound effect, the rather muddy graphics, and awkward things like every city having one entrance but multiple exits, and I’d say to just stick with the tabletop game.