Dark Bestiary
- July 12, 2020
- Qd
- 22h median play time
Get on Steam"Dark Bestiary" is an action-packed, dark fantasy RPG where players collect and upgrade beasts to battle in strategic combat. With over 100 creatures to discover, each with unique abilities, players must build a powerful bestiary and defeat enemy keepers in PvE or other players in PvP mode. The game features stunning 3D graphics, immersive environments, and a variety of game modes to keep players engaged.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game offers extensive character customization with a vast array of skills and abilities, allowing players to create unique builds.
- Combat is engaging and tactical, with a variety of enemies that require different strategies to defeat.
- The game provides a satisfying loot system with meaningful upgrades and crafting options, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- The campaign is relatively short, leading to a lack of content after completion, which may result in repetitive gameplay.
- There are significant quality of life issues, such as a cumbersome UI and lack of tutorials, making navigation and understanding mechanics frustrating.
- Some players have reported balance issues, with certain builds being overpowered while others feel underwhelming, leading to a less enjoyable experience.
- story242 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 88 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely considered minimal and serves primarily as a tutorial for the gameplay mechanics, with most players noting that it lacks depth and character development. The campaign consists of a series of short missions that can be completed in a few hours, but the real focus is on combat and loot rather than narrative. While some players appreciate the straightforward approach, many express a desire for a more engaging storyline and richer lore.
“The campaign mode is short and will see you through level 20-ish, but there are also some patrol missions and 'nightmare' missions you can do from the town's quest board, as well as treasure maps, which are 'minesweeper' maps.”
“The main story is short, about 4-5 hours long, but more difficult missions with more enemies, more areas and more and better loot unlock after completing the story.”
“There is a story but it's short and irrelevant; you can continue playing after the story ends, in increasing difficulty 'nightmare' levels.”
“I can't recommend this for story; it's about running missions/maps repeatedly and developing your character.”
“The story is almost non-existent; it's really about customizing skill trees and stats and upgrading items.”
“The campaign is a joke, with no story to speak about and a weak sense of progression.”
- gameplay88 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Dark Bestiary is characterized by its turn-based mechanics and deep character customization options, allowing players to experiment with various classes and skills. While the core gameplay loop of missions, combat, and loot collection is engaging, some players find it repetitive and lacking in challenge, particularly in higher tiers of content. Overall, the game offers a satisfying experience for those who enjoy tactical RPGs and grinding, despite its minimalist narrative and occasional gameplay staleness.
“Turn-based Diablo gameplay with surprisingly deep character customization options.”
“The highlight is the rich and complex RPG system and classless character creation, with lots of skills, attributes, tactics, weapons, items, loot mechanics, and replayability.”
“It's flexible in how you want to tackle the content, and if you value a good grind over a story (of which this barely has any), then you'll probably be pleasantly surprised by the depth of Dark Bestiary's gameplay.”
“People say the plot is minimalist, sure, but the gameplay is also totally barebones.”
“To be honest, I liked the first 2 hours or so, but it got stale almost immediately, as you have access to every skill from level 1. Progression is just more stats on gear, and the enemies were never a challenge. Bosses never had any difficulty to them apart from the final boss of the campaign, whose mechanic was just a 'don't stand in this area' mechanic. I don't recommend this for the price point.”
“I said 'little tactical RPG' above because the overall gameplay loop is pretty small: go on a mission, kill some monsters, get some loot, level up and/or upgrade loot, repeat.”
- grinding44 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding is a significant aspect of the game, with players experiencing a mix of enjoyment and tedium. While some find the grind rewarding for power and loot, others describe it as repetitive and tedious, especially in the late game where the focus shifts to experience points and minimal rewards. Overall, the game caters to those who appreciate grinding, offering a wealth of content, but it may become monotonous for players seeking more dynamic gameplay.
“I'm at the 4-hour point and nothing has challenged me; each combat is just a tedious click-click-click fest.”
“The concept is interesting, but battles quickly become unexciting: too big HP pools of enemies, accompanied by their inability to kill the protagonist due to their low damage output, makes the game boring and tedious.”
“But there are really lacking 'mass do something' options for these, so you'll find yourself tediously opening single chests, dismantling individual items, and so on for (no joke) probably 20% of your late-game playtime.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as having nice aesthetics and a clean, smooth style, though some reviewers note a sense of generic or stock visuals in certain assets. While the art style is appreciated by some, it lacks the high fidelity seen in larger titles like Diablo 3 or Lost Ark, leading to mixed feelings about its overall quality. Despite these criticisms, many players find the graphics satisfactory for the indie genre, with stylish animations and good performance even on older hardware.
“Clean, smooth, clear graphics with fantastic strategy and progression - music is especially excellent.”
“It has nice graphics for its genre and great performance - even on older laptops.”
“Graphics and animations in the game are really stylish and detailed.”
“The game gives a vibe of stock visuals for menu designs and in-game assets.”
“The graphics and music are merely standard, but I had a lot of fun trying different builds with the loot I found.”
“While I've had lots of fun playing around in Dark Bestiary, I'm not sure I can recommend it for the price when games like Tales of Maj'Eyal are cheaper, offer more content, and have a much more charming hand-made graphical style.”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise it as excellent and enjoyable, others find it standard or even "wonky," suggesting it feels tacked on at times. Additionally, there are reports of the music occasionally stopping during gameplay, which detracts from the overall experience.
“Clean, smooth, clear graphics with fantastic strategy and progression - music is especially excellent.”
“Good music.”
“The graphics and music are merely standard, but I had a lot of fun trying different builds with the loot I found.”
“And sometimes the music stops playing.”
“If I were to nitpick, the music is kind of wonky and seems tacked on.”
“The graphics and music are merely standard.”
- character development8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game offers extensive freedom in character design and intricate development options, reminiscent of classic tabletop RPGs, which enhances replayability. However, some players feel that the storyline is too short and lacks depth in character development, detracting from the overall experience.
“This game throws me back to my days playing tabletop RPGs; there is massive freedom of character design and great replayability, as the characters you can create (outside of appearance) are generally infinite, and at the same time, one character can do anything and everything.”
“Intricate and complex character development with nearly infinite options.”
“Reminds me of those great RPGs from Kongregate back in the day; a simple game with great character development paths for content.”
“My only critique would be that the storyline is too short and lacks character development.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the impressive sound effects and art design that enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers agree that both the audio and visual elements contribute significantly to creating an immersive environment.
“Great sound effects add to the atmosphere.”
“Atmosphere and art are well done.”
“Atmosphere and sound effects are good in my opinion.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is considered decent due to the variety of builds and skill combinations available, allowing players to experiment with different characters. However, many users find the experience ultimately repetitive and lacking in long-term engagement, leading to disappointment in its perceived unlimited replayability.
“Replayability value is decent through different builds and endless skill combinations.”
“Replayability is 'meh': you can of course play everything again, with the same or different character, with all new skills and respec, but in the end it still is just the same repetitive thing and starts to get boring fast.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its impressive graphics relative to its genre and demonstrates excellent performance, even on older laptops, indicating strong optimization.
“It has nice graphics for its genre and great performance - even on older laptops.”
