If dropping support for non-steam versions wasnt enough, Epic exclusive sequel. Other then that, I tried to like the game. The style is nice, the narrator is really good and the art and music works perfectly together. But no matter how hard you grind or prepare, RNG is RNG and that's apparently the selling point? I don't get it.
I'd score lower than one, just for the fact that they screwed over players with no support and Epic, but a one has to do.
I played the beginning of this game with a friend and was quite looking forward to play it myself and first I enjoyed it very much for it's gameplay, dark story and art.
But after playing it quite some time to higher levels, sadly I found to many flaws for this game to be enjoyable for me any longer... this game revels so much in it's hard "dark-souly" unforgiviness that the "endgame" becomes almost unbearable... it just depends on bullshit random rolls to crit you all the time, to just show you how hard it is, but on this point is just sucking out all the fun because there is no longer any skill involvement at all. It's just way too random for my taste.
To a certain point it was really fun, but the endgame killed it for me. A shame because I really wanted to see how it ended, but now I will probably just watch a let's play and be over with it. In my opinion there are certain game mechanics which are just more marketing than fun. And I really have no problem with playing games in ironman mode, permadeath and such.
But at least I want to be punished hard for mistakes I really make, not because to be killed by random rolls all the time, because the game wants to show off. There is no skill or stategy left on some point and I had no fun anymore playing it... I will certainly not buy any dlc and sequels to this game for this reason. I think it's wasted potential at this point... following some trends.
If you have fun with the endgame fine, it's certainly not a bad game, but would not recommend it to anyone because it just hits you hard after playing many hours and this is just a serious let down.
Level 1 dungeons: enemies' hits miss half of the time. Not a lot of challenging battles, unless you're still figuring out how things work. Main challenge is managing resources to build up your town.
Level 3 dungeons: Swinetaurs and Unclean Giants make battles more of a challenge. Upgrades and training are more expensive.
Level 5 dungeons: Enemies rarely miss and when they hit, it's usually a critical hit (>50%). Your heroes miss as often as they hit. Even if you upgrade them completely.
You may think I am exaggerating above, being rhetorical, but no. I've been playing the game just 15 minutes ago and got four crits in a row on me. Not even from nimble spiders/dogs, from big fellas. In fact, I am leaving this review so that when I feel like taking another crack at the game sometime around 2023, I remember why I stopped playing in 2020. (And 2017)
The game has undeniable appeal. Dark atmosphere, beautiful art, original mechanics, addicitive gameplay loop remeniscent of XCOM. (Fight and gather resources to build up your base, build up your base to make your heroes better at fighting and gathering resources) But it's strangely unbalanced. Relatively easy in the beginning and exceedingly murderous at the end.
And worst of all, there is little skill involved. XCOM: Enemy Unknown was challenging throughout, but I never felt like I was completely at the mercy of RNG. Sure, I lost several soldiers on ironman (no save) mode (those blasted robot frisbies) and even the weakest monsters there could drop you very quickly, but with the right approach I could handle most things the game threw at me. And here it's "tough luck, would you like to play another game of loaded dice?"
This game has far too much of an overreliance on RNG based mechanics and it shows. The game doesn't feel enjoyable to play and feels as if the player has too little input into their own success or failure. However, the atmosphere and visual style is fantastic.
Glory and Honor. Paid in blood, vice, and sickness: Of body and mind.
You start out as the unnamed heir to an estate only to find out your deceased relative made every single black magic mistake possible: Ineptly summoning creatures from the neither realm, overnight classes in necromancy, DIY mutant herbal toxicology, bargaining with the capricious gods of the sea, and of course delving too deep in the underdark --thereby unearthing the Darkest Dungeon. And its all yours.
You act a moderately wealthy human resource manager controlling eager adventurers to go forth and restore your newly acquired estate. A comprehensive gothic era benefits package boats the best in health care (Sanatorium), a holistic mental wellness committee (Tavern) and multidenominational spiritual convalescence (Church).
Adventurers under your employ set off in groups of four to traverse dungeons for various knick-knacks for trade at the local market and to improve the hub town. Treasure isn't all your adventurers return with. Dungeons are filthy! Did your knight touch that antique with his bare hands? Then it is the plague for him! Who knew what ungodly depravity lurked within the warrens! How will you cope? A tryst with the ladies of the night may calm the mind of your berserker but, her loins will not go unscathed. No matter how steeled your man-at-arms may be he is but a man made of weak flesh; being trapped in darkness evokes inner demons that must be cleansed. Be warned, the cure is as bad as the disease and just as costly!
This game is cool until it isn't. DD has four main dungeons that you will repeat, with increasing difficulty, until you can take on the fabled estate. The grind is monumental and its rewards are painfully impermanent. You will fail and members of your team will die. Replacements are always at the ready but you have to grind them up to snuff. The strategies used to defeat enemies and the narration becomes repetitive as well eventually killing the game.
91hr on Steam
