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About

Dark and Light is a sandbox survival RPG set in the mysterious world of Gaia. Harness the power of magic and summon mythical creatures to aid you in challenging battles. Harsh environments and dynamic weather systems require players to build and customize shelters for survival, creating a living, breathing world full of wonder and peril.

Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
Dark and Light screenshot
+34

53%
Audience ScoreBased on 10,868 reviews
gameplay282 positive mentions
stability1k negative mentions

  • The game features stunning environments and creature designs, creating a beautiful and immersive atmosphere.
  • Character development is a standout feature, offering depth and customization options that enhance the overall gameplay experience.
  • The blend of survival mechanics, sandbox building, and magical elements provides a fresh and engaging experience.
  • The game is plagued by numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues, leading to a frustrating and unpolished experience.
  • Many players criticize the game for being overly grindy, requiring excessive resource gathering for minimal rewards.
  • The monetization strategy has been widely viewed as a cash grab, with developers accused of abandoning the game and prioritizing profit over quality.
  • gameplay
    1,236 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Dark and Light" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its similarities to "ARK: Survival Evolved," particularly in mechanics like building, taming, and resource gathering. While some appreciate the game's blend of survival and RPG elements, others criticize it for being unpolished, buggy, and lacking depth, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game shows potential but requires significant improvements to its mechanics and performance to fully engage players.

    • “The game's blend of survival mechanics, sandbox building, and magical elements provides a fresh and engaging experience.”
    • “It's got some of the most interesting mechanics for this genre of games.”
    • “The character progression system is very engaging and the gameplay is very challenging early on, but this makes it so when you reach milestones, such as taming your first boar or getting a flyer, you immediately feel the sense of difference it makes in your gameplay experience, how it helps you survive just a bit better.”
    • “While the premise was a great hook and it had tremendous potential at first - the game is an unfinished mess of an asset flip from Ark with no story, no direction and broken mechanics/quests everywhere.”
    • “The gameplay sucks, but it kind of feels like it could get better over time.”
    • “The game mechanics come down to cheesy exploitative tactics and dumb luck.”
  • graphics
    1,214 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the stunning environments and creature designs, often noting that they are visually appealing when settings are optimized. However, numerous complaints highlight performance issues, including lag, low frame rates, and graphical glitches, particularly on lower-end systems. Overall, while the game has potential for beautiful visuals, it currently suffers from significant optimization problems that detract from the experience.

    • “The graphics and creatures are incredible, but there are bugs.”
    • “It's such a nice fantasy setting and the creatures are so interesting and the world with the right graphics looks nothing but gorgeous.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous and the mounts are really cool, if you like spending 24 hours to tame a small dragon.”
    • “The graphics are dull and boring, the colors are shades of grey, and it looks like it was made in the 2000s rather than in the 2020s. I was expecting this game to be much more interesting, but I've found nothing that would keep me playing the game.”
    • “The graphics are the worst there more sh!”
    • “The graphics are horrendous and still lots of tearing and sync issues.”
  • stability
    1,088 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and performance issues that hinder gameplay. Many reviews describe it as an unfinished and unpolished experience, often comparing it unfavorably to other early access titles like Ark: Survival Evolved. While some players find enjoyment despite the bugs, the overall consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements and updates to reach a playable state.

    • “Well optimized, and no glitches....”
    • “This game runs great for early access; in my opinion, it's a much fuller experience than in Ark.”
    • “The game takes 3-4 minutes to load up, then there are no more loading screens and it runs great.”
    • “Flash forward from 2017 to 2023, the game is still super buggy and laggy and now abandoned in early access.”
    • “I wish they had put some effort into finishing it; the game had good potential but it's a dead game. The devs left it to die out and it has become a buggy mess over the years.”
    • “The game is in dire need of a lot of work; it is severely unpolished and is filled with glitches and other bad things caused by insane laziness.”
  • optimization
    1,034 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players describing it as poorly optimized and riddled with performance issues, including long loading times and low frame rates. Despite some improvements noted in recent patches, the consensus is that the game feels unfinished and is not worth purchasing in its current state, especially for those with lower-end systems. Players recommend waiting for further optimization and bug fixes before considering a purchase.

