Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (1993)
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a 1993 rpg video game made by Westwood Studios.
Lands of Lore was Westwood's answer to the dungeon crawlers it grew up on, and it wears that comfort well. The kingdom of Gladstone is under threat from Scotia, a shape-shifting sorceress with a nasty bag of tricks, and King Richard sends you out to stop her. You explore in first person, one careful step at a time, fighting monsters, hoarding loot and working spells across forests, caves and ruins. It softens the genre's usual grind with painted vistas, voiced characters and a lighter touch, an early-nineties fantasy adventure built to be played rather than endured.
Quick answers
What is Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos about?
Lands of Lore was Westwood's answer to the dungeon crawlers it grew up on, and it wears that comfort well. The kingdom of Gladstone is under threat from Scotia, a shape-shifting sorceress with a nasty bag of tricks, and King Richard sends you out to stop her. You explore in first person, one careful step at a time, fighting monsters, hoarding loot and working spells across forests, caves and ruins. It softens the genre's usual grind with painted vistas, voiced characters and a lighter touch, an early-nineties fantasy adventure built to be played rather than endured.
When was Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos released?
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was released on 1 September 1993.
Who made Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos?
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was made by Westwood Studios.
Similar games
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos in our writing
- Companion guide: The Golden Age of the CRPG: 1981 to 1999
- Companion guide: The Dungeon Crawler: Grid by Grid Through Gaming's Oldest Genre
- Companion guide: Westwood Studios: The Studio That Invented Real-Time Strategy
A few thoughts on Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos
For sword-and-sorcery on screen, Arthdal Chronicles builds a similar mythic land of warring powers and old magic, with the scale this game could only gesture at. Among games the closest kin is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which carries the same monster-hunting, quest-hoarding spirit into a vastly bigger and darker world.
Fantasy RPGs of heroes, magic and dark lords
Lands of Lore was Westwood's answer to the first-person fantasy RPG, all questing, spellcasting and monster-slaying against a rising evil. The Witcher 3, Skyrim, Elden Ring and Dark Souls III inherit that template of a hero pushing into hostile country, while the Zelda games chase the same feeling with a lighter touch.
Sci-fi RPGs of squads and hard choices
If it is the leveling and party of Lands of Lore you love more than the swords and sorcery, point that instinct at the stars. The Mass Effect trilogy and both Fallouts keep the character growth and consequence, then trade dungeons and dragons for ray guns, wasteland politics and companions who remember your choices.
Epic fantasy on television and film
For the sweep of Lands of Lore's world without a controller, these adapt the same high-fantasy ingredients. Grimms Notes and Divine Gate animate heroes battling world-ending forces, Arthdal Chronicles builds a mythic ancient kingdom in live action, and Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom brings dark-fantasy conquest to the big screen.