Albion is a computer RPG released by Blue Byte Software in 1995 for the PC. To say that it should’ve gotten more recognition is an understatement, because this is an incredibly good game, and it is probably the most detailed epic RPG I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing.

The story takes place in the year of 2227. You are Tom Driscoll, the pilot of a reconnaissance team on board the interstellar space ship Toronto, and your mission is to land on a newly discovered desert planet in order to confirm the presumed rich deposits of raw materials. Upon navigating towards the planet you lose control over your ship and crash land into a dense jungle, only to wake up in the bed of an alien creature who has nourished you back to health.

You learn that the planet is in fact not devoid of life forms, but rather a bustling alien world full of islands, cities, races and cultures. It is also discovered that it contains humans of Celtic heritage, which prompts Tom to question the very origin of mankind.

It’s hard to explain what makes this game so enjoyable, but I’d chalk it up to its combination of typical RPG aspects and the manner in which they were executed. This includes weight-based item management using a grid inventory, tactical RPG combat in a combined 2D and 3D perspective, the incredibly detailed, surreal and original lore and backstory, the large and varied locations, and the gameplay that comes in both first person 3D as well as top-down 2D.

Albion is a very long game, and it has so many details worked into the backbone of the game that it feels incredibly vast, even if you choose not to examine these aspects.

Unfortunately it was never released as a freeware game, but if you manage to get ahold of it somehow – perhaps via bluebyte.net or eBay for example – then you can use DOSbox to emulate this game on Windows-based PCs.

Check the official page, the Wikipedia article or the detailed Abandonia review for more information.