Castle of the Winds is one of the few CRPGs I remember playing and winning as a child of the 90s, partly because it was available as shareware to set up the commercially released second part of the story, so the first part was shorter. Beyond that, it has an addictive charm derived both from its roguelike tile-based dungeon-delving and its clean window-based interface.

Originally produced in 1989 as an early piece of software using the Windows graphical shell in MS-DOS by Rick Saada, it was released with its sequel in 1993 by Epic MegaGames. In the first part, A Question of Vengeance, you are an orphan who must avenge the destruction of your hometown and retrieve a stolen amulet given to you by your parents. After two dungeons and a boss, finding and activating the amulet allows the character to be imported into the second part, subtitled Lifthransir's Bane, which features a much larger town and many more items, enemies, and encounters. Its deep dungeon has 25 levels with multiple bosses and monster hordes.

What earns Castle of the Winds a notable place in CRPG history is its unique blend of Norse mythology and addictive dungeon crawling in one of the earliest Windows-based graphical interfaces. Today that gives it a utilitarian aesthetic but, unlike most roguelikes, its gameplay is mouse-driven with a drag-and-drop inventory and a customisable spell button bar.

There are no classes or races, so characters can use every item and spell. A new spell is granted each level, and more can be learned from books. The game is entirely turn-based, but time passes in varying increments depending on actions taken. Inventory is measured in both bulk and weight, so packs can run out of room even if the PC can carry more weight.