<s>
Darklands	B-Application
is	O
a	O
historical	O
fantasy	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
MicroProse	O
in	O
1992	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
upon	O
release	O
,	O
with	O
praise	O
for	O
its	O
historical	O
detail	O
and	O
open-ended	O
gameplay	O
but	O
criticism	O
directed	O
at	O
its	O
numerous	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
and	O
repetitive	O
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
re-released	O
on	O
GOG.com	O
and	O
Steam	B-Application
with	O
support	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
MacOS	B-Application
,	O
Windows	O
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
features	O
an	O
early	O
example	O
of	O
open	O
world	O
gameplay	O
in	O
role-playing	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
setting	O
for	O
Darklands	B-Application
is	O
medieval	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
ends	O
once	O
the	O
final	O
battle	O
is	O
completed	O
against	O
the	O
demon	O
lord	O
Baphomet	O
,	O
preventing	O
the	O
apocalypse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
took	O
almost	O
three	O
years	O
to	O
make	O
and	O
cost	O
three	O
million	O
dollars	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
very	O
large	O
sum	O
for	O
video	O
game	O
development	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
manual	O
,	O
"	O
Darklands	B-Application
would	O
have	O
been	O
impossible	O
without	O
the	O
faith	O
and	O
vision	O
of	O
the	O
management	O
of	O
MicroProse	O
Software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Darklands	B-Application
was	O
considered	O
but	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
judged	O
as	O
too	O
large	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
and	O
the	O
potential	O
market	O
of	O
hard	O
disk-equipped	O
Amigas	B-Device
was	O
not	O
large	O
enough	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
was	O
released	O
by	O
MicroProse	O
in	O
1992	O
,	O
albeit	O
with	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
minor	O
to	O
major	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
character	O
colors	O
bug	B-Error_Name
"	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
colors	O
of	O
on-screen	O
characters	O
being	O
replaced	O
with	O
random	O
(	O
often	O
bright	O
)	O
colorings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
in	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
correctable	O
by	O
subsequently	O
released	O
patches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
ubiquitous	O
Internet	O
connectivity	O
,	O
such	O
patches	O
were	O
typically	O
only	O
available	O
through	O
BBS	B-Application
downloads	O
by	O
modem	O
owners	O
and	O
through	O
informal	O
person-to-person	O
copying	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
many	O
people	O
were	O
only	O
able	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
originally	O
released	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
gave	O
Darklands	B-Application
a	O
reputation	O
as	O
a	O
buggy	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
least	O
one	O
third-party	O
commercial	O
character	O
editor	O
was	O
advertised	O
for	O
Darklands	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
was	O
supposed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
entry	O
in	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
games	O
with	O
related	O
settings	O
,	O
but	O
no	O
follow-up	O
was	O
ever	O
made	O
;	O
sales	O
were	O
not	O
high	O
enough	O
to	O
justify	O
a	O
sequel	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
engine	O
was	O
not	O
reusable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
re-released	O
in	O
2014	O
on	O
GOG.com	O
and	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
as	O
a	O
downloadable	O
title	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
MacOS	B-Application
and	O
Windows	O
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scorpia	O
liked	O
the	O
historical	O
setting	O
and	O
use	O
of	O
religion	O
but	O
criticized	O
Darklands	B-Application
repetitive	O
encounters	O
and	O
—	O
more	O
seriously	O
—	O
many	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
and	O
missing	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
inability	O
to	O
save	O
within	O
dungeons	O
,	O
which	O
,	O
she	O
reported	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
problem	O
given	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
instability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Johnny	O
L	O
.	O
Wilson	O
acknowledged	O
the	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
and	O
repetitive	O
nature	O
but	O
emphasized	O
that	O
"	O
I	O
still	O
like	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
,	O
citing	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
skills	O
and	O
an	O
"	O
open-ended	O
feel	O
and	O
an	O
element	O
of	O
free-will	O
that	O
I	O
have	O
n't	O
previously	O
experienced	O
in	O
a	O
CRPG	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
Scorpia	O
called	O
Darklands	B-Application
a	O
"	O
perfect	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
fine	O
idea	O
...	O
gone	O
wrong	O
"	O
with	O
a	O
"	O
horrible	O
ending	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
not	O
a	O
recommended	O
game	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
well	O
received	O
by	O
other	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
earned	O
4	O
out	O
of	O
5	O
stars	O
in	O
Dragon	O
,	O
which	O
stated	O
that	O
Darklands	B-Application
"	O
is	O
a	O
great	O
adventure	O
and	O
is	O
certainly	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
multicharacter	O
FRPGs	O
we	O
've	O
had	O
the	O
delight	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alfred	O
Giovetti	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
Compute	O
!,	O
praised	O
Darklands	B-Application
for	O
the	O
"	O
multitude	O
of	O
choices	O
you	O
get	O
,	O
which	O
surpass	O
the	O
complexity	O
and	O
historical	O
accuracy	O
seen	O
in	O
any	O
other	O
contemporary	O
computer	O
game	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
its	O
"	O
attention	O
to	O
detail	O
is	O
exemplary	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
PC	O
Games	O
prize	O
for	O
the	O
best	O
role-playing	O
game	O
of	O
1992	O
,	O
but	O
lost	O
to	O
Wizardry	B-Application
VII	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
also	O
won	O
the	O
1992	O
"	O
PC	O
Special	O
Achievement	O
Award	O
"	O
from	O
Game	B-Device
Players	I-Device
magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospectively	O
,	O
GameSpot	O
featured	O
Darklands	B-Application
on	O
their	O
lists	O
of	O
"	O
The	O
Greatest	O
Games	O
of	O
All	O
Time	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Todd	O
Howard	O
cited	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
an	O
influence	O
on	O
Bethesda	O
Softworks	O
 '	O
popular	O
fantasy	O
role-playing	O
series	O
The	B-Application
Elder	I-Application
Scrolls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklands	B-Application
was	O
a	O
direct	O
inspiration	O
for	O
Obsidian	O
Entertainment	O
's	O
2022	O
role-playing	O
game	O
Pentiment	B-Application
.	O
</s>
