Dene Carter, perhaps best known as the co-creator of the original Fable and developer Bullfrog's much-loved Dungeon Keeper, has released his brand new Ultima-inspired roguelike RPG Moonring on Steam, and he's made it completely free.

Carter describes Moonring as a "retro-inspired open-world, turn-based, tile RPG in the style of the classic Ultima games" - albeit one "created from the ground up with modern design sensibilities" - and it all plays out across the mysterious land of Caldera, a place of "Devotion and Dreamers, Gods and Gifts", where players take on the role of Dreamless.

"Travel, trade, sneak, fight and sail the world of Caldera," teases Moonring's Steam page. "Speak with the townsfolk, learn Caldera's secrets, and challenge the Archon for his throne... or even overthrow the Gods themselves!".

Buried beneath Moonring's "large, hand-designed world" is an "infinite supply" of procedurally generated dungeons, and there's also talk of sailing and ship-to-ship combat, over 100 enemies including bosses, a "hidden" magic system, and "many other mysteries".

"This is my love-letter to a style of gaming that has largely fallen out of fashion," Carter explains. "The days I spent playing these games were spent in joyful exploration and discovery, venturing into the dark unknown, a co-author of the experience, filling in the gaps left by the primitive art with my imagination. For those of you who did the same, I hope Moonring recaptures some of the spirit of those days for you. For those who did not, I hope that the more modern conveniences you find in this game allow you to catch a glimpse of what we did 40 years ago."

And as to why Carter has decided to make Moonring free, he outlined his reasons in the comments of a playthrough on YouTube, writing, "Life is hard, Covid sucked, everyone's poor and stressed, I don't need the $300 this would make me: I'd rather take the goodwill."

So yes, if a big old slice of retro-inspired adventuring appeals, get yourself over to Steam and enjoy Moonring for the bargain price of 'free'.