Ring Cycle

Ring Cycle is a video game in the action genre developed by Maelstrom Games Ltd and published by Psygnosis Limited originally released in 1996. It is currently playable on DOS.

Ring Cycle is based on Richard Wagner's (1813-1883) 'Der Ring des Nibelungen', a cycle of four operas incorporating German and Scandinavian mythological elements, including the titular 'Ring of the Nibelung'. Taking the role of Siegmund, son of Volsung, the player has to search for ten quest objects in a three-dimensional landscape both below and above ground, and interrogate Wagnerian characters such as Alberich the dwarf and Brünnhilde the Valkyrie to learn their whereabouts. Siegmund can also collect fireball ammunition and mead jugs and other bonus items along the way, and engage enemies in fireball duels.

The game uses a modified engine from Mike Singleton's previous work, Lords of Midnight III: The Citadel. Although the Lords of Midnight series was a hybrid game with strategy and role-playing elements, Ring Cycle plays like a straightforward action adventure. The player can choose between first-person and third-person camera modes, and has to manage Siegmund's health and dispose of enemies efficiently to avoid being resurrected and placed back in the center of the game world, losing most inventory items in the process; quest items, however, remain once obtained. The soundtrack consists of about 25 minutes of instrumental excerpts from Wagner's Ring, arranged and produced specifically for the game.

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