From the very start, it's clear that Arx Fatalis is not a particularly original game. That in itself is not a crime: there have been plenty of unoriginal games lately, from UT2003 to Final Fantasy X, that have nevertheless provided some of the most enjoyable gaming moments of the year. However, Arx Fatalis takes the concept of unoriginality to a new level, and in the process almost drowns under the sheer weight of cliché. It opens with the most hackneyed, over-used device in role-playing – the central character who has lost his memory – and continues from there with a relentless procession of magic rings, levers, giant rats, poisonous spiders, treacherous goblins and enormous swords. The shackles of two decades of computer role-playing games weigh heavily upon its shoulders and it lacks the will to break free.​