Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness

About

"Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness" is a tactical cRPG inspired by classics like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. In the world of Yerengal, you must navigate a land plagued by war, pestilence, and mysterious abductions. Recruit allies, uncover the legacy of your birth, and discover the truth of the Black Geyser, all while using your preferred playstyle of sorcery, stealth, diplomacy, or brute force. The game features real-time tactical combat with pause, deep lore, and memorable companions.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness screenshot

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 978 reviews

story178 positive mentions

optimization14 negative mentions

Nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic CRPGs like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.
Engaging story with interesting mechanics, particularly the greed system.
Decent character customization and variety in classes and races.

Long loading times that disrupt gameplay flow.
Some quests and characters feel bland and underdeveloped.
Combat can be unbalanced, especially for spellcasters, making gameplay feel less strategic.

story
734 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
68%
8%
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it simplistic and lacking depth, often relying on clichéd tropes and fetch quests. While some appreciate the engaging elements and the potential for character development, others criticize the pacing, abrupt transitions, and a lack of meaningful choices that impact the narrative. Overall, the game presents a decent but flawed storyline that may appeal to fans of classic RPGs, though it often feels underdeveloped and repetitive.
- “The story is pretty compelling (at least what I've played so far) and the system has enough going on to make battles and leveling fun.”
- “The story was engaging and began with a scope that was graspable and slowly opened up more and more of the world to us.”
- “The game has a great story and your choices matter in how the game develops as you play it.”
- “The story is chaotic and contains way too many twists for such a short game.”
- “The plot never makes sense, the transitions are abrupt, conversations with main NPCs feel disjointed and incomplete.”
- “The story builds up for something potentially epic towards the end and then just falls flat on its face and gives you a scrolling text blurb that covers one major event and 'well everything went bad anyway' with nothing covering your companions, you, the places and people you helped, etc. Possibly one of the most dissatisfying game endings I've experienced.”
gameplay
222 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
70%
5%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many reviewers noting its clunky mechanics and overly complex systems, particularly regarding combat and crafting. While some appreciate the nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic CRPGs like Baldur's Gate, others criticize it for being shallow and unbalanced, with a unique greed mechanic that fails to significantly impact gameplay. Overall, players find the experience enjoyable but marred by technical issues and a lack of depth in certain mechanics.
- “Overall, the gameplay is smooth and very enjoyable.”
- “The combat is fun, the soundtrack is excellent, some decent humor and side quests, and the greed mechanic is an interesting spin and makes you think about every action.”
- “The gameplay is intuitive and old lovers of Baldur's Gate will feel right at home.”
- “The mechanics behind your stats and attributes in the combat are needlessly complex.”
- “Gameplay was, like the world building, very standard fare.”
- “The unique greed mechanic doesn't really seem to do much and there is so much loot anyways, that you will be rich beyond measure even without accepting quest rewards.”
graphics
206 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
57%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally viewed as acceptable but not groundbreaking, often compared to older titles like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. While some players appreciate the nostalgic art style and beautiful environments, others criticize the muted colors, basic character models, and long loading times. Overall, the visuals are seen as a homage to classic CRPGs, with a mix of well-executed and underwhelming elements.
- “The gameworld is beautiful and has the soft aesthetic of Icewind Dale 1 even.”
- “The graphics give a very good atmosphere to the game; I think they have this old-school air about them, but without feeling dated.”
- “Colorful and beautifully drawn graphics inspired by the RPG classics, good story and soundtrack.”
- “Don't expect high-end graphics or sophisticated tech.”
- “The graphics are really dull to be honest and the writing is 6.5/10 so far.”
- “Loading times are still nowhere near where they should be for a game with such basic graphics and small maps.”
music
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
14%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its retro style and fitting atmosphere, while others find it repetitive and annoying over time. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to match the game's tone, ranging from jovial to grim, but some also note a lack of variety and standout tracks. Overall, while the music is generally considered adequate and sometimes enjoyable, it does not elevate the gameplay experience significantly.
- “The soundtrack was great.”
- “The music is great, too.”
- “The combat is fun, the soundtrack is excellent, some decent humor and side quests, and the greed mechanic is an interesting spin and makes you think about every action.”
- “Music got repetitive fast.”
- “No instructions of what to do, just annoying music on a loop.”
- “There's nothing exciting about the gameplay or the music or the graphics.”
optimization
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
53%
39%
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users reporting severe performance issues, memory leaks, and inefficient asset management. While some players noted improvements in load times since early access, the overall consensus is that significant optimization is still needed, particularly for various system configurations. Users are frustrated by the developers' excuses regarding hardware requirements, indicating that the core issues remain unaddressed.
- “Load performance has definitely improved since the EA launched, and overall performance is pretty good.”
- “If you've got an old computer and are looking for something that won't max out your system's performance, then this may be a good title.”
- “There are certainly some optimization problems, but this may be a PC problem.”
- “The game is horribly optimized and, despite having a sub-1998 Baldur's Gate engine, chugs like crazy on my PC.”
- “What really got under my skin was that the main excuses for this were 'simply ensure you have an SSD and other system optimizations' - please guys, we all know that's not the core reason for memory leak issues, catastrophically inefficient asset packaging and loading strategies, and a non-robust quest engine.”
