I have to disagree with Jezebel1988 that if you didn't like Hexen, you won't like DKDC. While the gameplay format is similar to Hexen in that you have a hub and have to go back and fourth between maps, DKDC doesn't have the problems Hexen has. In Hexen, I got stuck a few times because I missed an obscure switch hidden in a dark area behind a statue or some nonsense like that. Wandering aimlessly around a level scouring every corner in every area looking for that elusive switch is neither my idea of challenge or fun. This problem doesn't happen in DKDC. I always knew where to go, even if my objective wasn't clear. DKDC also does a much better job communicating information to the player that hindered pacing in Hexen. If a switch opened something on another map, DKDC would tell you specifically what it did, rather than a useless "a door has opened somewhere" message that you got in Hexen which forced you to scour the entire map just to see what the switch did. When flipping switches to solve a puzzle, DKDC will tell you how man more you needed to find too Enemy engagements are also a bit more challenging and have to be handled with a little more finesse due to the more compact areas (and higher enemy count) than Hexen. You had to pay more attention to when the enemy was going to fire a projectile and times your moves around them, unlike Hexen were most engagements could be handled by circle strafing. Also, save often. There are a couple of cheap insta-death traps but it's nothing a quicksave and hindsight won't solve. If you didn't like Hexen, still give DKDC a try. It doesn't have the problems Hexen has while still retaining its positive qualities.
I also played the Bio Menace demo a lot when I was younger and liked it but nostalgia isn't blinding me for this review. The platforming is absolutely atrocious. Mid air control is absolutely terrible, trying to control mid jump you're more than likely to under or over shoot your target. If you jump and hit the ceiling, forward momentum just tanks. This is particularly jarring as some of these jumps are over instadeath pits. Sometimes you need precision to jump onto really small platforms but the clunky jumping make the jump difficult. If you jumped on the edge of the platform, sometimes you'll "slip" down, often resulting in death. The enemies can be frustrating to deal with too. The spitting snakes are obnoxious unless you already know their position as the only other way to avoid getting hit is by inching forward. Casually moving will result in you walking into their projectiles. Some of the enemies move so fast that if you don't have any ammo for your gun, you may have to retreat. This is a problem in areas like the ant mine in the 2nd episode as there's so many ramps making the enemies untouchable. You'll have to run to the top of the ramp and wait for the enemies to follow so you can finally shoot them, further ruining the games pacing. The 2nd and 3rd episodes made me feel like I was getting trolled. 2nd epsiode for the first 5 or so areas, there are barely any (visible) weapon pick ups. I only found 3 but 2 of those where when I pretty much cleared out the level already. 3rd episode 1st level has 5 landmines hidden in the grass and YOU CAN'T SEE THEM resulting in some cheap shots, you can only take 4 hits on normal difficulty. There are other problems but I don't have space to mention them. If you want a platformer with some focus on using weapons, there are better games on GOG. Cuphead and Shovel Knight being two that readily come to mind. If you must play this, just play the 1st episode and call it a day, it's the least obnoxious of the 3.
Does playing a fighting game using a keyboard with fixed controls sound appealing to anyone? Yeah, I didn't think so. No controller/joypad support for a fighting game is a deal breaker. I'd give this a pass until controller support is added.
