DarkEnd

About

Can you conquer the ever changing dungeons of DarkEnd and save the fall of humanity? Choose your heroes and venture into a world filled with numerous treasures, mysterious secrets and discover a haunting past in this 10+ hours of retro 2D Dungeon-Crawling!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 26 reviews

story12 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The character selection and unique storylines for each character add depth and replayability to the game.
The game features challenging boss battles that require strategic thinking, making combat engaging.
Custom artwork enhances the overall experience, providing a visually appealing touch to the RPG Maker aesthetic.

The game suffers from excessive RNG, leading to frustrating and unbalanced gameplay experiences.
There are numerous grammatical errors and awkward dialogue that detract from the overall immersion.
The traditional RPG Maker gameplay feels outdated and can lead to boredom, especially for players seeking more innovative mechanics.

story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
53%
9%
The story in "Darkend" is described as simple yet engaging, with players intrigued by the unique storylines of the four primary characters and the complex, detective-like narrative that unfolds. While some find the plot cliche and occasionally convoluted, the presence of plot twists and lore adds depth, making it a satisfying experience despite its shortcomings. Overall, the game prioritizes gameplay over a revolutionary story, leading to mixed reviews on its narrative quality.
- “The story is simple yet satisfying enough to make me want to find out more about my character and the tragic event that befalls his past.”
- “In Darkend, you can play as one of four different primary characters, and each of these characters has a very unique and intriguing storyline.”
- “Playing this game is like reading a detective novel for me, and each stage of the game gives me a better glimpse of the story.”
- “The storyline is quite complex and convoluted, and you normally would not know who is good or bad until the very end.”
- “The story is nothing revolutionary.”
- “Light on story but rather focused on gameplay.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The graphics in the game are typical of RPG Maker titles, featuring generic visuals but enhanced by high-quality custom artwork that adds personality and charm. Players appreciate the unique illustrations and small scenes that contribute to character immersion, despite the overall familiar aesthetic.
- “I do like the custom artwork; it adds a nice touch to get a better feel for your character, and the little scenes on the gems made me smile. I'm sure they will lead to other things as I progress further in the game.”
- “The graphics are generic RPG Maker as far as I can tell, but the drawings are very good.”
- “Graphically, the game is exactly what you can expect from RPG Maker games out there.”
- “(No, those screenshots are not battle conversation artwork, but appear in every single battle.)”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay is characterized by traditional RPG Maker mechanics, featuring predictable combat and frequent poison effects, which some players find repetitive. While the focus is primarily on gameplay rather than story, the lack of unpredictability in combat may detract from the overall experience.
- “The gameplay spams poison a lot, and I can pretty much predict when my character is going to hit or miss. I don't know if this is the generic combat system for RPG Maker or a revamped coding, but I wish it was a little less predictable.”
- “The game has very traditional RPG Maker gameplay.”
- “Light on story but rather focused on gameplay.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers significant replayability through features like random dungeons and a New Game Plus mode, allowing players to choose different starting characters after completing the game. Many users recommend picking it up, especially if found on sale.
- “The random dungeon feature is entertaining and gives great replayability.”
- “There is a lot of replayability because when you finish the game, you can play New Game Plus and select a different starting character.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is poorly designed, featuring repetitive maps, simplistic skill sets, and counterintuitive progression systems. Players express frustration with unreasonable difficulty spikes and the necessity to hoard consumables, leading to a tedious and unenjoyable experience. Overall, the grinding mechanics are seen as a significant detractor from the game's value.
- “The people that recommended this game must be masochists that enjoy terribly designed repeating pseudo-random maps, one-dimensional skill sets, counterintuitive skill upgrading and selection, forced consumable item hoarding due to early and constant poisoning, unreasonable difficulty curves, lazy dialogue, canned lore, level grinding, and a $15 MSRP to boot.”