Dark Quest 2
- February 8, 2019
- Brain Seal Ltd
- 5h median play time
"Dark Quest 2" is a turn-based strategy RPG, inspired by the board game "Hero Quest," with single and multiplayer options. Its hand-drawn art style, dice-based mechanics, and campaign story create an immersive fantasy atmosphere. Players must tacticsically navigate through the evil sorcerer's castle, confronting challenges that test their characters' strengths. Create and share new adventures with the map editor, available through Steamworks. The Skull of Fate adds an extra layer of mystery in the darkest dungeons.
Reviews
- The game captures the nostalgic feel of the HeroQuest board game with charming graphics and engaging gameplay.
- It offers a fun multiplayer experience, allowing friends to team up and strategize together.
- The simple mechanics make it easy to learn, while still providing enough tactical depth to keep players engaged.
- The user interface is clunky and lacks hotkeys, making navigation and character management tedious.
- There are bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in multiplayer mode.
- The game can feel repetitive and lacks depth in character progression and story, leading to a short overall experience.
- story386 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story in Dark Quest 2 is largely considered minimal and uninspired, with many reviewers noting that it lacks depth and engagement. Players primarily encounter a straightforward narrative focused on defeating an evil sorcerer, with little lore or character development to enhance the experience. While the game successfully evokes nostalgia for classic board games like Hero Quest, it does so at the expense of a compelling storyline, making it more of a tactical dungeon crawler than a narrative-driven adventure.
“Dark Quest 2 brings a lite-version of those board games, with gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and a great dungeon crawl feel to it.”
“Graphic style is fitting the narrative of the game and you will really feel like you are in the story, in the dungeon.”
“Each quest has its own maze of a map to explore, complete with gold, gems, magic pots, traps, and monsters.”
“Almost zero story.”
“The story is boring.”
“The story is absent.”
- gameplay136 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its simple yet engaging mechanics, blending dungeon crawling with tactical elements that encourage experimentation with different characters. While many players appreciate the straightforward nature and visual appeal, some criticize the balance and repetitiveness, noting that certain mechanics can be exploited, leading to a lack of challenge. Overall, it offers a casual yet satisfying experience, particularly in multiplayer, but may feel grindy and simplistic for those seeking deeper complexity.
“Solid tactical gameplay; there's enough magical pots (advancement points) to encourage experimenting with different characters.”
“Highly recommend if you're looking for a relatively casual yet addicting and satisfying gameplay loop with a solid character progression system and beautiful hand-drawn art and scene settings.”
“Gameplay is easy to learn and hard to master, with tactics becoming very important late game.”
“Ultimately, what should be a good game is let down by mechanics and the type of difficulty.”
“Unfortunately, the moment-to-moment core gameplay is quite boring and repetitive, and I found myself very quickly losing interest.”
“It's really a nice game; unfortunately, it has a lot of bugs (e.g. visual, UI, design, logic, etc.) that really ruin the gameplay.”
- graphics124 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many praising the hand-drawn art style and improved visuals compared to its predecessor. Reviewers noted the charming, slightly cartoonish aesthetic that enhances the game's dark fantasy theme, although some mentioned that animations could be lacking. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the immersive experience, making it visually appealing and enjoyable for players.
“It has splendid graphics, arguably one of the best graphic art I have seen in modern video games.”
“Dark Quest 2 brings a lite-version of those board games, with gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and a great dungeon crawl feel to it.”
“The graphics are a great improvement over the first game and look pretty nice with an 80's cartoon/tabletop feel, and I find the quests fun.”
“Pretty much the same as the first Dark Quest, just the graphics got a little better but it's still very repetitive with again a very boring storyline, really silly ugly UI, useless Skull of Fate that brings nothing to the game, no inventory, minimum choice of items, no character progression, only a few abilities usable and the rest are passive; active abilities can only be used once or restricted per quest/turn.”
“2) Passable graphics and controls.”
“Graphics and sound are adequate, if a bit too cartoonish for my taste.”
- music86 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and atmospheric fit, while others criticize its repetitiveness due to a limited number of tracks. Some players find the soundtrack enjoyable and immersive, enhancing the overall experience, but note that it can become annoying during extended playthroughs. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, its short length and looping nature may detract from long-term enjoyment.
“The soundtrack is a better experience; it is filled with good songs with a healthy mix of instruments and a few atmospheric tracks to even things out.”
