Darklands
- October 17, 2014
- MPS Labs
- 70h median play time
Get on Steam"Darklands" is a single-player historical role-playing game set in medieval Germany. The game offers a good plot and immersive experience, taking approximately 70 hours to complete. As a leader of a four-member party, you'll embark on heroic adventures, fighting robber-knights, using potions, and relying on blessings in intense battles. Explore, strategize, and overcome challenges in this realistic fantasy role-playing adventure.
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Reviews
- Darklands offers a unique and immersive RPG experience set in a historically accurate medieval Germany, with a complex character creation system and a vast open world to explore.
- The game features a deep and engaging combat system, along with a variety of quests and encounters that allow for multiple playstyles and strategies.
- Despite its age, Darklands remains a beloved classic among RPG fans, praised for its ambitious design and the nostalgic value it holds for those who played it in the 90s.
- The graphics and user interface are severely outdated, making it difficult for modern players to appreciate the game without a strong sense of nostalgia.
- The game has a steep learning curve, requiring players to read the extensive manual and often leading to frustration due to its lack of guidance and punishing mechanics.
- Technical issues such as bugs, crashes, and cumbersome controls can detract from the overall experience, making it less accessible for new players.
- graphics57 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as outdated, reflecting its 1992 release, with many users noting their primitive quality and clunky interface. However, despite these shortcomings, the beautiful hand-drawn artwork and nostalgic charm resonate with players who appreciate the game's depth and gameplay over visual appeal. Overall, while the graphics may deter some, those who can overlook them often find a richly detailed and immersive experience.
“The watercolor artwork is fantastic and the character generation is 20 years ahead of its time.”
“It has detailed locations and text-based descriptions, accompanied by beautiful early graphics; depicting places such as churches, town squares, and taverns.”
“The graphics are incredibly dated, but somehow it makes me feel so nostalgic.”
“Just to get this out of the way, in terms of graphics the game hasn't aged well.”
“The controls are a pain to figure out, the graphics went past dated and right into painful to look at, and I have to read everything twice to make sure I got it.”
- story36 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is rich and complex, set in a detailed 15th-century German environment, but it lacks a quest tracking system, requiring players to keep notes on their missions. While the narrative builds intensity over time, players may experience repetition and a non-linear structure that allows for unique character development and exploration. Despite some criticisms regarding the absence of a cohesive storyline, the writing is praised for its depth, and the game offers a variety of quests that contribute to character reputation and skill advancement.
“However, the writing is amazing, the story itself is biblical, and rather than magic, you have the skill of alchemy (why throw a fireball when you can throw the precursor of a molotov cocktail at a bunch of bandits?), and the power of prayer (need some extra skill in picking a pocket or a lock? why not a prayer to the patron saint of thieves - Saint Nicholas?).”
“Bottom line, this is an excellent first-generation sandbox RPG with a great storyline that takes you right into the heart of 15th century Christian Germania and will teach you a lot about HRE politics, economics, socio-political structure, and the concept of what truly is good and what is evil.”
“A subtle and mysterious story, which requires the party to pay attention to small details, investigate, intrigue, and fight their way through.”
“There is no quest log, so you have to write down any offers you accepted, like quests and tasks.”
“There is no story, but rather a quest to gain fame and fortune, kind of like Mount & Blade.”
“After you've spent some time in your party's starting city killing bandits and building up their reputation and skills, you're ready to head out into the wide-open world of medieval Germany, which isn't really a world, it's just a country, and pick any random direction and begin traveling, fighting bandits, raubritters (robber knights), and witches and devils left, right, and center, with hardly any story.”
- gameplay25 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Darklands is characterized by its innovative mechanics, including a unique character creation system and semi-real-time tactical combat, which offer a captivating experience despite dated graphics and occasional bugs. While some players find the gameplay immersive and rich in detail, others note issues like repetition and slow pacing. Overall, it appeals to those who prioritize gameplay depth and mechanics over visual presentation, providing many hours of engaging content for dedicated players.
“Sure the graphics are dated and the sound is 8-bit, but the art is beautiful and the gameplay captivating.”
“Darklands was a game ahead of its time in many ways, with an innovative character creation system, a vast, detailed historic setting to explore, and even some fresh gameplay elements like semi-real-time tactical combat.”
“Complex environment for its time, richness of details, interesting game mechanics, a surprisingly high level of character customization, rich story.”
