Dragon Marked For Death
- April 21, 2020
- INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
- 60h median play time
An Exercise in apathy, neither solid nor liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit 'meh,' really.
Get on Steam"Dragon Marked for Death" is a 2D side-scrolling action RPG where players assume the role of revenge-seeking Dragonblood Clan survivors. Players can choose from six characters, each with unique abilities, and embark on quests to increase their status and alter the game's outcome. Quest objectives vary, including combat, protection, rescue, and exploration, providing diverse gameplay experiences.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- Extremely unique class mechanics that offer varied gameplay experiences.
- Fun co-op gameplay that enhances the overall experience, especially with friends.
- Smooth controls and engaging combat reminiscent of classic action platformers.
- Repetitive level design and enemy variety that can lead to boredom over time.
- Online matchmaking is often empty, making it difficult to find players for co-op.
- Grindy progression system that may deter players looking for a more streamlined experience.
- story219 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story in "Dragon: Marked for Death" revolves around the dragonblood clan's quest for revenge against the Medius Empire after their village is destroyed, featuring a somewhat cliché plot that lacks depth and memorable characters. While the world-building is intriguing, the narrative often feels secondary to the gameplay, with many missions requiring repetitive grinding and lacking clear direction. Overall, the story serves as a basic framework for the action-oriented gameplay rather than a compelling narrative experience.
“The story follows the Dragonblood clan, a group of people aligned with a dead dragon known as the Atruum, as they tussle with the Medius Empire and its self-righteous ideals.”
“When the empire burns down your character’s village, they form a pact with the dragon Atruum and acquire his powers – which manifest in different ways, depending on which character class you’re playing – and embark on a quest to get revenge on the divine family that runs the empire.”
“The story is okay - nothing award-winning, but a pretty good vehicle for the gameplay.”
“The story is uninspired and shares a lot of the same story beats from other original Inti games.”
“The story was very hit and miss, more miss than hit actually.”
“You should not buy this game if you expect a deep story or conversations.”
- gameplay96 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dragon Marked for Death" is characterized by its unique class mechanics and character diversity, offering a blend of action-platforming and RPG elements reminiscent of the Mega Man series. While many players appreciate the engaging combat and cooperative play, criticisms arise regarding repetitive level design, grindy progression, and a lack of depth in some character mechanics, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its flaws, the game can be enjoyable, particularly in multiplayer settings, for those who appreciate a satisfying grind and exploration of character abilities.
“The gameplay of each character is hit-or-miss.”
“The different characters play very differently, the artwork is fantastic and the gameplay is fun.”
“Gameplay reminds of Mega Man Zero, with tight movement and stage navigation.”
“Given the high standard of gameplay that Inti Creates has shown in many other titles it’s released over the last several years, it’s hard not to be disappointed by Dragon: Marked for Death.”
“The systems are poorly explained and many mechanics are hard to wrap your head around.”
“There is a lack of content, padded out by time-wasting mechanics and frustrating stage design.”
- grinding64 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the limited variety of enemies and objectives. While some enjoy the challenge and the RPG elements that come with grinding for gear and levels, others feel that the grind detracts from the overall experience, making it feel unnecessarily prolonged and frustrating. Overall, the enjoyment of grinding seems to depend heavily on personal preference, with fans of grind-heavy games likely to appreciate the depth it offers, while others may find it a chore.
“In a word, the combat is uninteresting, and the speed at which it goes from being tolerable to tedious is disappointing, to say the least.”
“Extremely grindy with barely any variety in combat: 6 different enemies for the entire game, extremely grindy for the same weapons with different stats.”
“I really adore the game but unfortunately it has an abysmal amount of enemies (only a total of 12 enemies in the entire game) and the post-game grind is incredibly tedious due to lack of variety of what you have to do to grind.”
- music31 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its orchestral quality and catchy themes that enhance the gameplay experience, particularly during boss fights. However, a common criticism is the lack of sound options, which limits players' ability to adjust the music volume or mute it, leading to some repetitiveness during extended play sessions. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, its impact is somewhat diminished by the absence of customizable audio settings.
“The music is superb, and it helps build up the hype especially on boss fights.”
“The music is Inti Creates' first full orchestra soundtrack, and it was used to great effect.”
“Soundtrack is catchy with stage-specific themes.”
“No music/sound controls at all.”
“There are virtually no sound options, so you can't mute just the music or voices.”
“My biggest gripe with this game is the lack of a BGM/SFX slider; the inability to turn the game's music down and listen to your own music while grinding the same stage for the sixtieth time is pretty insufferable.”
