Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey

71%
Game Brain Score Based on 172 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey Game Cover
A brilliantly written story and outstanding voice acting. Perfect for a casual weekend play on the XBOX One
Starting at $18.99Buy now
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In Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey, players enter a supernatural Victorian London, where they must solve a series of grisly murders. As Arthurian legends Du Lac and Fey, they'll uncover a dark conspiracy involving the city's forgotten fey creatures. The game combines adventure gameplay with rhythm-based combat, testing both wits and coordination.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

71%
Audience ScoreBased on 172 reviews
story115 positive mentions
gameplay12 negative mentions
  • Engaging story with a unique blend of Arthurian legend and Jack the Ripper lore.
  • Outstanding voice acting and character development that brings the narrative to life.
  • Beautiful art style and atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
  • Clunky controls and painfully slow movement make navigation frustrating.
  • Technical issues, including bugs and a lack of manual save options, detract from gameplay.
  • The game feels unfinished, with many elements underdeveloped and a linear story that limits player agency.
  • story280 mentions

    The game's story is a unique blend of the Jack the Ripper legend and Arthurian lore, featuring engaging characters and strong voice acting that enhance the overall atmosphere. While the narrative is compelling and beautifully crafted, it suffers from linearity and pacing issues, with choices that often feel inconsequential to the main plot. Despite some technical flaws and a convoluted presentation, many players found the story captivating enough to overlook these shortcomings, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven games.

    • “I'm fascinated with the Jack the Ripper legend and I'm always happy to see any new takes on the story, and this one has a very different take on the whole affair.”
    • “The story is well written, bringing threads of Jack the Ripper and the King Arthur legend together in an interesting way that keeps you guessing.”
    • “A brilliantly written story and outstanding voice acting.”
    • “However, as the game goes on, the story increasingly loses its quality and focus.”
    • “The big 'reveal' is lost in a convoluted mix of unexplored backstory, loose ends, and poor dialogue cohesion.”
    • “The story is linear and the illusion of choice is there - the 'choices' you make do not significantly matter in a way that could affect the story or ending.”
  • graphics59 mentions

    The graphics of the game feature a blend of 3D models and hand-drawn 2D art, which some players find aesthetically pleasing, while others note inconsistencies and a lack of polish that detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals are complemented by strong voice acting and an engaging story, the contrast between the 3D characters and 2D backgrounds can feel jarring at times. Overall, the art style is appreciated, but technical issues and a rushed appearance are common criticisms.

    • “Beautifully crafted, amazing characters (and voice acting!), plot and visuals (very pretty).”
    • “The art style was beautiful, from the 3D models to the 2D models, the backgrounds, the voices, the sounds.”
    • “Visuals are a beautiful blend of 2D backgrounds and 3D characters and objects.”
    • “A fantastic premise which is hugely let down by a hastily put together and confusing structure, unpolished graphics and poorly implemented mechanics.”
    • “It doesn't detract from the game too much and graphics aren't what I look for with adventure games, but it does look a little out of place at times.”
    • “[there's only a small area to explore and it features repetitive tasks, hodgepodge graphics and poor controls, doesn't include much actual gameplay]”
  • gameplay51 mentions

    The gameplay has been widely criticized for its stiffness, cumbersome controls, and frequent glitches, detracting from the overall experience. Many players found the mechanics unpolished and frustrating, particularly in movement and interaction, which often felt unnatural and hindered immersion. While the story and animations received praise, the simplistic and linear gameplay, lacking in puzzles and depth, left many feeling disappointed and wishing for a more refined experience.

    • “The gameplay isn't difficult and it's not a classic point and click game with puzzles, but the story and quality of the animations make it really worth it.”
    • “The gameplay is simple, but complements the story well, and allows the setting and plot to keep center stage.”
    • “Gameplay is really about making choices with a smattering of click-at-the-right-moment episodes (easy) and a mix of potions or two.”
    • “The gameplay is stiff and cumbersome both on the PS5 and Steam, with everything moving very slowly even on a high-end desktop. Some hot spots do not activate properly, and the potion brewing minigame is unpleasant.”
    • “A fantastic premise which is hugely let down by a hastily put together and confusing structure, unpolished graphics, and poorly implemented mechanics.”
    • “It removed me from the world they were trying to build, and felt like the gameplay of the worst mobile ports or hidden object games, and not that of one with an A-list team behind it.”
  • music26 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some describing it as generic soft background music that occasionally intensifies, while others praise it as beautiful and well-integrated with the game's atmosphere. The voice acting is highlighted as exceptional, contributing to an engaging experience alongside the soundtrack. Overall, the music, along with the art and dialogue, is noted for enhancing the storytelling and immersion, with additional content like the soundtrack and art book being well-received.

