The atmosphere is what makes this game stand out. If you're used to Marvel's take on Norse mythology, you're going to be very disappointed. The universe presented here is nasty, creepy, and unforgiving. This is probably the first piece of media to portray dwarves as evil, disgusting, troll-like creatures, as opposed to the more common LOTR approach.

The gameplay is simple and responsive. Traversing levels never felt like a chore. Even though the levels are large and almost maze-like in their design, I never got lost, unlike in similar games from that era.

My biggest gripe would be with the combat and some of the enemies in the later stages of the game. Unlike traversal, combat can feel really clunky. It doesn't help that special abilities don't recharge and can only be replenished with scarce special runes. I actually didn't get a chance to try some of the abilities in the game because I was strapped for rune energy.

The sound design deserves a special mention. Just keep in mind that sound mixing is kind of broken on the PC. Be sure to download the OpenAL Soft patch for Rune classic for proper surround sound implementation.

I'd recommend this game to anyone interested in Norse mythology or just atmospheric games in general.

As always, if you're playing on the PC, be sure to check out the PCGamingWiki for important fixes.