– Darklands is 75% off on Steam ($1.74) until June 25, a rare deal not seen in over five years.
– Set in 15th-century Holy Roman Empire, it blends historical realism with medieval myths like demons and alchemy.
– Features open-world freedom with no main goal; gameplay relies on text windows, real-time combat with pause, and skill-based progression instead of levels.
– Praised for depth and harsh difficulty—often called the “Dark Souls of the early ’90s”—with little guidance and punishing consequences.
– Has 90% positive Steam reviews and is playable on Steam Deck.
Rare Deal on an Old School RPG
Anyone looking for a truly old-school RPG experience is gonna find a rare deal on Steam right now. Darklands is available until June the 25th with a 75% discount, costing just $1.74 insted of $6.99. According to SteamDB, there has’nt been a comparable offer in over five years. It was developed by MicroProse and released in 1992, this game takes players to the Holy Roman Empire of the 15th century – pretty much medieval Germany. Darklands not only depicts historical realities, but also medieval ideas like demons, witches and alchemy.
Gameplay and Character Creation
At the start, players create a party of four adventurers and then travel freely across a big map with cities, castles, monasteries and mines. There is no overarching goal what so ever. The aim is simply to gain fame and fortune with the adventure party. Gameplay mainly happens through text windows and selection menus: in cities, players accept quests, buy equipment or improve skills. Battles run in real time, but you can pause to give new commands to party members. Insted of fixed classes and levels, individual skills like swordfighting, alchemy, healing or negotiation improve through use and experience.
Community Praise and Challanges
On Steam, Darklands currently has 240 reviews, 90% of which are positive. Players really praise the games enormous depth, including its complex character creation, open world and many possible approaches. The fact that some Steam users refer to Darklands as the “Dark Souls of the early ’90s” is mainly due to the games harshness. The RPG explains little, hardly guides players and immediately punishes bad decisions. Anyone who can handle that and is not bothered by the dated graphics gets a glimpse of what role-playing games felt like 30 years ago – all for less than $2. The game is also playable on the Steam Deck.
- Price: $1.74 (75% off, original $6.99)
- Offer ends June 25
- Developed by MicroProse (1992)
- 90% positive reviews on Steam
- No fixed classes; skills improve through use
- Real-time combat with pause