    • “Loving the music and the dialog is fun as well.”
    • “The visuals, music, and voice work are all well done.”
    • “The soundtrack and voice overs are a delight to listen to and I did not mind waiting for conversations to finish (instead of clicking through, which is my usual style).”
    • “The music in the game is quite generic - soft background music that sometimes rouses up depending on the circumstance.”
    • “There are still some occasional glitches, but so much care has gone into the music, the art, the period vernacular, the dialogue writing, the arc of the narrative.”
    • “Imagine, I went up to the ballad seller to help her collect her scattered sheets, and she not only sent me to hell, but also made some offensive song about me.”
  • atmosphere14 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its engaging story, convincing characters, and exceptional voice acting, all of which contribute to a realistic and immersive setting, particularly in the context of the Jack the Ripper narrative. Reviewers commend the detailed artwork and lively backgrounds, noting that the developers have successfully captured the intrigue and ambiance of the era, making it a standout feature of the game. Overall, the atmosphere is described as remarkable and integral to the gaming experience.

    • “It's got amazing voice acting and music, an epic story and great atmosphere.”
    • “Again, all that solely for the atmosphere since, along with the journals containing character background and thoughts, they are not crucial to the story or progress.”
    • “The backgrounds are beautifully drawn, the 3D characters are detailed and beautiful, and although there is a combination of 2D and 3D characters on the streets, the atmosphere is lively with a sense for details.”
    • “The developers have done their homework and for the most part have captured the atmosphere and intrigue of the autumn of terror.”
  • stability14 mentions

    The game exhibits notable stability issues, including frequent glitches and a buggy user interface that can hinder exploration and miss side content. While some players reported no significant bugs during multiple playthroughs, others experienced crashes, particularly on specific systems. Overall, despite these stability concerns, the game's narrative and artistic elements are well-received.

    • “Auto-saves are very frequent, but this results in the possibility of completely missing side content or collectibles (which the game misspells in the buggy interface, by the way...) because certain actions advance the plot and cut off avenues of exploration.”
    • “There are some glitches and gameplay issues, and I had to restart my game at one point, but the ability to skip dialogue definitely helped getting back quickly.”
    • “Yes, the game is quite buggy.”
  • grinding9 mentions

    Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often describing character movement as painfully slow and cumbersome. While the voice acting and writing are praised, the overall experience is marred by the lack of engaging gameplay and the excessive grind required to progress.

    • “These are tedious and add absolutely nothing to the experience.”
    • “This is soooo freakin tedious, since you are the world's slowest walker.”
    • “While the voice acting is magnificent and the writing well above normal video game standards, the controls are extremely cumbersome and make the game slow and tedious.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game is reported to be poorly optimized, with slow loading times and instances of crashing on the PS5, particularly during dialogues. Despite these technical issues, some players appreciate its theatrical storytelling and performances.

    • “Badly optimized; the loading times can be slow, and it even crashed on a PS5 during a dialogue.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is highly praised, with players finding the dialogue options to be particularly funny and the characters, especially one female character, described as hilarious. Overall, the comedic elements significantly enhance the enjoyment of the game's story.

    • “I really enjoyed this game; the story was very good, and the dialogue options were very funny.”
    • “She is hilarious.”
  • character development4 mentions

    The game features a well-crafted storyline complemented by exceptional character development, with users praising both the depth of the characters and their design.

    • “This has a fabulously developed storyline and wonderful character development.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players highlight the game's ability to foster deep emotional connections with its characters, significantly enhancing their overall experience and engagement. This emotional bond is a key factor that distinguishes the game from others.

    • “What really sets a game apart for me is if I form an emotional bond with the characters I interact with... and I very much did with this game.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    Users express frustration with the monetization strategy, highlighting that excessive ads on mobile devices hinder the reading experience by cluttering the screen and forcing constant scrolling.

  • replayability2 mentions

    Players note that the need to complete the game multiple times to unlock all achievements significantly enhances its replayability, encouraging exploration of different strategies and experiences.

    • “To get all the achievements, you will need to play the game multiple times; this adds replay value.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

62% average critic score

Buy Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey

Play time

25hMedian play time
19hAverage play time
8-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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