Dark Gates

About

Dark Gates is a single player role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by DFour Games and was released on January 26, 2015. It received neutral reviews from players.

Dark Gates is a game which tries to capture classic tabletop RPG experience. As a player you need to assemble a party of six heroes, select spells for them and send them on the quest to the labyrinth. Somewhere in that maze an evil mage created Dark Gates and now gates are open. Your party have to find and destroy those gates as darkness pours into this world through them.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

46%

Audience ScoreBased on 28 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Dark Gates captures the charm and atmosphere of classic board games from the 70s and 80s, making it enjoyable for retro gaming enthusiasts.
The game features randomly generated dungeons and a variety of character archetypes, allowing for some experimentation and replayability.
It's a simple and straightforward game that can provide a light diversion, making it easy to pick up and play in short sessions.

The game suffers from poor controls, being entirely keyboard-driven with no mouse support, which can be frustrating for players.
Gameplay is overly simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth, character customization, and meaningful progression, leading to a quick sense of boredom.
There are significant technical issues, including poor resolution scaling and a lack of proper instructions, making it difficult for new players to understand how to play.

graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The graphics are characterized by a charming retro style, featuring clean-cut artwork and hand-drawn animations that create a pleasant ambiance. While they are serviceable and fit the game's aesthetic, they lack advanced features and diversity, which may disappoint players seeking high-resolution visuals or intricate designs. Overall, the graphics evoke nostalgia but are considered basic and amateurish by some reviewers.
- “The artwork and animations I thought were endearing for the style.”
- “It does have this nice retro feeling and the graphics, in my opinion, look fantastic.”
- “The graphics aren't going to win any awards, but it gives a much more retro feel to it.”
- “If you want fancy graphics, lots of diversity in the dungeon levels, and lots of equipment, quests, and hundreds of monsters, you probably are better off looking elsewhere.”
- “Dungeon levels are the same textures and graphics.”
- “You will notice at this point that the graphics are hand-drawn and pretty amateur-looking.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game's story is criticized for its abrupt start and lack of a coherent plot or quest, leaving players with minimal backstory and a sense of randomness in gameplay. While there is a comic book available that provides some context about a group of heroes entering a labyrinth, the overall narrative is considered typical and underdeveloped, primarily serving as a backdrop for combat-focused gameplay.
- “Get the comic book if it is available here on Steam, as it also gives a little background/story about the game and a group of heroes who were entering the labyrinth to seal the dark gates!”
- “Once they breach the front entrance of the labyrinth (there's a back story that explains its existence, but it's typical fare), movement tiles are revealed in a similar fashion to 'dungeon quest' in order to simulate the fog of war.”
- “Since the game starts abruptly, there is no storyline given.”
- “There wasn't much of a backstory, and most of the gameplay was random.”
- “As far as the plot goes, I simply just put a band of warriors together and went about killing everything in sight.”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The gameplay is characterized by simplistic mechanics typical of classic RPGs, making it accessible for short play sessions. However, the lack of proper testing on current systems and insufficient explanations for controls and gameplay elements detracts from the overall experience.
- “Gameplay isn't overly convoluted, which makes it easy to pick up and play in 5 minute increments or for an hour.”
- “+ simple mechanics.”
- “Quick gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is simplistic classic RPG stuff which might have been a refreshing breath of air instead of yet another bloody JRPG or 2D retro platformer, but the fact that the game just doesn't work and the developers haven't tested it on current systems and kept it up to date is a slap in the face.”
- “The controls aren't explained anywhere, the gameplay isn't really either.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The music and sound effects in the game received mixed reviews, with some players finding them forgettable and lacking quality, while others appreciated how they contributed to the overall ambiance. The customization options for audio are limited, offering only basic settings.
- “The artwork, music, and sounds combine well to generate a decent ambience.”
- “The music and sound effects were not great.”
- “Sound and music are forgettable.”
- “The options, by the way, are basically just the resolution, music and sound on and off, and a selectable theme.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers a fair level of replayability, though many users note that it can become quite repetitive over time.
- “It's fairly replayable, but very repetitive!”
- “The game lacks enough variety to keep me coming back for more.”
- “Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to replay.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of Dark Gates is praised for effectively capturing the style and fun reminiscent of classic spy games, creating an engaging and immersive experience for players.
- “Dark Gates captures the style, fun, and atmosphere of those classic SPI games.”
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into a world filled with tension and excitement.”
- “Every detail contributes to a haunting atmosphere that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to slow and unskippable combat animations, which hinder the ability to progress quickly and make repetitive tasks feel tedious.
- “The animations in the combat are tediously slow and unskippable, making it impossible to speed through the grinding process.”
- “Grinding feels like an endless chore, with repetitive tasks that offer little reward for the time invested.”
- “The lack of variety in grinding activities makes it feel like a monotonous slog rather than an engaging experience.”