Uukrul emphasises teamwork in a way that few other RPGs do, requiring each of your characters' input for combat and puzzle-solving alike. That, however, comes at the cost of making the party composition fixed – your group inevitably consists of a Fighter, a Paladin, a Magician and a Priest.

While the first two classes are fairly traditional, the magic system is where Uukrul shines again. Both the Priest and the Magician gain not only in levels, but also in the number and quality of rings they have equipped, each dedicated to a specific deity or magic arcana. Obtaining new rings is a separate form of character progression, unique in how tightly DHoU ties it to the exploration process as well as to the dungeon lore. Deciphering the Priest's prayers is also an exciting task – a puzzle that relies as much on studying the manual as it does on in-game experimentation.

What made me completely and irreversibly fall in love with the game, however, are its dungeons. The Cube, designed in “true” 3D so that the overall layout is seamless and makes sense; the oddness of the Battlefield maze with a spinner trap that haunts me still; the Palace, a “meta” role-playing area emphasising the concept of chance via the roll of a die; and, of course, the Chaos, the most unorthodox and ingenious level ever created for an RPG – encounterfree and illusion-based, yet logical and climactic, alone worth a full playthrough of the game.

I can't think of any other dungeon crawler that can top Uukrul when it comes to dungeon design; Wizardry IV and Chaos Strikes Back are probably the only ones that come close.

Released just a bit too late to become popular, with dated graphics and sound limitations, The Dark Heart of Uukrul has since been rediscovered and is now enjoying a niche cult classic status.