Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

What if the goal of a game weren't to defeat an all-powerful villain, but to become a better person? This revolutionary idea stands behind Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, a title that forever changed what we expect from games, and which to this day is considered one of the most significant RPGs of all time.

Unlike most adventures, here you're not supposed to save the world from a dark lord. Instead, you strive to become the Avatar, the embodiment of eight virtues, such as honor, compassion, humility, or justice. The game tracks your decisions and behavior, so if you lie, cheat, or rob the innocent, your path to virtue lengthens. This depth makes Ultima IV much more than just collecting experience and treasures; it's a philosophical pilgrimage through an open world full of towns, dialogue, and secrets.

Ultima IV is the work of Richard Garriott, the legendary designer performing under the name Lord British, and his studio Origin Systems. Garriott created the Ultima series as one of the flagship brands of the computer RPG, and the fourth installment in particular was his personal manifesto, a reaction to the criticism that games teach only violence. Thus a title with unprecedented moral reach came into being.

The version for the Commodore 64 made this vast world accessible to owners of the best-selling home computer of the eighties. The C64, with its memory and widespread adoption, was an ideal platform for a grand RPG, and Ultima IV offered on it a sprawling map that players could explore for dozens of hours.

Today Ultima IV is unreservedly ranked among the most important and influential games in history. Its system of virtues and its emphasis on moral decisions foreshadowed a whole decade of RPG development and inspired countless later titles. For anyone interested in how games matured and began to ask the big questions, it's an absolute classic.

Why play: It's a pioneering RPG that, instead of defeating a villain, explores morality and virtue, one of the most influential titles in history and a must for every fan of the genre.