Demonicon

Games like Dragon Age claim they are set in a 'dark' fantasy setting, but they don't compare to a game in which each decision feels ambiguous and has so many layers you'll never quite know whether what you did was right...but what you did will have consequences. It helps the voice acting is REALLY good. You may find yourself just setting back to enjoy the story enfold as characters banter, and I always used the 'more info' button to hear the deeper concepts at play. This game will push some uncomfortable buttons and even if you go by morals you will almost always end up with someone very unhappy at the stand you took. I personally LOVE that the writers didn't coddle me. Everything won't always work out perfect because everyone around you has a different perspective on what 'working out' means. People you like may decide to compromise their morals for the greater good, and you will have to decide if it's worth their disapproval to make the same choice. Likewise choosing skills feels more impactful when they are IMMEDIATELY required and all over the place. You put all your experience into haggling? Well now a dying person will get a placebo instead of being healed by your medicine skill because you thought about yourself and not about others. You will flat out not be able to harvest plants without the expertise, but if you focus on that you aren't improving your lore or lock picking or any number of other skills. Each playthrough feels like sacrifices made and new options opened up. You will NOT see everything this game has in one go by design. The star off an otherwise enthralling and daring story is for the fighting honestly. It feels clunky and boils down to clicking a lot. Luckily this version of the game comes with some DLC style super weapons so you can breeze through combat when they crop up. Still a shame that one of the pivotal aspects of the game isn't tighter and feel less like flailing away at random. A fine story, an okay game.

If you're not familiar with DSA /"The Dark Eye" basically it's Germany's answer to Dungeons and Dragons. Overall it tends to be a bit darker and more "low fantasy". It's in the same ballpark as "The Witcher" setting, especially the first game. This game is in that DSA/Dark Eye setting and kind of plays a lot like Risen 1, Gothic 3, The Witcher 2 or Dragon Age 2 or one of the ps3/x360 era console rpgs except with less of a budget and more repetitive scenario design. Play it with a controller. It's a console game. Combat is well done and similar to the Fable games or The Witcher series. The game's decent if you like the modern European console RPGs, but not a must play. The characters are interesting and pretty likeable except for the fact that the two main characters are brother and sister and openly and repeatedly express romantic feelings for each other which, frankly, I think is incredibly odd and for some people will be uncomfortable for a variety of reasons, so fair warning. Incidentally, your other "romance" option looks like she sleeps on park benches so if you like that aspect of these games, that's not there. My biggest problem with the game is bugs and saving. There's some weird sound glitches. It has a console style save system so if it crashes, you'll be re-doing a segment. I gave up after I couldn't continue for some reason and couldn't reset my save. Apparently I was very near the end of the game and just watched a video of the ending on youtube. The last chapter or so seems to be rushed. Worth it at about 5$ or so IMO if you played most of these games already and the story content doesn't bother you. If you haven't already, play all The Witcher games first. They occupy a similar niche and are much better at it. If you like "The Dark Eye"/DSA try the Drakensang games, they're excellent and play kind of like Neverwinter Nights.

The game CAN run on Win 11, but currently NOT in Fullscreen. Do not buy if playing in Windowed mode would be too much of an eyesore (no judgment from me, I understand). Got to the GOG Forums, in the top threads you'll find the solution topic. You need a file from Nexus, the link is in the topic, follow the very simple installation instructions; the game runs no problem, and without the obnoxious Kalypso launcher the Steam version is saddled with. It's not a perfect solution, and for a game GOG touts as part of its Preservation program, it's not exactly acceptable that these hoops are required to get the game to even run. That being said, the game itself is great. Unique story, fun combat, dialogue choices that alter the flow of the story, it's a very enjoyable game. If you are a fan of sword and sorcery, Eurojank and Mass Effect styled AA games, and if you're willing to play in Windowed mode, please give this one a chance. It's worth your time, and the two minutes it takes to get it running.

The game is dated, no doubt about that. But good stories do not age, and as long as you can ignore the graphics and focus on listening to the superb speakers, you will have a real good time in not so cosy part of Aventuria.

"Das Schwarze Auge: Demonicon" ist ein Action Rollenspiel aus dem Jahre 2013 im Stile von Dragon Age II und The Witcher I. Angesiedelt ist das Spiel in der Warunkei, in den ehem. Schwarzen Landen. Wir spielen Cairon, der mit seinem Vater und seiner Schwester auf der Flucht ist. Das Abenteuer beginnt unter dem Molchenberg, einem uralten Gemäuer... Das Spiel ist in 5 Kapitel unterteilt. Für dieses Spiel wurden die damaligen DSA 4 Regeln in stark reduzierter Form verwendet. "Stark reduziert" bedeutet hier, dass man auf ca. 80% der Talente und gut 90% der Sonderfertigkeiten verzichtet hat. Diese Entscheidung fällt dabei weniger ins Gewicht, da man einen vordefinierten Charakter spielt der eine recht lineare Charakterentwicklung durchmacht. Der Soundtrack ist zu jeder Zeit passend und atmosphärisch gehalten. Prinzipiell sind die SFXx alle passend, allerdings sind die SFX der Schritte des Spielercharakters asynchron zu der Animation! Das Spiel ist vollvertont. Die Stimmen sind passend gewählt (hervorzuheben sind die Sprechrolle des Vaters, Fergolosch, Parel sowie den Sennemarschall des Rondrakriche) Texturqualität durchwachsen, Leveldesign ist linear und Spielmechaniken etwas altbacken. Ab und zu ist das Pacing innerhalb der einzelnen Kapitel nicht richtig gewählt worden und, gerade gegen das Ende hin, gibt es viele unnötige Kämpfe. Das Kampfsystem ist recht unpräzise und grob (Stichwort: Buttonbashing). Nur in den seltensten Fällen muss man Tatik beweisen. Doch das Spiel wird von seiner hervorragenden Atmosphäre und der guten Story getragen. Diese wurde von offiziellen Autoren von "Das Schwarze Auge" geschrieben. Die Ereignisse flossen sogar in den offiziellen Canon der Spielewelt ein. Ein Pflichkauf für jeden DSA PC-Rollenspieler. Eine Kaufempfehlung für ARPG / Nostalgiespieler die Wert auf eine gute Story legen. Finger-Weg für Die Hard Soulslike Fans! 3,5 von 5 Sternen