---
title: Gurk III
category: game
official: true
slug: gurk-iii
developer: Larva Labs (Matt Hall & John Watkinson)
released: August 9th, 2013
price: $1.99
devsite: https://www.larvalabs.com/
play: removed
appstore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gurk-iii-the-8-bit-rpg/id685128493
fandom: https://gurk.fandom.com/wiki/Gurk_III
---

**Gurk III, the 8-bit RPG** is the third entry in the [Gurk](/gurk) series.
Larva Labs ran it as a beta on Google Play before the launch on August 9th, 2013
for Android and iOS.

It is the only game in the trilogy still on sale. The App Store version runs on
iPhone, iPad, Apple Silicon Macs and Apple Vision, and was last updated in
September 2017.

## Features

It added the following features not present in Gurk and Gurk II:

- **Nine character classes** to build your three heroes from, with rolled stats
- **50+ dungeon levels** and vast wildernesses
- **125+ creatures** and **200+ unique items**, many with special effects and
  abilities
- A **20-song original soundtrack**, written and rendered through analog synth
  emulators to imitate 1980s console hardware
- More sharply differentiated classes than [Gurk II](/gurk-ii)
- A rewritten engine, [EBURP](/eburp), which Larva Labs published as
  source in November 2013


## Story

The empress of the Hilenikan Empire, Vella Trinth, has been kidnapped by her
brother Kroga and taken to the Westerlandes, a region reachable only with the
four Exis Keys, each hidden in one of the empire's four lands: the Pajoon
Desert, the Shavanoth Forest, the Urlani Marshlands and the Keshak Fiefdoms.

## Inspirations

- [Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_IV:_Quest_of_the_Avatar)
- [The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bard%27s_Tale_II:_The_Destiny_Knight)

## Related Games

- [Gurk](/gurk)
- [Gurk II](/gurk-ii)

## External articles

- ['Gurk III – the 8-bit RPG' Review – Music to Classic CRPG Fans' Ears](https://toucharcade.com/2013/09/02/gurk-iii-the-8-bit-rpg-review/) — TouchArcade, September 2nd, 2013
- [Gurk III - the 8-bit RPG Review](https://www.pocketgamer.com/gurk-iii-the-8-bit-rpg/review/) — Pocket Gamer
- [Gurk III Review](https://www.hardcoredroid.com/gurk-iii-review/) — Hardcore Droid
- [Gurk III review (iPhone / iPod Touch)](https://arcadelife.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/gurk-iii-review-iphone-ipod-touch/) — ArcadeLife, August 14th, 2013
- [Gurk III – the 8-bit RPG](https://rpg-site.com/2017/08/23/gurk-iii-the-8-bit-rpg/) — iOS RPG-site
- [Larva Labs comes out of hiding to officially release their 8-bit RPG sequel Gurk III](https://www.droidgamers.com/tag/gurk/) — Droid Gamers, August 7th, 2013
- [Gurk III - the 8-bit RPG Reviews](https://www.metacritic.com/game/gurk-iii---the-8-bit-rpg/) — Metacritic
- [Gurk III walkthrough, realms, items and spells](https://gurk.fandom.com/wiki/Gurk_III) — Gurk, the 8-bit RPG Wiki

## Screenshots

![The Gurk III title screen](/screenshots/gurk-iii/1.jpg)
![Turn-based combat against a giant snake in the woods](/screenshots/gurk-iii/2.jpg)
![Borakash's gear and equipment screen](/screenshots/gurk-iii/3.jpg)