Din's Champion
- September 25, 2024
- Soldak Entertainment
- 260h median play time
Get on Steam"Din's Champion" is a side-scrolling action RPG set in the dynamic world of Aleria, where your choices and actions have real consequences. Monsters can form uprisings, start wars, and attack your town, while NPCs can get plagues, curses, and be killed. To survive, you'll need to explore, collect resources, slay monsters, build a town, improve your character, and craft items, all while dealing with the dangerous and ever-changing world around you. Survival is key in this living, evolving world.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game offers a vast array of classes and skills, allowing for limitless character builds and customization.
- The dynamic world and NPC interactions create a chaotic yet engaging gameplay experience, with meaningful choices and consequences.
- Soldak's commitment to community feedback and regular updates enhances the overall experience, making it a promising early access title.
- Graphics and UI elements feel dated, which may detract from the overall visual experience for some players.
- The game can become tedious with excessive grinding for materials and basic mechanics that may feel unrefined.
- Some players have reported performance issues and control difficulties, particularly during combat scenarios.
- gameplay14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a blend of familiar mechanics from previous titles and new elements, creating an emergent and chaotic experience where NPCs can engage in wars and enemies can rank up through kills. Players appreciate the Terraria-like aspects combined with RPG features, such as persistent towns and recruitable NPCs, which enhance the survival game experience. Overall, the gameplay loop is engaging, driven by objectives and a sense of randomness that keeps players invested.
“The beauty of this game is not the graphics, but many mechanics of the previous games interwoven with new ones.”
“It's an ARPG/Terraria hybrid with some very cool mechanics, with temporary worlds but persistent towns (which you create! They carry over each playthrough!), as well as NPCs you find to recruit, leveling them and equipping them with the items you find or craft.”
“Worlds can get out of hand quickly with NPCs warring and the nemesis mechanic, but individual enemies ranking up when they kill others is pure madness.”
“I liked their previous games, but this one just has too stupid of basic mechanics to deal with.”
“The gameplay loop after you're in the game is killing your nemesis assigned to you, and as with all Soldak games, chaos and randomness engulfs the game until you meet your objective.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered underwhelming, with a nostalgic old-school style that may not appeal to everyone. However, the cohesive design elements, including sound effects and music, contribute to an enjoyable experience, especially for those who appreciate the game's mechanics and indie charm. While some visuals and UI may feel dated, players can still find fun and challenge within the game.
“We have more old school style visuals than usual, and all of the game's design choices are incredibly cohesive with one another - the sound effects, the music, the visual effects, all of the visuals.”
“To give a brief but accurate description of what this game is: a Terraria roguelike RPG with HD graphics sprinkled with the unique Soldak sauce.”
“Graphics are 'meh' if that's something you care about.”
“Some visuals and UI are a bit dated, but once you 'get' it, you can have a lot of fun at exactly the challenge level you like.”
“The beauty of this game is not the graphics, but many mechanics of the previous games interwoven with new ones.”
- story4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's story is heavily influenced by procedural generation, resulting in unique playthroughs where quests and challenges arise randomly, creating a dynamic and engaging experience. Players face time-sensitive quests and threats from rival clans, leading to a sense of urgency as they work to protect their town and defeat nemeses. While the narrative may lack depth, the constant influx of quests keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting.
“This can mean they can team up with other clans and cause mini-bosses to start popping up, they can curse/poison your town causing a quest to get rid of it, they can send waves of enemies to your town and kill your NPCs if you're not properly fortified.”
“I usually don't recommend EA games, but given this game is about 99% random/procedural in nature, no play-through will be alike and you won't be spoiling yourself with story or lore or anything like that.”
“Quest after quest pile up, usually at the same time, with all of them having some degree of time sensitivity.”
“It's that slog that builds steam until I'm checking off quests until I defeat that nemesis.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is considered a work in progress, with users reporting performance issues, particularly on high-end setups like the RTX 3080 and 5900x. However, many have noted significant improvements following the 8.05 update, enhancing the overall experience despite some lingering rough edges.
“Still a little rough around the edges, and performance could be a lot better, but currently love the builds, theory crafting, and questing.”
“I have some performance issues as well on an RTX 3080 / 5900X setup (edit: performance significantly improved with the 8.05 update).”
“I have some performance issues as well on an RTX 3080 / 5900X setup (edit: performance significantly improved with the 8.05 update).”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its cohesive integration with the overall design, complementing the old school style visuals and sound effects effectively. This harmonious blend enhances the overall gaming experience.
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players feel that the grinding required to gather materials for equipment is excessive, leading to a frustrating experience.
“There is way too much grinding required to gather materials for equipment.”
“The amount of grinding needed to progress is exhausting and feels unnecessary.”
“I find the grinding for resources to be tedious and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players highlight the game's extensive content and diverse RPG classes as key factors contributing to its high replayability, encouraging multiple playthroughs to explore different character builds and experiences.
“There's a lot of content, and the many RPG classes make it very replayable.”
“The game offers multiple endings and choices that encourage you to play through it again.”
“With various character builds and strategies, each playthrough feels fresh and exciting.”
