So is LoLS just proving ground of the mad overlord with newer graphics? It looks neat and I'm intrested, just want to have some idea of what I'm getting into before making the purchase

Dunno if you got it yet, but the game is pretty much in line with the first three Wizardry games. The japanese love that particular brand of dungeon crawler and most of the games in the genre coming from that country use the same formula. Elminage Gothic is a modern Wizardry 5, for instance.

The game has its own characteristics, though. You create one character that later gets to hire new ones. You create them too, but your character is the "leader" of the group, but iirc it doesn't really matter that much. You also have quests given in town. I'd have to say the rest is pure Wizardry as you remember it. So if you want more, make sure to get it. Outside the characters you create, there's not much anime in it, if that bothers you.

Elminage Gothic > Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, if you have to choose just one of these games.

On the other hand, if you like one of these two games, you'll likely like the other one.

(Elminage Gothic, however, can be pretty brutal; once you're past the first dungeon, you start fighting enemies that can instantly kill your characters.) I wouldn't consider Elminage Gothic to be a modern Wizardry 5. Elminage Gothic is basically a lot of dungeon crawling, without much in terms of puzzles or NPC interaction, so it feels more like a greatly expanded Wizardry 1, with more classes, more areas to explore (including many side areas that are optional for beating the main story), and more challenges. There's also some influence from the Wizardry Gaiden series, as can be seen with things like the place you can retrieve dropped items, as well as the way the Dragonewt's breath attack works.

About the only Japanese Wizardry that feels like Wizardry 5 would be Wizardry Gaiden 4, which de-emphasizes combat challenges in favor of NPC interaction and puzzles, many with multiple solutions. Unfortunately, said game was only released in Japan, so playing it in English requires a fan translation and a not-so-legal means of getting the game. Also, if you do decide to play Wizardry Gaiden 4, *never* cast the spell that removes cursed items; there's a save corruption bug associated with that spell.

Labyrinth of Lost Souls got a sequel in Japan, and I hope it eventually gets translated and released DRM-free like LoLS did; it's apparently a significant improvement, and adds a few new classes to the mix. (The new classes don't resemble any of the classes added in Wizardry 6-8, interestingly enough.)

That sounds like something I'd be interested in purchasing if it was released on GOG.