"The control elements are somewhat involved and will take some time to get used to. And because this is a first-person game, that perspective hampers you. It is also a problem in combat. Unfortunately Arx doesn't have a way for you to effectively block or avoid blows in melee combat. You try to deliver the blow before the enemy does and hope to stagger him enough to get in another shot or two. Holding a weapon doesn't affect spellcasting, but the game could have incorporated an option for equipping and switching between two weapons. If one wears down in combat to the point of being somewhat ineffective, the time it takes to open your inventory and equip another weapon could be the determining factor in the battle. You can try to retreat, but when you open your inventory, you stop moving.

Graphically Arx is very good. Some of the animation is a bit off (when you meet the goblin who is collecting the gems mined by the trolls, he asks you to follow him and then seems to occasionally, and without reason, walk in a tight circle), but overall the game looks very good.

The sound is also very solid."​