“If you think you'd like a semi-historical RPG that's part text-based, part overworld traveling with really janky battle mechanics, give it a shot!”
“The graphics are dated now, and the gameplay is unforgiving; but in the early-mid nineties, Darklands consumed so much of my time and focus because it is so richly detailed, and the story is both enormously open and dazzlingly focused.”
“From poor controls to extremely slow gameplay, this is not a fun walk down memory lane.”
- music15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its ability to enhance the atmosphere and signal upcoming events, while others find it irritating or lacking in variety. Despite its MIDI format and limited quantity, the soundtrack is considered a highlight by some, evoking nostalgia and contributing to the overall experience. However, there are complaints about missing audio in the intro and the overall quality of the sound design.
“This game is worth it for the soundtrack alone.”
“For example, if you're near a dragon's lair, the music becomes creepy and ominous.”
“In towns, the music gives off a sense of peace.”
“A DOS game with the irritating music and the painful graphics of the first ages.”
“[*] The music will make your ears bleed; turn it off.”
“This great game probably is not for everyone - tons of text to read, graphics resolution worse than today's mobile, no quest management system, barely any music and sound.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is noted for its ambition and RPG depth, though it can become repetitive and tedious, especially at the start. While some players may find the grinding overwhelming, others appreciate the immersive gameplay and nostalgic challenge it offers, despite its dated graphics. Overall, the experience varies significantly depending on player expectations and tolerance for repetition.
“It's quite ambitious in the amount of ground it tries to cover, but the underlying design is pure RPG goodness, even if it gets repetitive with copious amounts of grinding.”
“To be honest, there's a lot of repetition, grinding, and occasionally overpowered enemies... but, for the subset of players who want immersive and well thought out gameplay, Darklands offers something that, as far as I know, has yet to be fully duplicated.”
“The game can be grindy at times and the graphics are pretty poor, though that's down to the game being released in 1992.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is noted for its complexity and depth, drawing comparisons to Chaosium's system and setting a high standard akin to Darklands. Players appreciate the opportunities for exploration, battles, and the overarching goal of building a legacy, which enhances the overall experience.
“Darklands set my personal standard of character development, offering opportunities to explore, engage in battles, and ensure survival.”
“Character development: you have one real goal in the game, to build a legacy.”
“Character development is somewhat similar to Chaosium's system.”
“Classic RPG with complex character development.”
“Character development: you have one real goal in the game, build a legacy.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being poorly handled in its port to Steam, resulting in numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate its classic design, the outdated code from 1992 contributes to a frustratingly unstable gameplay experience.
“This port wasn't handled well, and the game on Steam is too buggy to enjoy.”
“Not just that this is from 1992 and not forgiving of mistakes, but the code is from 1992 and buggy.”
“Ahhh, the broken, buggy, and yet masterfully crafted game I love.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that character creation can be time-consuming, and players emphasize the importance of optimization to avoid being easily defeated by enemies. Overall, a well-optimized party is crucial for success in the game.
“Character creation takes a long time, and there's a good chance your party gets turned into dog food by a group of local thugs if your party isn't optimized.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers suggest that while the game's emotional impact could be enhanced through updates to sound, music, graphics, and interface, the core emotional experience remains strong and engaging.
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd scenarios, such as the option to accuse village leaders of satanic practices, which can lead to unexpectedly true or false outcomes, adding a layer of comedic unpredictability.
“One hilarious aspect was walking into a village and having the option to accuse the town leaders of satanic practices, which in some cases could turn out to be true or not.”
“The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud, especially when the characters would make self-referential jokes about their own quests.”
“I loved the quirky humor sprinkled throughout the game, like when my character accidentally set off a chain reaction of ridiculous events just by trying to help a villager.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its blend of historical and fantasy elements, contributing to an immersive experience that enhances the open-world exploration and quest-solving. Players appreciate the overall ambiance, which complements the extensive customization options and replayability.
“This game is awesome for its customization options, free open world roaming, character skills, different ways to solve quests, historical and fantasy setting, replayability, and good atmosphere overall.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability due to its extensive customization options, open-world exploration, diverse character skills, and multiple quest-solving approaches, all set within a captivating historical and fantasy environment.
“This game is awesome for its customization options, free open world roaming, character skills, different ways to solve quests, historical and fantasy setting, replayability, and good atmosphere overall.”
