DashBored

About DashBored

DashBored is a single player tactical role playing game. It was developed by Karbonic and was released on June 13, 2016. It received positive reviews from players.

Enter a bizarre and idiosyncratic world! Adventure into the unknown, and defeat horrid monsters! A story of Love, Loss, and the end of the Multiverse.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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Reviews

84%Audience ScoreBased on 172 reviews

story35 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

Engaging and memorable story with a unique blend of comedy, angst, and horror that resonates emotionally with players.
Well-developed, quirky, and lovable characters that players become attached to; dynamic interactions and diverse party members add depth.
Outstanding soundtrack and sound design that effectively sets the game's tone and atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.

Combat system tends to be easy and imbalanced, with some skills overpowering others and limited challenge in most encounters.
Navigation and level design can be confusing or tedious at times, with some areas feeling like a slog and lack of clear direction.
Technical issues such as missable content requiring multiple playthroughs, some bugs, awkward controls, and no quick save feature detract from the experience.

story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46% positive mentions, 49% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions
The story of Dashbored is praised for its unique, quirky, and emotionally resonant narrative with memorable characters and a blend of humor, horror, and sadness. While some find the plot intriguing and layered, requiring multiple playthroughs to fully grasp, others note it can feel disjointed or rushed, with certain characters underdeveloped. Overall, the story is considered a strong, engaging highlight of the game that rewards player exploration and interpretation despite occasional pacing and clarity issues.
- “The locations are fun, the story is definitely memorable and worth experiencing, and most of all the characters are so fun.”
- “I don't usually enjoy story games with lots of dialogue, but I sat through all of it in this one because I wanted to hear what the characters had to say!”
- “I wholeheartedly loved it for its story and unique atmosphere.”
- “The only problem is the story: it's poorly explained and has a lot of gaps in it, which is frustrating because there's potential for something bigger, lore-wise.”
- “But by far my biggest problem is that this game's story seems to be held on by tissue paper, I could not get myself involved in it whatsoever which saddened me.”
- “The characters are reasonably balanced between relatively sane and absolutely nuts, there's decent humor, but if you're looking for a coherent story, you won't really find it here.”
music
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46% positive mentions, 45% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions
The game's soundtrack is widely praised as a standout feature, described as catchy, memorable, atmospheric, and integral in setting the tone for various areas and scenes. Many reviewers highlight its high quality, retro charm, and emotional impact, often comparing it favorably to titles like *Lisa: The Painful*. Despite occasional technical issues with music looping or pitch, the music greatly enhances the overall experience and is a key reason players remain engaged.
- “Where the game really shines is the soundtrack, and it's incredible writing.”
- “And the music that plays in all of the areas of the game are not only fitting, but they're so good and memorable, and they really help to set the tone and vibe of each area and cutscene.”
- “There's been points where I've gone back to an area just so I could hear the music again for a little longer, that's how good it is.”
- “Yeah the OST and characters are fine, but I just despise the amount of empty space you have to traverse from point A to point B, with so many secrets strewn about that you have to do multiple playthroughs or go ♥♥♥♥ yourself.”
- “That said, there are times where the music isn't optimized, at times restarting because it's slightly pitched lower or higher, which is an inherent flaw in the engine, so I can forgive that.”
- “The music is short loops but it bops; gas brake pedal, ice band (fight mix), and [spoiler]infamous dayz[/spoiler] are standout tracks to check out if you want to dig through the files.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27% positive mentions, 61% neutral mentions, 12% negative mentions
The gameplay is a straightforward RPG Maker experience featuring exploration, puzzle-solving, and turn-based combat with timing-based critical hits, which adds some depth to battles. While some find the mechanics and level design occasionally monotonous or simplistic compared to other indie titles, the unique day-changing system and atmospheric worldbuilding offer a refreshing twist. Overall, the gameplay is enjoyable and complements the story, though it's not particularly innovative or challenging.
- “There is great value to have in this game in both the story and the gameplay, and it sure is worth your time.”
- “The gameplay is very straightforward, you have a lot of areas to run around and explore, you have different days that change the map and location of items and other characters, and if you ever played Lisa: The Joyful, you're probably going to be very familiar with the mechanic of timing your hits to get a critical hit, which is very important to the combat of this game, especially during boss fights.”
- “I really liked this game, the day system is a really powerful mechanic that should be implemented in many adventure games to make them more unique and not get stale with the same environment being different every day.”
- “While the gameplay mechanics are kind of run-of-the-mill (some indie titles did it better in the mechanic department, for you can cheese many encounters with stun-skills for example) and the level design feels monotonous at times.”
- “The RPG mechanic is broken, the story doesn't make sense, and the main character is the cliche no-good with a twist.”
