Dungeons & Darkness
- September 29, 2016
- Yamiuchi Project
Get on Steam"Dungeons & Darkness" is a first-person dungeon crawler game that takes you through a series of procedurally generated dungeons filled with traps, puzzles, and monsters. You play as a lone adventurer, battling enemies using a real-time combat system and gathering loot to upgrade your character's abilities. The game features permadeath, so each playthrough is a nerve-wracking race against time to reach the final boss and escape the dungeon.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game captures the nostalgic feel of old school dungeon crawlers like King's Field, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- Despite its flaws, the game offers a rewarding experience with character progression and the ability to decorate your inn for buffs.
- It's a decent time killer and can be fun for those who appreciate janky indie games with a unique charm.
- Combat mechanics are clunky and frustrating, with slow animations that hinder movement and dodging, leading to a poor gameplay experience.
- The graphics and overall presentation are subpar, reminiscent of low-budget PS2 titles, which may deter modern gamers.
- The game suffers from a lack of variety in quests and environments, making it feel repetitive and uninspired.
- graphics52 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely negative feedback, with many reviewers describing them as outdated, reminiscent of PS2 or N64-era visuals, and poorly executed with clunky animations and low-quality assets. While some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and find the graphics acceptable for an indie dungeon crawler, the overall consensus is that they are uninspiring and detract from the gaming experience. Despite the graphics, some players still find enjoyment in the gameplay and features, suggesting that the visuals are not the primary focus of the game.
“The graphics are good and it looks like it could be a great game for questing and exploration-- until you fight something.”
“Kinda janky and the graphics are at best PS2 level, but it's super fun.”
“And even the simple 3D graphics have a charm (kind of like the charm of that most 2.5D rogue-likes employ).”
“The assets are muddled messes of shiny asset-store looking polygons paired with wooden animation, stock music, horrid graphic design, and clearly translated text.”
“Yes, the game has terrible graphics and really slow, weird, clunky character animations of cringe value.”
“The graphics look like something from the 90's and you have no idea what to do.”
- story52 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being linear and uninspired, primarily serving as a means to facilitate dungeon exploration rather than engaging players with compelling narratives. Players can only activate one quest at a time, leading to a repetitive experience, and the writing is often described as poor and lacking depth. While there are some interesting elements, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, making it feel more like a chore than an immersive adventure.
“There's actually more story than I expected going in, but the story was clearly written entirely with the intention to give you an excuse to dive into a dungeon to find treasure and kill monsters.”
“Regarding the story... I feel it's a bit forced when they give you the quests to enter the dungeon... but meh, the whole point of the game is exploring dungeons, so I don't really mind if it's forced or not.”
“There are 4 dungeons, each with a myriad of quests to complete before heading to the next dungeon.”
“The entire interface and city are all about text (there's not even basic sprites for NPCs and most of the items have the same exact picture), there's no map, there's no proper quest log, there's only a few enemy types, etc. Everything looks poor and way too basic.”
“So, the long-winded story with clear signs that English isn't their first language gets very boring (so, just click like crazy to get through these annoying segments).”
“It's important to note that this game is not about to be winning any awards for its graphics, musical score, or story.”
- gameplay34 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the innovative mechanics and nostalgic elements reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers like King's Field, while others criticize the clunky movements and lack of polish. The ability to decorate the inn for mechanical benefits and the character customization are praised, but many find the overall experience frustrating and lacking depth. Overall, while the core gameplay has potential, it suffers from unrefined mechanics and a need for more content and polish.
“Enjoyable mix of King's Field (core gameplay) and Wizardry (town and dungeon structure).”
“The gameplay is somewhat reminiscent of King's Field and Shadow Tower (games from Software made before they gained acclaim for the Souls series) in that you're simply one person in a dungeon with nothing but monsters for company.”
“I'm having fun with this game so far, it kinda reminds me of the old King's Field games... well at least the dungeon sections and its combat/magic mechanics.”
“What kills the game for me is the strong clunky mechanics and movements.”
“Gameplay is less than basic, frustrating, and just plain unfun.”
“A simple game made with low budget, with low quality textures and unrefined gameplay.”
- music22 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as decent but repetitive, lacking in variety and memorability. While some players appreciate the relaxed nature of the background music, it is noted that it does not enhance the gameplay experience significantly and is not suited for those seeking intense action. Overall, the soundtrack is considered acceptable but not award-winning.
“Awesome last boss music.”
“Personally, I much prefer the relaxed nature of the background music.”
“The music may not be memorable, but it has its charms.”
“Decent soundtrack but quite repetitive and doesn't have a lot of variety.”
“It's important to note that this game is not about to be winning any awards for its graphics, musical score or story.”
“Do not buy this game if you need heart-pounding action music.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally well-received, with players appreciating the tense feeling during dungeon crawls and the enjoyable exploration of varied traps. However, some critics argue that it lacks the compelling level design and storytelling that characterized similar titles, such as King's Field. Overall, while the atmosphere has its merits, it may not fully capture the essence of its inspirations.
“The game's atmosphere is good though, the dungeons are fun to explore and there's a decent variety of traps after you get through the first one.”
“I like the atmosphere. It feels a bit like Hexen.”
“King's Field clone with none of the level design, storytelling, atmosphere, or anything else that made those games so amazing.”
“You can only save your game in town (as in Wizardry), giving the dungeon crawl a tense atmosphere.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to slow combat swings and lengthy recovery times, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. The combination of these mechanics and the uninspiring dungeon visuals makes grinding feel less engaging for many.
“Because RPGs often mean grinding.”
“And for many of us, grinding in poor-looking dungeons is not the funniest thing in the world.”
“The combat swings are really slow and your recovery time from a swing is tedious.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally criticized for being buggy and janky, with users noting slow performance and various quirks. However, there are no reports of serious or game-breaking bugs at this time.
“Buggy, kinda janky, slow and with some real quirks to it.”
“And to make things worse – it's also pretty buggy.”
“Regarding the bugs...for now, I have not found any serious or game-breaking bugs/glitches.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to lag even on high-end PCs, particularly in large areas with many enemies. Players have reported needing to lower graphics settings to maintain performance, indicating a lack of efficient resource management.
“The game is poorly optimized, and for one dungeon I had to drop graphics settings to low.”
“Badly optimized; even if you have a strong PC, you could experience lag in big rooms with a lot of enemies.”
“Poorly optimized.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game primarily through the simplistic animations of enemies, particularly the skeletons, whose quirky movements stand out and elicit laughter compared to other foes.
“The animations for enemies are rather simplistic, but the skeletons are quite funny due to their unique movements compared to other foes.”
“The skeletons' movements are hilariously exaggerated, making them stand out among the other enemies.”
“I couldn't help but laugh at how the skeletons move; their animations add a delightful touch of humor to the game.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, primarily due to the opportunity to experiment with different classes, encouraging players to revisit the experience to explore various playstyles and strategies.
“The replay value is high as you may want to try out other classes and see how you perform.”
