Cyclopean II: The Dreamlands
Cyclopean II: The Dreamlands takes you into the dark fantasy setting described in H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath and other stories of his Dream Cycle.
Welcome to the Dreamlands
The Dreamlands are a vast realm with many regions, villages, cities and other, lesser known locations to visit and explore. There is no specific quest or story provided to players, rather what is provided is a realm within which to find a quest or story. It may be different for each player and will depend on how players approach the game.
Cyclopean II: The Dreamlands continues in the tradition of its predecessor, Cyclopean: The Great Abyss, in that it may seem simple at first. However, the gameplay becomes more complex as players learn the intricacies of its various systems. Read the in-game dialogue and text carefully, and you may actually learn some useful things.
A Variety of Strategies
Although combat plays a role in the game, it is not the only means of achieving one's goals. Players may find it much more useful to use a combination of combat, stealth and/or dialogue to deal with the inhabitants of dream. In fact, the game will punish you severely if you try to fight everything as a low level character, so try to manage your gold, health, alliances and sanity carefully as you traverse the Dreamlands.
Old School CRPG
The first Cyclopean followed the tradition of early CRPGs like Ultima, Questron, and Legacy of the Ancients (among others) in that it presents two differing views of the game world. Outside of dungeons, you see your character from the top down in a 2D display of the map. Whereas, in dungeons, the view changes to a 3D, first person perspective. Cyclopean II continues this approach, and adds several cities: 2D areas which are more densely populated, separate from the main map.
Choose Your Dreamer Carefully
When you start the game you will be presented with a random dreamer, with basic abilities and equipment, and any alliances they have. You can choose to play as that person, or "reroll" to see if you can find a better option. Cyclopean gives you the freedom to choose from a wide variety of stodgy sounding English upper class gentlemen to play as.
Turn Based Gameplay
The gameplay and combat is all turn based, allowing you to make strategic decisions. Enemies are dangerous, but polite, and will wait their turn.
Alliances
Some characters will start the game with an alliance in place. This can be very helpful in the early stages, especially for new players. Alliances allow you to have some of the various denizens of the Great Abyss join your party, and help to fight other enemies. New alliances can be formed during the game by finding and reading the right books.
Game Manual
There are many other game mechanics and other things that are described in the game manual. The manual has been fully integrated with the game, so you can bring it up at any time, to learn about the various game mechanics available.
