Ultimate ADOM enters early access this month
After over 26 years, the venerable roguelike is getting a sequel
Prepare for a roguelike return to those Ancient Domains Of Mystery, because a sequel is finally almost here - over 26 years after the original. The developers today announced Ultimate ADOM - Caverns Of Chaos will enter early access on February 18th and no, while the name does suggest a revamp or expansion, it is a full sequel to the dungeon crawler. Come have a look in the new trailer below.
Our former ADAM (Always Delightful, And Missed) said ADOM "might be my favourite traditional roguelike". He added, "For those who came to know the term roguelike in recent times, ADOM is a fine entry point into the genre that spawned the term."
Ultimate ADOM looks friendlier yet, between its new look and features like controller support. Runs also only offer one dungeon rather than loads connected by an overworld.
Evidently some fans have expressed concern it might lack complexity, causing the devs to respond that "being seemingly confined in a single, deadly environment and being more accessible when it comes to controls does not limit the complexity of the game". They added that, actually, the "underlying logic engine allows it to simulate things that have never been possible with ADOM." They give examples including accidentally bumping braziers to spill burning oil, grafting monsters' bodyparts to yourself, and even using Animancy magic to bring dungeon walls to life. Why fight through a dungeon when you can have the dungeon itself do the work for you?
And if you really want, you can go old-school with ASCII art, apparently even with the new 3D perspective option.
Ultimate ADOM is coming for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Steam Early Access on the 18th of February.
If you'd rather wait for the game to be finished, you might not have too long to wait. Ish. Kinda. "While development of a roguelike is never really finished and we intend to support Ultimate ADOM with many updates after a full release, we are aiming for the end of 2021 to have all the features we originally envisioned for the game," the devs say.