Players Like...

❤ Tactical Turn-Based Combat

The Gold Box RPG series, including the games in this collection, centers its core gameplay around tactical turn-based combat. Players control a party of up to 6 characters, each with a variety of classes and abilities at their disposal. Combat plays out on a gridded battlefield, with each character and enemy taking turns performing actions like moving, attacking, casting spells, and using items. To emerge victorious, players must carefully consider their party composition, the abilities of each character, and the strengths and weaknesses of their foes.

❤ Exploration and Dungeon Crawling

Outside of combat, players explore the expansive game worlds, navigating towns, cities, wilderness areas, and sprawling multi-level dungeons from a first-person perspective. This immersive exploration experience encourages players to uncover secrets, solve puzzles, and interact with NPCs to progress the story. The dungeons, in particular, offer a true "old-school" exploration challenge, as players must rely on mapping, note-taking, and problem-solving skills to navigate the maze-like environments. Careful resource management is crucial, as resting and resupplying is necessary to survive the challenges ahead.

❤ Character Progression and Customization

As players adventure, their party gains experience and levels up, unlocking new abilities, spells, and stat increases. The game's class-based system allows for a wide variety of character builds, from sturdy fighters and paladins to cunning thieves and powerful mages. Customizing the party's composition and development is a key part of the gameplay loop, as players must consider the strengths and weaknesses of each class and how different characters synergize in combat. Careful planning and optimization is often required to overcome the game's considerable challenges.

❤ Narrative and Worldbuilding

While the gameplay may be rooted in classic dungeon crawling and combat, the Forgotten Realms games in this collection also feature rich narratives and immersive worldbuilding. Players are drawn into the high fantasy setting, encountering legendary characters, powerful villains, and intricate political and magical conflicts. The games often feature journal entries, dialogue, and other narrative elements that flesh out the setting and provide context for the player's quest, rewarding thoughtful exploration and attention to detail.

❤ Quality of Life Improvements

This collection features the "Gold Box Companion" tool, which provides a variety of quality of life improvements to the classic gameplay. Features like an auto-mapping function, in-game access to manuals and journals, and toggleable "cheats" like instant spell memorization or healing help to smooth over some of the more archaic or frustrating aspects of the original games, while still preserving the core gameplay experience that fans of the series have come to love.