Moonring is indeed absolutely top-notch! There’s a Mac version as well, and it runs on the Steam Deck. It’s definitely a plausible spiritual successor to Ultima IV. I’m shocked that the existence of an absolutely free game in this genre hasn’t made more of a splash.
As far as I can tell it's just one person's labor of love.
"Hi folks. I've loved RPGs since the early 1980s, and grew up playing games like Lord British's 'Ultima' series and early Roguelikes. This is my love-letter to a style of gaming that has largely fallen out of fashion: with its vivid, bright sprites overlaid on stark black backgrounds, true open-world gameplay, and lack of handholding. 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."