- graphics29 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many praising the beautiful pixel art and character designs, particularly highlighting the work of artist Toru Nakayama. While some players appreciate the aesthetic charm and vibrant visuals reminiscent of classic titles like Mega Man Zero, others note that the graphics could be improved and criticize the reuse of assets. Overall, the artwork is considered a standout feature, contributing to the game's appeal despite some technical issues.
“As expected of the Mega Man Zero developer, the game looks great with its pixel art style.”
“The artwork is fantastic and the gameplay is fun.”
“Inti Creates' beautiful artwork and sprite work never fails to impress.”
“No graphics/detail controls at all.”
“I felt the game could have been made much better by improving graphics.”
“Graphic quality is awful.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the variety offered by different classes and increasing quest difficulties, others find the content repetitive and lacking in new challenges. The ability to grind for better gear and levels adds some replay value, but many feel that the game needs additional content and updates to enhance the experience further.
“This game has a good amount of replay value.”
“Classes feel very different and lend well to replay value.”
“There is quite a lot of replayability with it, even with the higher difficulty versions of the quests way past the game's final level bracket.”
“Replayability is done through increasing the quest level to grind for better gear and levels; enemies and bosses get statistically stronger, but everything else stays the same.”
“Replayability is non-existent.”
“The game desperately needs a major update that adds 1 or 2 more abilities for the entire playable cast (that is not conditioned to a weapon type) to give players more options but keeping the game just as challenging as before, 5 enemies sprinkled throughout the game to reduce repetitiveness, and a change that makes post-game activities less repetitive content-wise.”
- character development5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
While the character designs and animations are praised for their appeal and fluidity, the overall character development is criticized for lacking depth and customization, as the game seems to prioritize style over storytelling and meaningful progression. Longtime fans appreciate the consistency in design but feel that the narrative and character growth are neglected in favor of visual aesthetics.
“The individual character designs are still great, with the animation being incredibly fluid, despite running at effectively the same resolution as the old Zero games.”
“Fun character designs, online co-op, dragons, juicy attacks and abilities, D&D style stat management, absolutely worth the money.”
“So I'm a long-term Inti fan from the first Mega Man Zero; I love the studio's character designs, sprite work, and how they've stayed consistent over the years.”
“They put so much effort into the style, they forgot the story, character development, and customization.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
“I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the characters; they seem one-dimensional and uninspired.”
- stability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by various bugs, particularly in co-op mode and with certain character abilities, leading to crashes and an unstable framerate. While it performs well on Linux, the online experience is notably poor, detracting from overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, the game is praised for its visuals, sound, and controls.
“There is co-op, but it was a little buggy with the blue guy's movement powers.”
“Bandit is buggy and can crash your game, but does good damage and has good evasion.”
“A beautifully looking and sounding sidescroller RPG with excellent controls and easy to understand mechanics, married to an unstable framerate, incredibly irritating elemental attacks, and buggy online co-op that severely hampers the long-standing enjoyment.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd situations and comedic moments, particularly during boss fights that can become amusingly drawn-out due to their damage sponging. Players report experiencing laughter and joy during gameplay, especially in second playthroughs where unexpected scenarios arise.
“Funny shinobi dragon kick go brrrr.”
“Bosses are even worse with the damage sponging; in the early stages of our run as the empress, some fights took a little over ten minutes as we chipped away at the otherwise easily defeated boss at an almost hilariously slow pace.”
“My second playthrough with Oracle yielded many hilarious situations that made us either laugh or smile with tears.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally stable, particularly for multiplayer sessions across regions. However, there are notable issues with the scaling of support class skills, particularly for the witch and oracle, which detracts from the experience. Despite these shortcomings, players can mitigate some frustrations by earning back time through mission performance.
“+4 player co-op with stable performance from America to Europe.”
“You earn back time from completing missions based on your performance, so it's not a hard hour.”
“The scaling for the support class skills is badly optimized; this is especially true for the witch's stat buff and most of the oracle's buffs.”
“However, you earn back time from completing missions (based on your performance), so it's not a hard hour.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartfelt revenge story and strong visuals, though some players find the late-game design frustrating, as touching enemies can lead to instant death. Overall, the narrative and visuals evoke a strong emotional response, despite gameplay mechanics that may detract from the experience.
“Grab a copy for yourself and a friend (or three) and bust some holy knights down a peg with the power of a satanic dragon in a heartfelt revenge story!”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is reminiscent of the Mega Man Zero and ZX series, with a similar art style and gameplay that evoke a nostalgic feel.
“The game reminds me of the Mega Man Zero/Zx series immediately: the art style, the gameplay, the atmosphere.”
