One of the most prominent features of the game is of course the true spirit of the Strugatskys' novel. The game universe, the dark medieval atmosphere, the key figures from the novel, the Kingdom of Arkanar, – the whole world from the book is being carefully created anew under the supervision of one of its demiurges, Boris Natanovich Strugatsky.

The great variety of social strata typical to medieval age provides another game feature which can be called "the true role playing". Depending on a situation or an environment, a character can choose a role to play, pretending to be a noble man or a mere citizen or a member of some guild. This allows him to gain trust of NPCs with different alignments. A player can create several legends for each role of his character. The character will introduce himself with this legend to NPCs. If the truth behind the legend is revealed, the player can make up another legend reading books and talking to other NPCs.​