    • “If this was remade and better optimized it would be the best game of its type 100%.”
    • “The game is still early access, but I have seen great strides in improvement/performance in the recent patches.”
    • “Great game but needs tons of optimization for people to even enjoy this gem!”
    • “This game is outrageously unoptimized.”
    • “It is unoptimized and full of bugs.”
    • “The game is completely unoptimized.”
  • story
    836 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of depth and coherence in the narrative. While there are quests intended to guide players and introduce them to the game mechanics, numerous bugs and incomplete quest lines hinder progress and enjoyment. Overall, the game is seen as having potential but is criticized for its unfinished state, with many players expressing a desire for a more engaging storyline and better quest functionality.

    • “The game has an added layer adding towns and NPCs that are voiced and a quest lines that explain magic and how the crafting system works.”
    • “Dark and light has a story line that is simple, easy to follow, and user-friendly.”
    • “The quest system that is in place is essentially a sort of tutorial that guides you through how to do things in the game.”
    • “However, I knew we were in for a failure the moment they dropped a half-assed DLC map without completing the core game and didn't even separate out the quests between worlds, so if you were playing the original map, there were quests you could never complete popping up on your quest manager.”
    • “This game is not a storyline, it is not finished, it has no ending and it is very much abandoned.”
    • “The quest system is broken, quests do not advance, and you cannot disable the quest HUD, so you are constantly getting pestered to complete quests which do not work.”
  • grinding
    534 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of "Dark and Light" is heavily criticized, with many players noting that it becomes tedious very quickly. While some enjoy the grind as part of the survival experience, others find it excessively demanding, often requiring hours of resource gathering for minimal rewards. The game is frequently compared to "Ark," with many stating it is even more grindy, leading to frustration, especially for solo players or those on official servers.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “If you like PvP and not grinding, go to the unofficial servers right away.”
    • “The game is way too grindy, the stat upgrades don't feel very impressive, the towns/cities are extremely empty, skill progression doesn't add anything other than you learning the next tier of craftables, there's no progression, and taming is extremely much a chore to the point that there's no reason to do it.”
    • “It's a lot of farming for very little results, even after doubling the resource extraction rate.”
    • “This game would be good if it wasn't so broken, grinding is ridiculous, and its annoying there isn't any kind of first person that works well.”
  • monetization
    102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategy of this game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many users expressing frustration over its early access status and lack of meaningful updates since its launch. Reviewers highlight the game's abandonment by developers, particularly Snail Games, and accuse them of prioritizing profit over quality, leading to a perception of exploitation within the gaming community. Overall, the sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, with calls for accountability and a warning to potential buyers to avoid investing in what is seen as an unfinished and untrustworthy product.

    • “Yet another early access game with tons of awesome potential that gets treated as a cash grab and abandoned.”
    • “This game has been dead for years, snail games is always true to their motto 'dare to scam' where they will abuse the alpha system to get quick cash grabs, only to abandon it to start the next cash grab.”
    • “In its current form, it was released as a buggy, unfinished mess of a cash grab.”
  • music
    102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its beauty and immersive quality, while others criticize it for being repetitive and overly loud, with a broken volume slider that fails to function properly. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, but frustrations arise from the inability to disable the music entirely. Overall, while the music has its highlights, technical issues and a lack of variety detract from the experience for some users.

    • “The music is amazing, the graphics are superb.”
    • “The music is astounding, and the world that you spawn into feels incredibly immense and it is full of absolutely gorgeous scenery and architecture.”
    • “I did not expect to hear a big playlist of originally composed soundtracks for this game, it feels special.”
    • “The music is obnoxiously loud and the slider doesn't actually turn it down in outposts, only turns down menu music.”
    • “The music volume slider does nothing.”
    • “Not being able to disable in-game music is a major drag for me.”
  • humor
    84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is often derived from its bugs and chaotic gameplay, with players finding amusement in glitches, unexpected character interactions, and the antics of goblins that rob them. While some players appreciate the comedic elements of these frustrating moments, others feel the game lacks genuine humor. Overall, the humor is a mixed bag, with many finding joy in the absurdity of early access issues and the unpredictable nature of encounters.

