Dark Shadows - Army of Evil | Game Brain

About

Dark Shadows - Army of Evil is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Burian Media Enterprises and was released on March 11, 2014. It received negative reviews from players.

In Dark Shadows - Army of Evil, players embark on a classic Medieval Fantasy Hack and Slash journey to save their loved one from a monstrous army. With an old-school look, players fight through 19 levels, discovering various weapons and facing increasing challenges. The game's story takes place in 1362, where an evil force has ravaged the land, kidnapped the player's loved one, and stolen resources, leaving the player as the realm's only hope for salvation.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+48

Skip User Reviews

28%

Audience ScoreBased on 139 reviews

humor7 positive mentions

graphics12 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and humorous experience, making it entertaining for those who enjoy bad games.
Some players found the gameplay to be fun in a chaotic way, especially when embracing its flaws.
The music and atmosphere received some praise, adding a certain charm to the overall experience.

The game is plagued by poor graphics, clunky controls, and a confusing quest structure that makes it frustrating to play.
Many players reported numerous bugs and crashes, rendering the game nearly unplayable.
The combat system is simplistic and unengaging, leading to repetitive gameplay that lacks depth.

graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
66%
27%
The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as outdated, clunky, and reminiscent of early 90s titles. Critics noted issues such as poor resolution, motion blur, and a lack of polish, leading to a frustrating visual experience that detracted from gameplay. While a few users acknowledged some effort in design, the consensus is that the graphics are substandard and significantly hinder the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “Stunning visuals and addictive tactics make every victory unforgettable.”
- “The only positive thing I noticed was the seemingly enhanced graphics.”
- “Though the graphics are old school, this was and is no problem to me.”
- “Gameplay issues aside, this game has some of the worst graphics I have ever seen.”
- “The graphics hold up worse than Pong, and this was released last year.”
- “I was appalled by the graphics, repulsed by the godawful movement controls, terrified by the worst first level in any game I've ever played, and the sheer fact you had the temerity to charge money for this waste of time is a disgrace.”
story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The game's story is widely criticized for being trivial and poorly executed, with many reviewers describing it as generic and lacking depth. Players find the plot unengaging, often reduced to tedious quests for keys with little narrative significance, and the overall writing is deemed atrocious. The lack of meaningful content and poor level design contribute to a frustrating experience that detracts from any potential enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “Here, the first level is a castle full of winding, identical corridors, and the first mission in that level is to find a sword and some keys.”
- “Alright, the story.”
- “So, the game is bad in pretty much everything compared with the average video game; the plot is trivial, the gameplay is stupid, the puzzles are so bad that the developers had to publish the tutorials on YouTube, and of course, the graphics are bad as well. I think it made me feel physically ill (not ironically).”
- “Graphics are terrible, story and writing are atrocious at best.”
- “The starting quest is a quest that most people won't even complete because of the horrid level design and ridiculously low amount of thought put into it.”
gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
66%
24%
The gameplay of this game is widely criticized for being unintuitive, slow, and filled with frustrating mechanics, leading to a lack of enjoyment and engagement. Many players report technical issues, such as crashes and poor controls, which further detract from the experience. Overall, the gameplay is described as a significant failure, with many suggesting it is only worth watching for comedic value rather than actual play.
- “I bhoped all over the castle and killed myself laughing from the mechanics more than what I did do the finding.”
- “After 1 hour of gameplay, I have been killed 5 times and only found 1 key, unable to defend myself and with a feeling of disappointment.”
- “The gameplay is laughable, with most of the weapons using the same animations.”
- “The gameplay itself is severely lacking.”
- “However, just getting that far is a nightmare of boredom, and awful gameplay that will leave you feeling queasy from the graphics and motion blur in the game alone.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
78%
22%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of unintentional hilarity and absurdity, with players finding the combat and puzzles laughably bad. While some moments elicit genuine laughter, the overall comedic value is deemed insufficient to justify the game's price, leading to a sense of frustration alongside amusement.
- “I can't stop laughing while writing this.”
- “This game is hilarious.”
- “Now normally I wouldn't complain too much about the damsel in distress trope, overused though it may be, but the way this game goes about it is just stupid, to the point where I had to stop after the cutscene to finish laughing.”
- “Otherwise, it's not funny enough to warrant the normal price.”
- “Laughably bad in the most unfunny sort of way.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it atmospheric and enjoyable, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking excitement. Despite its shortcomings, the music is noted to provide a relaxing backdrop, even if it doesn't fully enhance the overall gaming experience. Overall, while the audio may not be groundbreaking, it contributes to the game's ambiance.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “On the plus side though, it's a decent stab at atmospheric music.”
- “The visuals are passable as is the audio, and I rather liked the music.”
- “The music and sound are repetitive; there is nothing exciting about it.”
- “I find it hard to believe one man did all the programming, music design, graphical design, and whatever else went into making this game, but if that is the case, it is impressive it reached a finished product.”
- “On the plus side though, there is a decent stab at atmospheric music.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay. Many encountered game-breaking issues, such as missing enemies and unresponsive mechanics, leading to frustration and an overall sense of an unfinished product.
- “The game has more bugs than the Amazon rainforest, as I encountered several glitches during my time with it.”
- “It's an unfinished, buggy, broken, dull, wannabe RPG.”
- “There is really only one good part of the game: the buggy mechanics.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's optimization is severely criticized, with users reporting widespread issues across controls, visuals, performance, and loading times. Many find the performance to be particularly poor, especially when all effects are enabled, leading to a frustrating experience overall.
- “Controls, visuals, performance, audio, gameplay, story, cinematics, loading times, menus, every damn thing in this game is broken by design.”
- “Furthermore, the textures and the performance of this game are just ridiculous.”
- “The performance is really poor, especially if you enable all the effects.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional impact of the game is mixed; while one player experienced physical discomfort and dizziness from the graphics, they also found a moment of genuine emotional resonance, shedding a tear over a plot twist involving disguised monsters. Overall, the game's shortcomings in gameplay and design overshadow its emotional moments.
- “When I heard that not only the gold, taxes, and weapons were being held by the monsters (spoilers: they are only in disguise), I shed a tear.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the initial level's grinding to be tedious, often requiring a walkthrough to navigate the item hunt effectively.
- “The first level is a tedious item hunt that you need a walkthrough to complete.”
- “Grinding feels like an endless chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
- “The repetitive tasks required to level up make the game feel more like a job than a fun experience.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by well-designed levels and rich character backgrounds, despite some graphical weaknesses. Additionally, the atmospheric music contributes positively to the overall experience.
- “Although the graphics are weak, the overall levels are well made and contribute significantly to the game's atmosphere.”
- “On the plus side, there's a decent attempt at creating atmospheric music.”
- “The characters and rich background really enhance the atmosphere of the game.”
- “Although the graphics are weak, the overall levels are well made and contribute to the game's atmosphere.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been noted for its lack of replayability, with users expressing that once completed, there is little incentive to revisit it.
- “The game lacks any meaningful choices, making replayability virtually nonexistent.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
- “The linear storyline and repetitive gameplay mechanics severely limit replayability.”