Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

RPG 1985

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is a landmark fantasy role-playing game released by Origin Systems for MS-DOS in 1985. Set in the realm of Britannia, it moves beyond the traditional quest to defeat a single evil villain and instead challenges the player to become a moral ideal: the Avatar.

Unlike many early computer RPGs, Ultima IV focuses on ethics, choices, and personal conduct. Players must master the Eight Virtues—Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility—while exploring towns, dungeons, shrines, and wilderness areas in a vast open world.

With its deep dialogue system, open-ended exploration, party-based adventuring, and unusually philosophical approach, Ultima IV became one of the most influential role-playing games of the 1980s. Its legacy lies not only in its gameplay, but in the way it proved that computer games could ask players what kind of hero they wanted to be.

Genre: RPG
Release: 1985
Developer: Origin Systems
Publisher: -

Just play it!

Tip: Press Alt + Enter to toggle fullscreen mode

Quick tips — new to MS-DOS games?

Click inside the game to give it keyboard/mouse focus.
Ctrl + F10 — release or re-capture the mouse cursor.
Saving varies by game — look for Save in the in-game menu (Esc or F1), or try F5 / F7.
Some games use passwords instead of saves — note it down!
Controls are often shown on the game's intro or title screen — don't skip them.
🖥️ CRT filter is on by default for that authentic monitor look. Toggle it with Alt+F7 or the CRT: ON/OFF button in the bottom-right corner of the game. Your preference is remembered.