Eye of the Beholder — stories left

Eye of the Beholder was reviewed in 1991 in Dragon #171 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column, who gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

The magazine stated that the game's VGA graphics and sound card audio finally gave IBM PC owners a Dungeon Master-like game.

Although also praising the graphics and audio, stating that they "really give you the feeling of being in an actual dungeon", she criticized the awkward spell user interface and the "outrageous" abrupt ending.

In 1993, Scorpia called the game "an impressive first effort that bodes well for the future".

Jim Trunzo reviewed Eye of the Beholder in White Wolf #27 (June/July, 1991), rating it a 5 out of 5 and stated that "While the unforgiving nature of Eye of the Beholder makes the basic dungeon crawl a challenge, the graphics and sound employed in the game might well make it a classic!

Hailing the game as "a dream come true" for Dungeons & Dragons fans, Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Super NES version a 6.2 out of 10, praising its 3-D graphics and variety of characters.

While reviewing the Sega CD version, Computer and Video Games said it is "not quite up there with Snatcher, but without doubt a highly ace role-player".

According to GameSpy in 2004, despite the issues in the first Eye of the Beholder, "most players found the game well worth the effort".

IGN ranked Eye of the Beholder No. 8 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014.

Ian Williams of Paste rated the game #8 on his list of "The 10 GreatestDungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015.

In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu,the four reviewers gave 6, 6, 5, and 7, for a total of 24 out of 40. In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by Mega Drive FAN,it scored 18.6 out of 30, as shown below.

In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu,the four reviewers gave 7, 8, 7, and 6, for a total of 28 out of 40. In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by Mega Drive FAN,it scored 21.6 out of 30, as shown below.

In place of Westwood Studios, which handled the previous 2 titles, this game was developed by Strategic Simulations, Inc.

SSI sold 129,234 copies of Eye of the Beholder.

By mid-1991, over 150,000 copies had been sold worldwide.

The Eye of the Beholder series overall, including the game's two sequels, reached global sales above 350,000 units by 1996.

The game has two sequels: the first was Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon, which was also released in 1991; after Westwood Studios was acquired by Virgin Interactive in 1992, Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor was released in 1993.

It was #1 on the Software Publishers Association's list of top MS-DOS games for April 1991, the last SSI D&D game to reach the rank.

In 1993, Scorpia called the game "an impressive first effort that bodes well for the future".

According to GameSpy in 2004, despite the issues in the first Eye of the Beholder, "most players found the game well worth the effort".

In January 1991, SSI participated in Computer Gaming Worlds Top Ad contest and their cover art for Eye of the Beholder came in first place among voting readers, despite the magazine publisher's objection to the piece.

Although also praising the graphics and audio, stating that they "really give you the feeling of being in an actual dungeon", she criticized the awkward spell user interface and the "outrageous" abrupt ending.

They gave the Sega CD version a 7.2 out of 10, this time praising the ability to create custom characters but criticizing the audio.

Because the original PC version was made on the assumption of mouse control, the Super Famicom version supported the Super Famicom Mouse and the Mega CD version supported the Sega Mouse.

Outside Japan, the 3 parts of the "DOS/V" version (English version) were put together and released on CD-ROM as a trilogy edition.

According to GameSpy in 2004, despite the issues in the first Eye of the Beholder, "most players found the game well worth the effort".