Origin: a close look, tips and whether it is worth your time

If you enjoy role-playing games where levels are earned with your hands rather than by waiting on a timer, this one is for you. Below is everything you need before the first launch: the gist, the controls and some working techniques.

What this game is

"Origin" is a 16-bit action RPG about the call of Emerald Town. The road out of Emerald Town runs downward, through ten zones, and the deeper you go the less light there is and the angrier what waits. Pick a warrior, a mage or a ranger, swing your fist or your sword at whatever crawls out of the dark, and gather loot across five rarities on the way to the Abyss Lord's throne.

How to play, in short

1. Origin is a 16-bit action RPG about the call of Emerald Town: three classes, a tree of 12 skills and ten zones to descend through.

2. The road out of Emerald Town runs downward, through ten zones, and the deeper you go the less light there is and the angrier what waits.

3. Experience comes from kills, not from time: you can stall in one zone, but clearing everything is genuinely possible.

A few final tips

• Check out the demo mode on the game page — the AI shows how it is played, and repeating it yourself gets much easier.
• Don't spend every coin on healing in town: five rarities of loot will show up on their own, but a missed skill has to be bought back with gold.
• Play in short sessions: the best results come with a warmed-up head.

A perfect way to kill ten minutes — and suddenly an hour is gone. Ready to try? "Origin"