Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
Hosea Battles Jr. of Computer Gaming World in 1988 praised the attention to detail in the dungeons' graphics, allowing players to "practically feel the damp chill of the dungeons portrayed", as well as those of the monsters, including the multiple facial expressions on the ogres.
He said the control system works "extremely well" and "one's adrenaline really flows because the game is in real-time.
Battles called the game "fantastic" and said "It is a welcome addition to any fantasy player's library.
Scorpia stated in the magazine in 1992 that the newly released IBM PC version's graphics "are surprisingly good, all things considered" despite the game's age, but wrote that "No endgame has ever given me so much trouble or frustration".
In 1993 she stated that "the game still holds up well after seven years, even graphically, and is worth playing today", but because of the ending was "not for the easily-frustrated".
The reviewer said Dungeon Master is an example of a title which "changes the way we think about games" and a "must for all roleplayers".
Advanced Computing Entertainment said the graphics are "largely repetitive" but "wonderfully drawn" and wrote the "Sound is sparse but the effects are great.
The Games Machine wrote: "the innovative character selection system and icon display are both neatly implemented and quick to use", praised the "superb" atmosphere - enhanced by the spare but apt sound effects - and called the game universe "believable because of its details".
Jerry Pournelle named Dungeon Master his game of the month "and maybe of the year" in July 1988: "Everything you heard about this is true; the graphics are incredible".
Jim Trunzo reviewed Dungeon Master in White Wolf #15 (April/May 1989), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "This product is highly recommended to anyone interested in fantasy gaming.
Kati Hamza of Zzap!64 said of the Amiga version: "The first-person perspective ensures an incredibly realistic atmosphere - you just can't help really getting into the feeling of walking through damp echoing caverns looking for ghosts.
The reviewer also said: "The puzzles are incredibly devious, the spell system is really flexible and the need to practise magic and spells gives the whole thing that extra-special depth.
In the same issue Gordon Houghton said: "This is just about the most incredible game I've ever seen.
He said: "The best time to play it is late at night in a room by yourself - it's guaranteed to scare the life out of you.
Reviewer Maff Evans professed to be little enthused by RPGs generally but said "I know a brilliant game when I see one and this is a brilliant game.
He praised the scares delivered by ambushing monsters and said "you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to be affected by the atmosphere".
The magazine complained that saving games is "a bit laboured" but praised the "extremely detailed and accessible" controls, "interactive, detailed and extremely atmospheric" scenery and said the clarity of the graphics made the game an unusually accessible RPG.
It summarized: "you'll be playing for months" and said Dungeon Master was "The best game we've ever seen".
Dave Eriksson of Amiga Computing praised the "brilliant" graphics, sound effects and replay-value and said "Dungeon Master is the most stunning role-playing game I have seen on the Amiga".
The reviewer praised the "dazzling" graphics, called the user-friendly controls "a real joy" and said the game was the "best graphics adventure for the Amiga to date.
Your Amiga called the sound "extremely well done" and said the "most striking feature of the game is the attention to detail".
Andy Smith of Advanced Computing Entertainment several months after its release called Dungeon Master "one of the all time classics" and said "What makes Dungeon Master really special (apart from the marvellous 3D graphics and eerie sound effects) are the puzzles".
The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #136 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column.
In 1990 the game received the second-highest number of votes in a survey of Computer Gaming World readers' "All-Time Favorites".
"Golden Sword" Award, 1988 — The Adventurer's Club of the UK
"Beastie Award", 1988 — Dragon
"Beastie Award" Best Apple //GS Title, 1989 — Dragon
While Dungeon Master itself was inspired by early Ultima games, it amazed Ultima developer Origin Systems's employees; Origin founder Richard Garriott said that he was "ecstatic" at discovering the "neat new things I could do" in the game.
Dungeon Master sold 40,000 copies in its year of release alone, and went on to become the ST's best-selling game of all time.
Dungeon Master debuted on December 15, 1987 on the Atari ST, and by early 1988 was a strong seller, becoming the best-selling game for the computer of all time; Bell estimated that at one point more than half of all Atari ST owners had purchased the game.
Hosea Battles Jr. of Computer Gaming World in 1988 praised the attention to detail in the dungeons' graphics, allowing players to "practically feel the damp chill of the dungeons portrayed", as well as those of the monsters, including the multiple facial expressions on the ogres.
Battles also praised the extensive use of sound effects, uncommon to RPGs.
Computer and Video Games in 1988 called the story a "cliché" but praised the graphics, sound and controls.
The Games Machine wrote: "the innovative character selection system and icon display are both neatly implemented and quick to use", praised the "superb" atmosphere - enhanced by the spare but apt sound effects - and called the game universe "believable because of its details".
The magazine praised the color and clarity of the monster graphics and the shading of the surroundings.
He praised the scares delivered by ambushing monsters and said "you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to be affected by the atmosphere".
The magazine complained that saving games is "a bit laboured" but praised the "extremely detailed and accessible" controls, "interactive, detailed and extremely atmospheric" scenery and said the clarity of the graphics made the game an unusually accessible RPG.
Dave Eriksson of Amiga Computing praised the "brilliant" graphics, sound effects and replay-value and said "Dungeon Master is the most stunning role-playing game I have seen on the Amiga".
The reviewer praised the "dazzling" graphics, called the user-friendly controls "a real joy" and said the game was the "best graphics adventure for the Amiga to date.
The game was an influential early example of the first-person party-based dungeon crawler genre, with later examples including Eye of the Beholder (1991).
It was finished there in C programming language and published in 1987 for the Atari ST first.
A slightly updated Amiga version ported by Phil Mercurio was released the following year, which was the first video game to use 3D sound effects.
Kati Hamza of Zzap!64 said of the Amiga version: "The first-person perspective ensures an incredibly realistic atmosphere - you just can't help really getting into the feeling of walking through damp echoing caverns looking for ghosts.
Dungeon Master sold 40,000 copies in its year of release alone, and went on to become the ST's best-selling game of all time.
In the same issue Gordon Houghton said: "This is just about the most incredible game I've ever seen.
The passages quoted on this page are taken verbatim from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles.Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) — reusable under those terms. They are the work of the people who wrote them.