Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls launches on PC on January 15

Fancy crawling through a gloomy dungeon? Take a look at the upcoming Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, which arrives on PC on January 15. It’s not a new game — Labyrinth of Lost Souls originally launched on PS3 back in 2011 — but it is new to PC. Published by XSEED Games, Wizardry brings back the dungeon-crawling gameplay from the old, beloved series.

Old-school dungeon crawling

Anyone familiar with the series will be pleased to know that Wizardry: LoLS sticks close to its roots. You create your party by selecting class, race, gender, and alignment. There are eight classes available: fighter, mage, priest, thief, bishop, samurai, lord, and ninja. You need to plan your party composition carefully, deciding what classes will benefit others. Don’t worry too much about making a mistake, though. You can change classes mid-adventure if you feel the need.

You launch your dungeon-crawling expeditions from the safety of a town hub, where you can interact with NPCs, buy gear, and look for new quests. Then, you fight over 100 different monsters as you delve deeper into the dungeons. As for combat, Wizardry: LoLS has a frontline and a backline. It’s pretty simple. Tough guys go in the front, and weaker support or ranged classes sit in the rear.

Part of a mini-renaissance

It’s all very familiar to anyone who has played a dungeon crawler before. Back in 2011, Wizardry: LoLS didn’t set out to reinvent the formula; it just tried to help revitalize it. Grid-based dungeon crawlers were few and far between for a long time, but during the last decade, we saw quite a few successfully modernize the formula. The Legend of Grimrock and The Bard’s Tale IV come to mind.

Interestingly, Wizardry: LoLS came out before most of the successful PC titles, but since it was on PS3 it must have flown under a lot of fans’ radars. That said, it was developed in Japan, and dungeon crawlers have been popular in the Japanese market consistently. Regardless, if you’re a fan of Wizardry or grid-based dungeon crawlers, now’s a good time to check it out.

The PC version of Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls includes all of the original DLC, high-resolution graphics, and a new Turbo Mode to make exploring the dungeons quicker. If you’re interested, head on over to Steam or the Humble Bundle to wishlist it today.