“Is has great art style, immersive music, and combined produce an overall enchanting experience.”
“I really love the turn-based style of playing, and the soundtrack fits the scene to bring you in the right mood.”
“However, the OST is very short, which means you will hear certain songs over and over, which can get annoying if you are doing multiple playthroughs.”
“Music is annoying and repetitive.”
“The music was average, and I often found myself turning the music off because it got old after a while.”
- grinding36 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to boredom as they navigate through dungeons and face overwhelming odds. While some appreciate the grind for character upgrades and preparation, many feel that the gameplay becomes frustratingly monotonous, especially with the need for individual character movement and limited room variety. Despite its engaging graphics and initial fun, the grind can detract significantly from the overall experience.
“It just gets very boring and very samey and very grindy in a very short while.”
“Exploring the dungeons does not become an engaging risk vs reward asset, but a tedious slog where players who've already played the game will know the optimal route.”
“A bit grindy, super repetitive and way too random - I felt like I was fighting RNG rather than solving problems with tactics and strategy.”
- replayability26 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through features like a map editor and Steam Workshop support for user-created content, allowing players to experience new challenges and strategies. Players can also revisit levels at increased difficulties and experiment with different character builds, although some reviewers noted that deeper character customization could enhance this aspect further. Overall, the combination of mod support and varied gameplay options contributes to a robust replay value.
“The mod support for more maps adds great replay value.”
“Great game - simple fun and replayable.”
“All it needs is deeper character building, customization, and equipment systems for better replayability.”
“An added bonus is the map editor for infinite content to even extend replayability.”
“An less replay value, obviously.”
- stability14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 71 % negative mentions
The game exhibits notable stability issues, particularly in multiplayer, with users reporting various bugs and glitches that can detract from the experience. However, many players still find the gameplay enjoyable and engaging, suggesting that while the game is buggy, it remains fun and mostly stable overall. Some reviews highlight that despite being in early access, the game has solid mechanics and is largely free of major issues.
“This game might be in early access, but it is full of content, mostly bug-free, and already has solid gameplay mechanics that are fun and engaging.”
“Runs great and is easy on the wallet.”
“The game is stable and provides a smooth experience, making it enjoyable to play.”
“The game has some interesting ideas and doesn't suffer from numbers bloat, but it's very buggy and gets repetitive quickly.”
“I do have to give a strong warning that this game is not without its bugs/glitches.”
“Multiplayer is somewhat buggy.”
- atmosphere12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, characterized by a beautiful art style, diverse characters, and an engaging soundtrack that blends various instruments with atmospheric tracks. Reviewers consistently highlight the impressive visuals and immersive sound design, contributing to a captivating overall experience. Many feel that the atmosphere significantly enhances the game's value.
“The atmosphere and music are great.”
“I really enjoyed the artwork and atmosphere of the game.”
“Love it, very atmospheric, worth every penny!”
- character development6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has been criticized for its lack of specialization and poor execution, with players feeling that the attempts to innovate in this area ultimately fell flat. Many reviewers expressed a desire for a more engaging narrative and improved character progression systems in potential future editions.
“Though, if I'm completely honest, the character development, level up, and equipment improvement is poor; they tried to do something a little different, but unfortunately it doesn’t work.”
“If they develop a third edition, I'd be happy to pay £20 for it if they create a proper narrative, better character development, and less restrictive equipment choices.”
“That is, there was no specialization in character development.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues and numerous bugs that hinder the overall experience.
“The game suffers from poor performance and frequent bugs.”
“I experienced significant performance issues and encountered numerous bugs.”
“The optimization is lacking, leading to poor performance and a lot of frustrating bugs.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized for its lack of depth, with players finding the storyline boring and repetitive, which diminishes any potential emotional engagement. The limited character progression and abilities further contribute to a sense of frustration, leaving players feeling disconnected from the game's narrative and characters. Overall, the experience fails to evoke meaningful emotions, overshadowed by its design flaws.
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as enjoyable and nostalgic, enhancing the overall experience of the dungeon crawl, especially in co-op mode. Players appreciate the lightheartedness that complements the gameplay, reminiscent of their childhood gaming dreams.
“Add in co-op, and good humor, and you're looking at an ultra fine dungeon crawl developed exactly how you dreamed the future would be when you were a kid on your 386, if FPS hadn't taken over gaming.”