DragonStrike
- March 27, 2023
- Westwood Associates
Get on Steam"DragonStrike" is a dragon combat simulator set in the world of Ansalon during the War of the Lance. As a Solamnic Knight, you'll battle enemy dragons, ships, castles, and other flying creatures using dragonlances and magic items, while progressing through three orders of knighthood and over 20 missions. The game offers a first-person viewpoint to witness these epic dragon combat scenarios.
PC
Windows
Amiga
Commodore C64
Ms Dos
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of the original, with engaging dragon-riding mechanics and intense battles.
- Players can customize controls and enjoy a variety of dragon types, enhancing gameplay and replayability.
- The graphics, while dated, have a certain charm, and the game successfully captures the feeling of flying on a dragon.
- The controls are outdated and can be cumbersome, requiring significant remapping and adjustment to play effectively.
- The game lacks modern features such as proper resolution support and smooth performance on contemporary systems, making it feel like a cash grab.
- New players may find the steep learning curve and lack of checkpoints frustrating, especially given the game's age.
- story16 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The story unfolds through a series of challenging missions on a large map, where players progress by completing tasks and upgrading their dragon mounts at the cost of sacrificing items. The gameplay emphasizes strategy, with intense battles against increasingly difficult enemies, though the lack of checkpoints can lead to frustration. While the visual art is praised, the music's limited presence may encourage players to supplement it with their own fantasy soundtracks.
“You gain more hit points, you gain magic items (healing potions, protection cloaks, etc.), and once every few missions you can replace your dragon with a stronger one, but at the cost of sacrificing some items.”
“The VGA art for the missions is lovely, but the music only plays at the start of a mission and doesn't loop, so take it as an opportunity to whip out that D&D/fantasy OST playlist running in the background!”
“And there's no checkpoint system in the 5-10-minute long missions, so curb your frustrations.”
“You play through various missions, quite a lot of missions actually, on a large map, and your character progresses from one mission to the other.”
“It's more strategic but can still be tough as nails; when you choose to get a better dragon mount you will also get more difficult missions.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is limited, playing only at the start of missions without looping, which may lead players to seek out their own background playlists. While the VGA art for missions is praised, the overall audio variety is lacking.
“The VGA arts for the missions are lovely, but the music only plays at the start of a mission and doesn't loop, so take it as an opportunity to whip out that D&D/fantasy OST playlist running in the background!”
“Don't expect much variety in audio and music either, if at all.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy for this game has been criticized as a cash grab, with reviewers noting that its release as a DOSBox-emulated title on Steam feels low-effort, especially given its pricing.
“Adding it to Steam as a DOSBox-emulated game is frankly low-effort, and at this price point, it's a cash grab.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game suffers from poor optimization, running exclusively in DOSBox with a fixed VGA resolution and lacking support for modern display resolutions or aspect ratios. It has not been updated to function smoothly on contemporary gaming PCs, resulting in a subpar experience for players.
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through a free-for-all mode that unlocks after completing all scenarios, allowing players to customize battles by placing numerous enemies on the map and adjusting settings, leading to endless gameplay possibilities.
“When you finish all the scenarios, you get a free-for-all mode where you can place on the map as many enemies as you like to fight (up to 99, I think) at the same time and determine the settings, which is just wonderful and allows for infinite replayability.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics are notably dated, reflecting the game's 1990 origins, yet many players find a certain charm in them reminiscent of modern indie titles like Minecraft. Ultimately, the nostalgic visuals do not detract from the overall enjoyable gameplay experience.
“The graphics are very dated (obviously for a game created in 1990, that's 33 years ago!) but there is something charming to it, in the same way Minecraft is charming these days, and at the end you forget about it and just focus on the good gameplay.”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Despite its dated graphics, reminiscent of its 1990 release, the gameplay is engaging and enjoyable, allowing players to overlook visual shortcomings and appreciate the overall experience. The charm of the graphics adds a nostalgic quality that enhances the gameplay.
“The graphics are very dated (obviously for a game created in 1990, that's 33 years ago!) but there is something charming about it, similar to how Minecraft is charming these days. In the end, you forget about the graphics and just focus on the good gameplay.”