- “Until the devs optimize this game performance-wise for Linux, hold on to your money.”
atmosphere
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
75%
11%
The atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its dark, immersive qualities and nostalgic old-school feel, while others feel it lacks the depth and excitement found in classic titles like Baldur's Gate and Pillars of Eternity. The graphics and sound design contribute positively to the ambiance, though some users noted that they are only serviceable and took time to appreciate. Overall, while the atmosphere is generally well-crafted, there are calls for improvements in narrative and character interactions to enhance the experience further.
- “I did like the whole atmosphere and mood of the game; I was fascinated by how deep the character generation is.”
- “The infinity engine inspired backgrounds are filled with well-crafted and detailed assets, which bring the world to life, and the music is relaxing and well-suited to the atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is dark; the ambient music and landscapes in general give that feel.”
- “It has a less exciting narrative and atmosphere than the first Baldur's Gate; the number of bugs is quite heavy, and romances and party interactions are... strange, weird, like they are not real people.”
- “As of now, this doesn't match the writing, presentation, originality, or atmosphere of Pillars of Eternity.”
- “The graphics and the soundscape are unfortunately just serviceable, so it took me some time to get into the atmosphere, but it started to grow on me.”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
70%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while many players report it as relatively bug-free, especially on Windows 10/11, there are still notable issues such as loading screen freezes and minor graphical glitches. The native version suffers from severe problems, making it unplayable for some. Despite a few patches, players have noted that some bugs persist, but they are generally not game-breaking.
- “On the plus side, I found the game to be quite bug-free and the greed mechanic is quite a clever concept, though it could have been handled a bit differently.”
- “The only kind thing I have to say about this game is that it seems relatively bug-free aside from a few misspellings.”
- “After three months and a few big patches since release, the game is still not bug-free.”
- “Native version was not playable (either not starting up at all or having severe graphical glitches) while the Windows 10/11 version seems perfectly stable and bug-free.”
- “Game freezes up on loading screens or takes a lot of time to load.”
- “Lots of the quests and gameplay were still a bit buggy after 1.0, but were fixed very quickly.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a mix of humor, with players appreciating the witty dialogue choices and amusing writing throughout. While some find the romantic elements to be both sad and funny, the overall comedic tone is enhanced by entertaining side quests and engaging character interactions. The humor is well-received, contributing to the game's fun atmosphere without overwhelming players with excessive lore.
- “On the good side, this game has some pretty funny dialog choices for your character in conversations.”
- “The game is pretty fun with some hilarious dialog options.”
- “There is some funny and witty writing that I enjoyed, and it's not overly heavy with lore dumps and such so far.”
character development
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
Character development in the game is largely criticized for being limited and simplistic, with a lack of engaging plot and follower interactions. While the character design is praised, players express a desire for more depth and complexity, hoping future DLCs and sequels will enhance this aspect. The greed and reputation systems are noted as unique but still under development, contributing to an overall feeling of underwhelming character progression.
- “Aside from that, excellent character design; we all hope for more depth and complexity. That's what DLC and sequels are for, though, and I feel confident this series has legs.”
- “As far as the character development is concerned, it reminded me of Pillars of Eternity where you get skills that you invest in.”
- “Another unique thing that affects character development, that’s still being worked on, is the greed system.”
- “The story is simple and there isn't much character development.”
- “Character development in terms of combat and non-combat skills is just really limited.”
- “Primitive and non-nuanced character development.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low to moderate, with some players noting it can support two distinct playthroughs but lacks significant variety and depth. The absence of distinct classes and limited choices diminishes the potential for varied party builds, leading to a perception of minimal replay value. While some find it decent, many agree that it does not offer the extensive replayability typically expected from CRPGs.
- “There's a decent amount of replayability.”
- “Token amount of choice and consequence and replayability in general, good enough for two separate playthroughs: generous and greedy.”
- “I play CRPGs for the time I can get out of it, the replayability, variety they offer, and the atmosphere/world building.”
- “It's about 25-30 hours long, with low to moderate replay value.”
- “I play CRPGs for the time I can get out of it, the replayability, variety they offer, and the atmosphere/world building, but this doesn't have it.”
- “Black Geyser is a short game with no replay value, and a lack of distinct classes takes away having variety in party build.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
50%
The emotional aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with some characters like Hamlin being noted for their interesting development, while others, such as Arvex, have untapped emotional potential that could be explored further. Overall, players expressed disappointment in the lack of impactful emotional moments, feeling that the storyline is often bland and reliant on repetitive fetch quests rather than a compelling narrative.
- “Hamlin has definitely been written more interestingly, although Arvex has a strongly emotional past, which the creators should develop a bit better.”
- “The story is bland and boring, relying on fetch quests to level up instead of offering a compelling, engaging, and intricate main storyline.”
- “The emotional depth is lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters or care about their journeys.”
- “The game fails to evoke any real emotions, leaving players feeling detached from the narrative and its characters.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game, particularly in the crafting system that involves collecting herbs for potions, to be repetitive and tiresome. While the inventory system is considered standard and somewhat tedious, it does not detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “The crafting system, which is essentially grinding herbs and other things to make potions, gets old very very quickly.”