Usually when people think of updates or remasters, the tendency is to think about games made in the last few console generations, but what’s wild is when they get into gaming ancient history… also known as the games I grew up with. While some titles have fared reasonably well with modern updates, most notably something like Oregon Trail which has a certain timeless quality, many don’t fare so well. Most typically the issue isn’t the new coat of paint or some technical element, but instead that the window into gameplay from that long ago tends to not turn out well.

While I wasn’t much of a Wizardry fan back in the day (I didn’t get hooked into classic RPGs until the likes of The Bard’s Tale series), it’s certainly a name I remember hearing quite a bit about. As one of the earliest titles to attempt transitioning classic pen-and-paper role-playing into a digital form, it rocked the now-ancient Apple II in the early 80s to some acclaim. Now, more than 50 years later, it turns out that even without its underlying play being altered, it still feels reasonably contemporary, solidifying its deep relevance to the genre that continued to flourish and branch out from those humble beginnings.

Played as a pretty basic dungeon crawler, you’ll move out with your party of 6 adventurers, searching for a little fortune and glory, and trying not to die in the process. You’ll want to be sure to have a proper mix for success, with 3 melee-focused characters in the front row supported by 3 varied magic users in the back. While you can experiment with the composition of your party, you’ll absolutely want to consider having some specific classes like a thief to help by dealing with traps, or a priest who’ll come in handy if you run into some undead foes. You’ll definitely find that having the sense to pull back and go to town when you’ve accumulated some experience is your best bet since you won’t be able to level characters without being back in town, and upgrading your equipment or restoring your key supplies may be necessities to pushing further into the depths.

Though the gameplay is quite simple, and the Switch has numerous dungeon crawlers available, there’s just something smart, well-balanced, and pleasant about this retro experience that really shines. While you’ll likely enjoy the modern enemies and overall graphics, the ability to see the comparatively bare bones and simplistic visuals representing the same scene from the original title is a nice touch. While perhaps best suited to old-school gamers looking to reminisce or RPG fans who’d be interested to get a taste for one of the forebears of the genre, this is a very approachable title that still feels relevant somehow after so many decades, even if lacking in bells and whistles.