May 5, 2025, 11:23 p.m.   (Last edited: 1 week, 5 days ago)

A surprisingly sound mission for its vintage (and given it was author's first) gameplay- and storywise and in how the narrative and worldbuilding is done through readables that stand in for the basic visuals. (Almost) entirely sneakable (I found some doors need to be bashed and one special case plus the obligatory assassination) if at times demanding & worth looking up (surprisingly for its age); requires both expertise and a bit of lateral thinking and patience, and there are a few nice details.

Cons (yes confirmed):
- architecture blocky, samey & thus hard to navigate
- some doors and nooks leading literally nowhere (a big no-no anywhere except in The Sword)
- some EXTREMELY long lockpicking times
- at times unpredictable soundbrushes
- main progress nodes through keys (but well-treated hints through readables that make it sound interesting)
- very high loot goal (and yes it's the classic by gold/gems/items)
- not at the level of TDP OMs

But - the story makes sense and builds up the lore, and everything ties well together. And it's '99!