Someone remastered 1981's Ultima with the stellar graphics of 1985's Ultima 4

(Image credit: Origin Systems via Jeremy Abrahamson)

Have you ever wished that the clunky, outdated graphics of one of your favorite games would be given a real overhaul? A profound change which takes into account years of technological development?

Perhaps, even, if that technological development is also pretty old?

Well, wish no more, because modder Jeremy Abrahamson has released a complete visual overhaul of Ultima, first released in 1981, using the stellar tileset developed much later for Ultima 4—in 1985. Yes, if what you truly want in life is to play games from just before the era of Stranger Things with upgraded graphics from the year of the second season of Stranger Things, modders have you covered.

I am not being sarcastic when I say that I truly do not know what we would do without them.

We found out about it from Damiano Gerli, a game preservation advocate and historian, on Twitter. You can go there for details on how to make the upgrade in your own copy of Ultima.

Recently made available, a complete visual overhaul of the first Ultima game, made by Jeremy Abrahamson, which uses the Ultima IV tileset for a nicer overall look. Dungeons and space are pretty much unchanged. pic.twitter.com/2JTBIUco2KJuly 15, 2022

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.