- “Gameplay: the gameplay of Dashbored is nothing to write home about.”
humor
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by dry, sarcastic, and often goofy dialogue that complements its quirky characters and surprising moments. While the tone shifts between funny, emotional, and sometimes dark, the humor effectively fosters strong character attachment and provides levity amidst deeper themes. Overall, players appreciate the witty interactions, hidden jokes, and charm that make the experience both entertaining and heartfelt.
- “The game's sense of dry and sometimes sarcastic humor is quite fun at times, and I found myself getting attached to these characters before I even knew it.”
- “At every moment in the game, it keeps hitting with you left and right with surprises, funny dialogue, great character interactions, and some genuinely heartwrenching moments that make you genuinely worried for these characters and their world.”
- “The characters are likeable and banter between them is absolutely hilarious!”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their unique, surreal, and custom pixel-art style, drawing positive comparisons to classics like Earthbound, and effectively complementing the game's quirky tone and setting. While some users note the visuals as amateurish or crude, ongoing updates and improvements by the creator demonstrate care and enhance the experience. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong element that supports the game's aesthetic and atmosphere.
- “To be honest, I didn't expect this to be an RPG Maker game at all; most (if not all) graphics are customized with bizarre-looking environments and lovely characters.”
- “The creator seems to still be updating it and improving graphics which is always a nice thing to see and shows that they really do care about what they made.”
- “The original graphics are very nice, very surreal nonsense.”
- “Game is basically unplayable with a controller, the graphics are crude (even for being pixel-style), the in-game text seems poorly translated to English, and the game just doesn't play like any care went into making it.”
- “Graphically, Dashbored is amateurish but its cartoony style works with its snarky, vulgar cast and offbeat absurd plot.”
- “The visuals are ok.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 90% negative mentions
Grinding in the game is minimal overall, with only some early sections potentially requiring it to gain useful skills before the first boss. Players can generally progress without extensive leveling, as the game balances challenge and rewards well, allowing for straightforward completion without tedious grinding.
- “There's a bit of early game hell where you only control your main character, and without the ability to save before the first boss, if you didn't do a bit of grinding for useful skills, you will start over from the beginning.”
- “So sometimes you want to delay bosses until you've more party members aboard, and you can't really experiment that much with the party members without additional grinding/leveling.”
- “You can sprint, but still, at some places it feels a bit pointless and tedious to follow all these labyrinthine corridors.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for being immersive, unique, and deeply engaging, effectively complementing its story and worldbuilding. While gameplay and level design may feel repetitive or conventional, the strong atmosphere stands out as a key strength that draws players into the experience.
- “While not the best for those who aren't used to RPG Maker games (I admit the amount of combat encounters when just walking around can be absurd, especially at first), I think that the story, music, and atmosphere of this game are all amazing.”
- “Despite its flaws, I've felt myself become absolutely engrossed in Dashbored's world and atmosphere.”
- “While the gameplay mechanics are kind of run-of-the-mill (some indie titles did it better in the mechanic department, for you can cheese many encounters with stun-skills for example) and the level design feels monotonous at times, it is still a unique and refreshing experience in terms of atmosphere and worldbuilding!”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game delivers a rich emotional experience, blending humor, heartfelt character interactions, and genuine moments of tension that deeply engage players. Its nuanced lore and surprising narrative twists evoke both intellectual stimulation and sincere emotional investment, especially highlighting touching relationships like that of Alex and Nash. Overall, it balances funny and emotional tones effectively, creating a memorable and heartfelt journey.
- “At every moment in the game, it surprises you with funny dialogue, great character interactions, and genuinely heartwrenching moments that make you genuinely worried for these characters and their world.”
- “Alex and Nash's relationship, especially what Nash was put through, is sincerely heartbreaking.”
- “Even still, the lore I sifted through, with subtle hints that made me feel like a conspiracy theorist piecing it all together, was invigorating.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Users find the game's replayability strong, making its total playtime difficult to quantify due to the engaging content that encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “Length and replayability.”
- “It's kinda hard to measure this game's playtime because of its replayability value.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game experiences frequent stability issues, particularly with numerous glitches occurring in the driving maps, which hinder smooth gameplay.
- “There are too many glitches in the driving map.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game’s optimization has some flaws, particularly with audio issues such as music pitch glitches that occasionally cause restarts, which stem from inherent engine limitations. However, these problems are generally minor and somewhat forgivable.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Users appreciate the original and visually appealing character designs, highlighting that the fight animations enhance their connection and affection for the characters.