Akalabeth: World of Doom, the first Ultima game, is free on GOG

Akalabeth: World of Doom was Richard Garriott's first game, created as a school project back in the 1970s. It's famous mainly as the precursor to the hugely successful Ultima RPG series, although some fans go so far as to consider it the first Ultima game. Either way, the point that's of interest to us today is that it's free for the holidays on GOG.

The GOG package includes the manual, a wallpaper, and Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of the game itself. It's primitive stuff, even by retro-gaming standards, but did I mention that it's free? For those with (slightly) more modern tastes, the Ultima series is on sale as well: Individual games or bundles (including the Underworlds) are going for just over $1, or you can pick up everything for $6. The sale is on until December 26.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.