---
title: Lowlander
category: game
slug: lowlander
developer: Flat Black Films
released: January 2015 (iOS & Android) · September 26th, 2023 (Steam)
price: $4.99 / $1.99
homepage: https://flatblackfilms.com/Lowlander/LL_index.shtml
steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2439350/Lowlander/
play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flatblack.Lowlander
appstore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lowlander/id903215411
macappstore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lowlander/id959178034
---

**Lowlander** is a retro fantasy RPG by Flat Black Films. The [Gurk](/gurk)
games look back to 8-bit consoles; Lowlander looks back to the early *Ultima*
games by Richard Garriott. Its store copy asks the player to
*"return with us to the days of yesteryear, when 8 colours were enough, and the
pixels were individually detectable to the human eye."*

It launched on iOS and Android in January 2015, arrived on the Mac App Store
that November, and came to Steam on September 26th, 2023 at $4.99. The mobile
versions are $1.99.

## Features

- **One-handed** portrait controls
- Roughly **8 hours** of content
- Save and resume anywhere; **no in-app purchases**
- A brighter, more natural palette than Ultima's, but still only a handful of
  colours, animated water, and almost no sound

## Story

You begin as a nobody wandering the land, take service under King Shebastian,
and work your way toward a confrontation with the sorceress Azamon.

## Concessions

Lowlander drops the **party**, it focuses on a single character.

## Inspirations

- [Ultima](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_(series)) (the early games)

## Related Games

- [Lowlander II: Lowerlander](/lowlander-ii)

## External articles

- ['Lowlander' Review – More Highs Than Lows](https://toucharcade.com/2015/01/22/lowlander-review/) — TouchArcade, January 22nd, 2015 (4.5/5)
- [Lowlander: A Retro-Style, Ultima-Inspired iOS Game](https://ultimacodex.com/2015/01/lowlander-a-retro-style-ultima-inspired-ios-game/) — The Ultima Codex, January 2015
- [Lowlander (By Flat Black Films) — forum thread](https://toucharcade.com/community/threads/lowlander-by-flat-black-films.251899/) — TouchArcade forums
- [Lowlander](https://minireview.io/role-playing/lowlander) — MiniReview

## Screenshots

![Travelling the overworld between mountains and water](/screenshots/lowlander/1.jpg)
![A torchlit dungeon interior](/screenshots/lowlander/2.jpg)
![Sailing along the coast](/screenshots/lowlander/3.jpg)
![A castle in the volcanic wastes](/screenshots/lowlander/4.jpg)