Avernum: Escape From The Pit is a remake of Avernum, which itself is a remake of a much older game called Exile: Escape From the Pit. Exile was the first game in a trilogy, that the Avernum series expanded on with a second trilogy. Currently the new Avernum Remakes include this game and the sequel Avernum 2: Crystal Souls, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if there’s a remake of the third game on the way.

What’s the game about? The game helpfully gives an intro, but that’s skipping ahead a bit. First the game wants a party.

Your party is 4 characters. note that you have no choice in races, everyone’s human. You do have a number of classes though, as well as a custom option that lets you train stats and skills after the game starts, rather than setting them for you. For now I’m keeping things simple with a very standard party: A soldier, rogue, priest and sorcerer. I should be set for whatever the game throws at me.

You also have to select a difficulty, It’s pretty standard stuff, I’ll be playing on normal. with that out of the way. We get our intro.

The Empire controls the entire surface of the world. All four continents have completely submitted to its rule. not fitting in is a crime in the Empire, so you are being exiled. You are being sent down to Avernum.

Avernum is a series of caverns, far below the surface of the world. It is a dark, subterranean prison, a place where exiles like you spend the rest of their lives, far from the light.

And a few believe that Avernum is a paradise. A hard land of freedom, where one can at last be out from under the Empire’s iron rule. People mad enough to believe Avernum is a paradise soon end up there themselves.

Then they throw you in…

So yeah. We might be in a little trouble here…