For some helpful context, I was an AD&D2e kid. That's where all the nostalgia is for me. This of course, isn't 2e. You've likely already read the deal. This is an attempt to imagine and construct what 2e might've been if Gygax himself did it. I think by and large this is a huge success, though all of my 1e knowledge comes after the fact. I've read some of the comments and interviews with the author and he really approached this the right way as far as I can tell.

Barring some minor complaints, I also think this is just an outstanding game. To be perfectly blunt I don't think we would've actually gotten this polished a layout from Gygax. The book is well structured, easy to follow, and generally presented great. It still has the feel of a 1e book. Some of the mechanical choices feel weird coming from even 2e on, but weird isn't bad. These all comes from either Unearthed Arcana or Dragon articles written by Gygax as well, so this was the direction he was leaning at the time. If anything I think the only judgement call I'm down on, and truth be told by a lot, is gendered differences in strength caps. That feels wildly unnecessary in a fantasy game. But it was there in 1e and I don't believe there was any sign that Gygax was interested in dropping it at the time. (Though my understanding is that Gygax never bothered with them in his home games and later expressed some regret in including them. He never included such caps in his later projects.) It's easy enough to ignore that without breaking anything however.

The character options here really shine. In some respects it feels like AD&D's greatest hits. Everyone's here, all the sub races you might think of are largely represented. Classes? So many classes. The bard presented here feels more like what we might think of as a bard today rather than the exceptionally odd many class change affair that was presented in 1e. But along them we see the Jester, Savant, Mystic, and so on. In fact spellcasting variety is quite substantial. I feel like there's something for everyone here.

This is already longer than I intended. Basically. If you're looking for a solid OSR game related to AD&D, this is definitely worth your time. The premise is neat and the results are exceptionally polished.