A deep and involving and complete world built around an excellent story, Arx is one of the all time best RPGs.
Lows: A crash bug, long, old graphics engine and longer than average load times.
RPG Fans: If you find this game in a bargain bin for 20$ or less, GRAB IT!
FPS Fans: It's not all fast paced action, but its solid and enjoyable, if you find it for 20$ it's a great deal, but don;t turn your nose at 40$.
Everyone Else: It's good for a solid quality break from whatever you're into, but no rush, avoid it until you find it for 20$.
Arx Fatalis is an absolute gem that has been popped at me from the middle of nowhere. Especially since it is tomming in the middle of a small drought of PC RPGs and that makes it all the more worth giving your attention to. Of course, this is a labor of love, and has all of the issues of one. It is rife with lots of little bugs, some that will bother you, and some you may never notice at all, but everyone who plays is guaranteed to experience a few. Arx Fatalis is the throwback role playing game that I would bet money won't get anywhere near the attention it deserves, an absolute diamond in the rough.
Arx falls into a game play category, first person RPG, that is comparable to the bald eagle. It is rare with a capital r. The mixture of both the immersion of the point of view and visual details allowed by an FPS and the deep game play and vast options of an RPG. And vast options is right on the nose, Arx Fatalis is full of tons of things to do, from baking pies to stealing from the dead. The inventory feels like more than just "potion storage" as you can forge your own weapons, cook, enchant items and yes, mix potions. The interactivity is the selling point of this game, its just fun to do these things. The spell system for Arx Fatalis is a breath of fresh air, although it could also be far from easy. During the course of the game you collect magical runes, each one having its own magical effect and casting design. When prepared to cast a spell for immediate use or for memorization for quick casting you draw the runes in sequence with your mouse, Black and White style, in combinations mixing their individual effects into a single spell. A fun system but requiring time and meticulous care that takes time that is often all too precious in a fight, providing some great difficulty for spell casters during some fights.
Sporting a story that's well above par, but still not good enough to totally surpass an average cheap fantasy novel, Arx Fatalis moves along at a pace that sometimes feels lagged. There were sadly a few questions that were not fully answered and the possibility of a sequel left wide open. The game was rewarding to play, but finishing it was less than satisfying, especially after the difficulty of the final boss. The cut scenes are sparse and more often than not were provided as merely panned cameras over static backgrounds with voice over. While great for atmosphere they just didn't convey enough story to feel worth the interruption in the game and, in the final sequence, barely better than totally unsatisfying. There is a lot of good story, but sadly the bad will be mostly what you remember as they become more prominent at the endgame.
The rougher parts of this gem can be serious annoyances at times. There is a bug that crashes out to windows occasionally during saving that has yet to be fixed. That was the most prominent and annoying bug, in fact the only serious bug that i found, mostly because of the fairly long load times in the game between levels. Which is of course another rough spot, the load times, as there are many missions that will require traveling from level to level. It gets to be less of a problem after mid game when you are taught to open portals that will allow traveling to the specific level you need to be in.
Hands down Arx Fatalis is good enough to be more than a niche game and easily enjoyable by fans of all genres of game play. On the other hand its not quite good enough to be a timeless classic. Role players will enjoy it the most, but if you're open minded, and if you feel like your games are missing depth, then Arx Fatalis is a great place to get it.