Dead Age 2

About

Dead Age 2 is a single-player horror turn-based strategy game with an engaging story, good graphics, and an awesome soundtrack. The game offers a more complex story than its predecessor, with no need for prior knowledge. It also includes an improved combat system, a faction reputation system, and 3D base-management for a compact open world experience. However, the game is known for its high level of grinding and numerous bugs.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 363 reviews

story26 positive mentions

grinding30 negative mentions

Much improved from its predecessor with expanded RPG elements and depth.
Engaging turn-based combat with a variety of skills and character customization.
Interesting storylines with multiple factions and choices that affect gameplay.

Combat can become repetitive and tedious, especially with random encounters.
Some skills and abilities feel underwhelming or useless, leading to a lack of strategic depth.
Bugs and performance issues persist, affecting the overall experience.

story
195 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
81%
6%
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and filled with choices that impact gameplay, while others describe it as repetitive, lacking depth, and bogged down by tedious fetch quests. Many reviewers noted that the narrative could be more coherent and that character motivations often feel weak or non-existent, leading to a disjointed experience. Overall, while there are elements of intrigue and potential for a compelling storyline, the execution leaves much to be desired, with calls for improvements in quest design and character development.
- “The story is well done and decently written.”
- “The story and quests are horribly cringy with stupid and uninteresting dialogs.”
- “The story is more detailed, interesting with making alliances, and how your decisions could affect different outcomes.”
- “Your character has no sensible motivation: you go on quests because in video games you go on quests.”
- “Ultimately this game is an incoherent pile of medium tropes masquerading as a story, built on a foundation of unoriginal and poorly-communicated mechanics.”
- “The story is pretty bare bones at the moment, but again it is still in early access so more will come, including romance.”
gameplay
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
69%
12%
The gameplay has been described as addictive with engaging combat mechanics, though it suffers from repetitive and simplistic elements. While some players appreciate the variety of skills and the turn-based system, others criticize the lack of coherent NPC dialogue and poorly communicated mechanics, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers a mix of enjoyable combat and survival mechanics, but it requires further balancing and refinement to enhance the player experience.
- “Has a very addictive gameplay loop identical to This War of Mine but with far more engaging combat, and benefits immensely from future planning.”
- “The different skills you can deploy during combat add a variety to the gameplay and can be the difference between an easy or difficult fight or life and death.”
- “The graphics are a huge upgrade, the sound quality is just amazing, and the gameplay mechanics are spot on. A little tweaking here and there will get the job done.”
- “Ultimately, this game is an incoherent pile of medium tropes masquerading as a story, built on a foundation of unoriginal and poorly-communicated mechanics.”
- “Unbelievably boring gameplay!”
- “The game does an awful job communicating game mechanics and outcomes to the player.”
graphics
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
7%
The graphics in the game have received mixed reviews, with many noting significant improvements over its predecessor, particularly in character rendering and environmental detail. While some players find the 3D graphics dated, the 2D elements like the HUD and map are praised for their charm and quality. Overall, the graphics are considered acceptable to good, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some repetitive designs and minor performance issues.
- “The graphics are much improved over DA1.”
- “The locations are diverse and there is a lot of small detail in the graphical presentation, which liven up the whole experience.”
- “The graphics are a huge upgrade; the sound quality is just amazing and the gameplay mechanics are spot on.”
- “The only negative I can say about the game is while the in-game graphics are okay, the character portraits look absolutely horrible.”
- “The rooms in the base, even on tier 3, seriously lack aesthetics and are boring.”
- “The beauty of the background graphics and continual 'swaying' also adds a bit of a pain for my gameplay, even when I dialed it down to medium in the settings.”
grinding
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and repetitive, with players often stuck in a cycle of fetch quests, farming materials, and monotonous combat. While some find the grind addictive and enjoyable within the context of the zombie survival genre, many agree that it detracts from the overall experience, making gameplay feel slow and frustrating, especially during mid-game. Overall, the grinding can overshadow the game's narrative and mechanics, leading to a mixed reception.
- “It's simply too grindy and tedious to play.”
- “Grinding out supplies is horrifically tedious.”
- “You are going to be repeating the same stuff over and over, grinding through boring fights that all look and feel the same.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
24%
18%
The music in the game is widely praised for its fitting and enjoyable quality, enhancing the overall experience with a great soundtrack that complements various scenes and gameplay elements. Many players find it to be a standout feature, often describing it as enthralling and immersive, despite some mixed feelings about other aspects like dialogue and UI. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
- “The game is very fun and enjoyable, the music is awesome, and the developers are very involved!”
- “Everything has been improved from the first game and it's got a great soundtrack to boot.”