    • “I understand this is in an early access stage where there are numerous frustrating bugs, but sometimes those frustrating bugs can be hilarious at times.”
    • “In the very first few minutes of play, I was assaulted and robbed by a group of villainous goblins... now mind you they did not kill me, nearly knocked me unconscious and stole all my belongings... I was astounded and laughing all at the same time.”
    • “I thought the biggest threat of this game was the players looking to kill you and take your loot... but man was I wrong. I was fighting a unicorn, no issue, it was a bit dark so couldn't see very far, suddenly I had some goblins come and attack me. I found out that their attacks actually will knock you unconscious after a few hits... I honestly couldn't stop laughing, was so surprised, never expected to be robbed of all my items by a couple of tiny goblins.”
    • “It is not funny.”
    • “The graphics are shockingly poor, and there are so many animation glitches and graphical bugs it's not funny.”
    • “It is not funny.”
  • atmosphere
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beauty and immersive qualities, creating a captivating world reminiscent of MMORPGs like WoW and GW2. While the graphics and sound design contribute positively, some players noted bugs that detract from the experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a strong point, enhancing the gameplay despite some clunky mechanics and early access issues.

    • “The world is beautiful and atmospheric, and there is a very high level of immersion.”
    • “What this game does right is create atmosphere, and I found myself saying 'wow' a lot more times than I have in the past with these types of games.”
    • “It has a wonderful atmosphere, solid graphics for an early access game, good movement scheme, and solid level-up and branched skill tree paths you can take based on how you want to play.”
    • “More could be done to make the nights scary or build some atmosphere around the concept.”
    • “The game has a very threatening atmosphere and you will get killed by reapers, panthers, and other grisly creatures.”
    • “The atmosphere, setting... magic and swords... this could've been something fantastic.”
  • replayability
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The replayability of the game is generally viewed as decent, with a large open world and various progression elements that encourage exploration and base building. However, many players note that the world feels limited, leading to only a few weeks of engaging content, and the presence of bugs and performance issues detracts from the overall experience. While some unofficial servers offer a better experience, the game still struggles to compete with other survival titles in terms of long-term playability.

    • “Dark and Light does have a lot of replay value, with a lot of progression and a large open world to explore. There is always something to do; you can try to upgrade your base or gear, tame a stronger and better creature, or go out and explore the world.”
    • “Bugs galore, but for its price and replayability, definitely a nice game and worth it even if you end up in a PvE or non-PvP official server. There's always hope.”
    • “The replayability is decent.”
    • “Replayability: most survival games actually have replayability, but unfortunately the world is not big enough to really provide more than a few weeks of adventuring to most players.”
    • “Just missing a lot of polish and a few things to make it more playable which many others have mentioned several times over the years.”
    • “Replayability: a lot of grinding and dying.”
  • emotional
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express deep emotional frustration and heartbreak over the game's abandonment and persistent bugs, which detract from the overall experience. Many feel a sense of loss and disappointment, particularly when beloved in-game elements are compromised or when gameplay mechanics fail to function as intended. The emotional weight of these experiences leads to a mix of anguish and encouragement, highlighting the game's potential that remains unfulfilled.

    • “You look at it and just want to cry.”
    • “It's challenging, frustrating, heartbreaking, encouraging.”
    • “I watched as he battled the treemen, tearing into them as they knocked over the nearby trees, but finally with a crash one stomped grunt into the ground as I cried out in anguish... my pig was gone.”
  • character development
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is a standout feature of the game, with players praising its depth and customization options compared to similar titles like Ark. The focus on character-driven quests and the complexity of crafting and gear sets enhance the overall progression and uniqueness of each character. Overall, the game offers a richer character development experience that is more engaging and varied than its competitors.

    • “The best part is character development; all quests are character-based, no running to NPCs for quests, which I really disliked.”
    • “It's an 'ark-like' RPG focused more on character development and less on taming armies of creatures.”
    • “The complexity of the crafting, the snap together building, and the character development make it stand out.”
    • “Additionally, there is much more utility and gear sets than Ark and other games, which create an opportunity for diverse character development.”
    • “The aspect of the game that rises above Ark is your character development.”

Buy Dark and Light

19h Median play time
213h Average play time
6-100h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 298 analyzed playthroughs

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