Fallout creator's beloved DnD game is coming to Steam 22 years after launch

In my latest Dungeons and Dragons campaign, I play the most annoying Bard you've ever imagined. No, even more annoying than that. I craft parody songs based on each session and bring my actual guitar out at regular intervals. I'm that guy in the pub who everyone hates. But then the mouth of my theatrical mask contorts into a foul visage, I unleash an Eldritch Blast from the cavernous maw, and everyone forgives me. These are the kinds of stories you can only tell in DnD, and we'll get a chance to relive another classic adventure in September, thanks to the game preservation wizards at SNEG.

The Temple of Elemental Evil: A Classic Greyhawk Adventure is based on the 2003 Troika Games videogame of the same name (sans subtitle). The brainchild of Tim Cain, the mastermind behind Fallout, the game itself was based on a Gary Gygax module published in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1985), who was expanding on his earlier work, The Village of Hommlet.

The latest iteration of the adventure comes via SNEG, which has produced Steam versions of classic DnD games like Dungeons and Dragons: Dragonshard and Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone in recent years.

The Temple of Elemental Evil was considered controversial upon its release in 2003, thanks to the inclusion of a gay pirate called Bertram, who flirted with male characters and could enter a same-sex marriage. The Guardian said it was "pushing the boundaries," and producer Tom Decker defended the decision in interviews, explaining that he wanted parity between homosexual and heterosexual relationships in the game. Let's hope that gamers have moved past this archaic mindset ahead of the 2025 re-release.

If you've not played The Temple of Elemental Evil before, it uses a faithful recreation of DnD's 3.5 edition rules and allows you to create a party of up to five custom characters. Baldur's Gate 3 players may look down their noses at these additions, but you've got to remember this game was released 20 years before the iconic Larian RPG.

The only DnD game to date to use the Greyhawk setting, you can approach quests in any order you want and complete them in all manner of ways. Your only limit is your imagination. And the technology of 2003.

If you can't wait until September to create your perfect party, check out our picks of the best RPGs for all your roleplaying needs. Alternatively, you could just install some of the best Baldur's Gate 3 mods and trek through the Sword Coast again. Try to pick someone other than Shadowheart this time.

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