- “Plenty of tension done just right with resource gathering, base building, making sure there is food and water, base defenses are built and maintained etc. the music is also great with a gothic cowboy quality to its sound.”
- “The dialogue is a snoozefest and the music about put me to sleep.”
- “Combat strategy isn't very deep but has turned out to be a great background game while listening to new music.”
- “Biggest problem - bad UI, best thing - music.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and visual glitches that can disrupt gameplay. While some improvements have been noted since earlier versions, many players still experience frustrating issues, particularly in early access. Overall, the game remains in a "janky alpha" state, leading to a mixed reception regarding its stability.
- “Game is unfortunately still too buggy to date.”
- “The game is currently very buggy with numerous crashes, but the dev team seems to be responsive on the forums.”
- “1) 'janky alpha (tm)' state - a galore of bugs, glitches, crashes will make your experience frustrating to outright impossible due to interface disappearing, quests glitching out, memory leaks occurring all of a sudden, reducing performance to a slide show even on a top rig.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Overall, the game's replayability is enhanced by its learning process, procedural generation, and the impact of player decisions, allowing for multiple playthroughs with different factions and play styles. While some players feel it offers limited replay value after a successful run, many agree that it provides substantial entertainment, with 60 hours of gameplay being a worthwhile experience. However, opinions vary, with some reviewers suggesting that other titles in the series offer better replayability.
- “The learning process ensures some degree of replayability.”
- “Procedural generation and randomness add to the replayability.”
- “Replayability is strong, as the storyline requires multiple playthroughs to experience it all, and decisions matter.”
- “Replay value: none”
- “Overall, I wouldn't recommend this as I think DA1 is much better and more replayable.”
- “- not a huge replay value after a successful run but 60 hours of entertainment is definitely worth the price!”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game's optimization is currently a significant issue, with many players reporting performance problems, bugs, and glitches that hinder gameplay, especially at higher graphics settings. While some users find the game stable and enjoyable, the overall experience is marred by lag and resolution limitations, leading to frustration. As it is still in early access, there is hope for future improvements from the developers.
- “The game is stable, optimized, and oh did I mention fun.”
- “I will recommend this game in the future once the bugs and optimizations are done.”
- “I need to spend more time with the game, but I think that with some time, the developers will be able to boost performance and make the game more enjoyable.”
- “Game performance and optimization is bad (but this is common to most Unity games).”
- “At this stage, it's really early access. It has a bunch of performance issues such as lagging. Also, the max resolution isn't the best in this day and age; most screens are at least 1440. The story is decent and the gameplay is okay. I do like the whole base building. Keep up the good work, devs! Looking forward to seeing what you guys will add in the future.”
- “In a 'janky alpha' state, there is a galore of bugs, glitches, and crashes that will make your experience frustrating to outright impossible due to interface disappearing, quests glitching out, and memory leaks occurring all of a sudden, reducing performance to a slideshow even on a top rig.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some animations falling flat while others deliver genuinely funny moments, such as a humorous encounter involving a punk and his wives. Players have reported that the comedic elements can lead to memorable experiences, even prompting them to quit the game in laughter. Overall, the humor adds a unique charm, despite its inconsistent execution.
- “But after the update, I made it through 20 rounds of combat before laughing, quitting the game, and writing this review.”
- “There is even a really funny one where a punk sends all his wives at you.”
- “The animations are not great, although some of them are incredibly funny, so this is somewhere in between a pro and a con.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
Character development in the game is limited due to a small cast, but players appreciate the unique and distinct artwork of each character. Overall, the design and choices available contribute positively to the game's immersive experience.
- “Factions, base, open-world, choices, character development... all going great.”
- “Character development: there aren't many characters in this game, but I do love the artwork and I think they all look unique and different from one another.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The atmosphere of the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its immersive qualities, although some feel that other artistic elements are compromised to prioritize gameplay.
- “I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the game.”
- “This is a video game that prioritizes gameplay over all other artistic elements, resulting in a crude distortion of the plot, dialogue, player interaction, and atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, failing to immerse players in the game world.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere is flat and lacks any real sense of tension or engagement.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
Reviews indicate that the game lacks emotional depth, with many players finding the story to be unengaging and boring.
- “The story was incredibly boring and failed to evoke any emotional response.”
- “I found the narrative to be dull, lacking the depth needed to connect with the characters.”
- “The emotional impact was nonexistent; I felt detached from the entire experience.”