Editing Ancient Domains of Mystery (section)

== Reception ==
{{Video game reviews
| rev1 = The Good Old Days
| rev1Score = 4 of 6<ref name="god">{{cite web|url= http://www.goodolddays.net/0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_en_0_396_show_1__0_0/|title=Ancient Domains of Mystery - Review|publisher=The Good Old Days|access-date=2009-01-09}}</ref>
| rev2 = [[Abandonia]]
| rev2Score = 3.0 of 5.0<ref name="abandonia">{{cite web|url=http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/327/Ancient+Domains+of+Mystery.html|title=Ancient Domains of Mystery|publisher=Abandonia |access-date=2009-01-09}}</ref>
}}
''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' has established a strong fan base that started gathering since 1997 at [[Usenet]] group ''rec.games.roguelike.adom'', sporting 2,000-3,000 messages monthly in years of active development, although lately the activity has been ceasing.<ref>[https://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.roguelike.adom/about rec.games.roguelike.adom — About this group] at Google Groups</ref>

Given that ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' was a long-lasting development effort and new versions of the game were regularly released over the years,<ref>[http://www.adom.de/adom/archive.php3 ADOM - Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218124602/http://www.adom.de/adom/archive.php3 |date=2009-02-18}} lists most of the versions released since 1994</ref> ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' has received many critical reviews over many varied versions. The overall critical reception is good.

Reviewers usually compare ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' to other roguelike games (like ''[[Rogue (video game)|Rogue]]'', ''[[Angband (video game)|Angband]]'' or ''[[Moria (1983 video game)|Moria]]'') and find that ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' offers a much deeper storyline, more manifold environment,<ref name="esfera">{{cite web|title=Roguelike Games|author=Nemo Nox|publisher=Esfera|url=http://www.esfera.net/009/games-roguelike.htm
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010422014133/http://www.esfera.net/009/games-roguelike.htm
|archive-date=April 22, 2001}}</ref> and is generally more complex.<ref name="god"/> Most note that ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' offers very high [[replay value]]<ref name="gd">{{cite web | first=Daniel | last=Gemmer | publisher=Games Domain | title=Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM) review | year=1997 | url=http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdr.cgi?zones/reviews/pc/may97/adom.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000207210608/http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdr.cgi?zones%2Freviews%2Fpc%2Fmay97%2Fadom.html | archive-date=2000-02-07 | url-status=dead}}</ref> and general randomness of events that happen in the game.<ref name="pcworld"/><ref name="abandonia"/> Overall game system design (and especially the character development system) is usually praised for its flexibility.<ref name="god"/><ref name="abandonia"/> Some reviews note low hardware requirements and freeware distribution as essential advantages.<ref name="gd"/>

The user interface is cited to have high [[learning curve]] by some critics,<ref name="god"/> while others note that it is "brilliant in its simplicity", "very practical" and "easy to navigate".<ref name="abandonia"/> Keyboard controls imply usage of the [[numeric keypad]] which makes ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' relatively hard to play on keyboards without keypads (i.e. some [[laptop]] keyboards).<ref name="god"/> Discussing gameplay, the same complexity and randomness that were cited as positive features are sometimes said to make ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' very difficult for beginning players.<ref name="pcworld"/><ref name="gd"/> Most reviewers agree that ''Ancient Domains of Mystery'' may be very hard to play for beginners due to the deletion of savefiles, which is uncommon for games outside the roguelike genre.<ref name="pcworld"/><ref name="god"/><ref name="abandonia"/><ref name="gd"/>