In it, the player returns as The Avatar, a would-be paragon of moral virtue who faces down many dangers and deceptions in order to cleanse the medieval fantasy world of Britannia of assorted plots and schemes, monster infestations, and the undermining of crown authority.

The Black Gate was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, being widely lauded as a high point in the series and is also regarded as one of the best video games ever created.

For example, clicking on a drawer or backpack will show the contents of the container on screen, allowing the items within arranged freely with the mouse.

[7] Another major change from earlier entries is that the game is completely real-time, and only pauses when the inventory, the menu, or a dialogue is open, significantly affecting combat.

The AI occasionally executes some self-defeating moves (such as firing a triple crossbow into a crowd of allies), but it saves the player the need to micromanage up to eight different characters in battle.

It is possible, for instance, to bake bread, to forge weapons, to play musical instruments, to paint a self-portrait, and to change a baby's swaddling by dragging and dropping things in the game world.

The Avatar and his companions, if not fed regularly, will complain of hunger pangs and severe thirst, and will even perish if these matters are not attended to eventually.

If they come across a disgusting or gruesome scene, they may groan and vomit; sufficient intake of strong alcoholic beverages will also result in visible nausea.

Ultima VII allows free exploration of the game world, featuring a main plot and several other major subquests and tasks for the player to complete.

It is a markedly open-ended game, where following the main plotline is inessential to the purposes of enjoyment, exploration, and character advancement – once the player is free from their starting location of Trinsic, a walled city.

The Black Gate is highly nonlinear; although there is a linear storyline, this is complemented by the ability to explore the map in any order when coupled with the many subquests.

The Black Gate features a deed system, where the Avatar must purchase and carry a title to any horse-and-carriage or ship that he or she wishes to board.

You, too, shall soon acknowledge my authority - for I shall be your companion ... your provider ... and your master!The Orb of the Moons glows, and the Avatar finds that a red moongate has appeared behind the house.

The whole town is shocked due to a ritualistic murder that occurred the preceding night - the body of the blacksmith Christopher was found in the stable.

His quest takes him to most of the cities and towns of Britannia, including Minoc, a destroyed Skara Brae run by a lich, Yew, Moonglow and Buccaneer's Den.

The Avatar eventually learns of an astronomical alignment of importance that is supposed to happen very soon, and about the three evil Generators that the Guardian has created, which have been causing most of the problems of the land.

The Fellowship has fashioned a black moongate out of blackrock on this island to allow the Guardian to enter Britannia when the astronomical alignment happens.

[9] Elements of Ultima VII were inspired by game developer Origin Systems' conflicts with competitor (and later owner) Electronic Arts.

The three evil "Generators" created by the Guardian in the game take the physical shapes of the contemporary Electronic Arts logo: a cube, a sphere, and a tetrahedron.

It is daring and unusual, has a sophisticated interface and story, takes full advantage of both its own history and the conventions of the genre, and manages to be at once grounded in tradition and unpredictable".

Ardai praised the plot as the best in the series, stating that it is highly original, evokes genuine emotion, and serves as an allegory for problems in the real world.

[21] Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Forge of Virtue were reviewed in 1993 in Dragon #191 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column.

They wrote that Ultima VII "pushed the technological envelope with its new AI routines for party movement, as well as its object-oriented approach to the game map.

"[25] In 1994, PC Gamer UK named The Black Gate and Serpent Isle collectively the 39th best computer game of all time.

"[27] Forge of Virtue was an expansion pack that adds a quest to Ultima VII in which the Avatar must pass a series of tests to revalidate himself in the three principles of Truth, Love, and Courage, and destroy the last remnants of Exodus.

After speaking to Lord British about the tremors, the player will be given free use of a ship called The Golden Ankh, and can visit the Isle of Fire to begin the expansion subquests.

[29] The Golden Ankh contains many extra supplies and the Avatar can use it for the rest of the game, making it unnecessary to purchase deeds from shipwrights.

The maps and many usable items and plotlines had to be redesigned from scratch, and the game program had to be rewritten entirely in assembly language.

Exult[33] is a cross-platform recreation of the Ultima VII engine, licensed under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later, which allows the game to be played on modern machines and across different operating systems.