Grotesque Tactics 2: Dungeons and Donuts
- November 21, 2011
- Silent Dreams
Get on Steam"Grotesque Tactics 2 – Dungeons and Donuts" is a tactical RPG that sends up fantasy clichés with its humor and presentation. Players lead a party of eccentric heroes on a quest to save the kingdom from an evil necromancer. The game features strategic turn-based combat, character customization, and a variety of locations to explore. However, some may find the game's humor and art style to be in poor taste.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features humorous dialogue and amusing references that parody RPG tropes, making it entertaining for fans of the genre.
- Graphics have improved compared to the previous installment, and the addition of voice acting adds personality to the characters.
- The combat system, while flawed, offers some strategic elements and can be enjoyable for players who appreciate turn-based RPGs.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with pathfinding and quest progression.
- The camera controls are frustrating, often leading to disorientation and difficulty in navigating the game world.
- Quest tracking is poorly implemented, making it easy to get lost and requiring excessive backtracking to complete objectives.
- story66 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 82 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by its quirky humor and charming characters, appealing to those who enjoy a lighthearted narrative. However, the quest structure is criticized for being confusing and poorly organized, with many players experiencing bugs that hinder progress and obscure objectives. While some appreciate the story's fun elements, the overall execution is marred by gameplay issues that detract from the experience.
“The story picks up from the end of the first game with the protagonist Drake suffering from hero's amnesia, and he embarks on a quest to form a guild and escape the underground ruins he has found himself in.”
“Oh, the good side, the game's story and characters are very charming and silly.”
“This game is for people who like an interesting story, adorable characters, and a nice kind of humor about the whole RPG genre.”
“Unlike the concise linear storyline in the first game, this game tries to have more open quest progression with multiple faction questlines, but all this does is make the game more confusing and tedious.”
“The in-game quest log is terrible, vague, and doesn't properly update quests with multiple steps, and there is no objective marker which is a huge problem as the game doesn't keep track of quest giver NPC locations.”
“As if that wasn't enough, there are a great many game-breaking bugs that seemingly strike at random, such as quests not completing for one person while working for another. The result is that only a very few will be able to complete the game, as the majority will hit a brick wall somewhere along the line that is impossible to get past.”
- humor47 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its clever references and absurd moments, while others find it immature or lacking compared to previous installments. The dialogue often features campy jokes and parodies of RPG tropes, appealing to fans of the genre, though some critiques highlight a reliance on low-brow humor and a disconnect between the comedic elements and gameplay. Overall, while the humor can elicit laughs, its effectiveness varies widely among players, making it a subjective experience.
“The dialogue is full of humor and video game references, and RPG veterans will have fun recognizing all the tropes and character parodies from other games.”
“It's a funny spin on games like Baldur's Gate, but as soon as I got lost once, I got bored lol.”
“A very humorous game poking fun at all the traditional RPG clichés.”
“The second game is as good as the first one, but I think the English dub of the game is less fun than the German one. The angel rages in the German version sometimes, while in the English version it sounds more like 'OMG, I don't want to say the same thing twice, let's sound bored.' The game is originally German, and in the English dub, most of the fun parts are not funny. I think it is the same in the first one.”
- graphics17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics in the game have seen significant improvements compared to its predecessor, with enhanced detail and character design that many players appreciate. However, some users note that while the visuals are better, they still fall short of high-end standards, and gameplay issues detract from the overall experience. Additionally, there are concerns about compatibility with certain display settings, which may require user adjustments for optimal performance.
“The graphics are much better, and the maidens really are something to look at now.”
“If you enjoyed the first, I think you will really like this one as well; it carries with it pretty much everything you may have liked and in fact improves upon the graphics, adds fully voiced dialogue (which I thought was surprisingly well done), familiar as well as new characters, new and more abilities and accessories, and lots of new places to explore and monsters to battle.”
“Much improved over the first one, with less latency, better and more easily-parsed graphics, fundamental refinements to the combat system ... and less dialogue from holy avatar.”
“While the game features the same brand of satire parodying the RPG genre and the graphics have been dramatically improved, unfortunately the gameplay has deteriorated compared to the first game due to a number of terribly implemented mechanics and bugs.”
“Beware - this is not a game for people who only want to play with high-end graphics.”
“Just don't expect graphics like the ones in the logo; check out the store page for screenshots to get a better idea of what to expect.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a decline in quality compared to the previous installment due to bugs, poorly implemented mechanics, and a frustrating interface. While some appreciate the fun elements and improved graphics, others find the gameplay clumsy and lacking depth, often overshadowed by the game's attempts at humor. Overall, it seems that while there are enjoyable aspects, significant gameplay issues detract from the overall experience.
“Pros: fun gameplay, cute characters, cute nerdy jokes.”
“The gameplay is really good.”
“Improved gameplay, plus the stereotypical humor drips sardonic from your system's speakers thanks to the unexpected, yet oh so welcome, voice acting.”
“However, in a non-linear game where you have to move back and forth with only a little knowledge of which area lies your underlying objective, it can be quite annoying during gameplay.”
“While the game features the same brand of satire parodying the RPG genre and the graphics have been dramatically improved, unfortunately, the gameplay has deteriorated compared to the first game due to a number of poorly implemented mechanics and bugs.”
“The interface is really hopeless; it breaks the gameplay.”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, such as issues with character pathing, combat mechanics, and quest navigation. While some players find that quicksaving can mitigate these problems, the overall experience is marred by instability, leading to frustration and a lack of enjoyment. Many reviewers express a strong desire to avoid future interactions with the game due to its persistent technical issues.
“There are a lot of marked improvements from the first one, but it's comically buggy and unstable.”
“The game was stuck... 2 minutes in... uninstalled and have no desire to ever deal with this company's buggy crap ever again.”
“Unfortunately, a bit buggy from time to time but usually nothing a good quickload or restart of the game won't fix; just save often, the quicksave is a blessing for your nerves.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and confusing, particularly due to the open quest progression and multiple faction questlines that detract from the experience. Many reviewers noted that the repetitive and unexciting mini-missions, along with frustrating gameplay mechanics, led to a loss of interest and ultimately quitting the game.
“Unlike the concise linear storyline in the first game, this game tries to have more open quest progression with multiple faction questlines, but all this does is make the game more confusing and tedious.”
“I got tedious at about the point that I quit.”
“The combination of drivel, tedious and unexciting mini-missions, restricted camera views, and suicidal NPCs in battles are what broke it for me.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game has seen some improvement, with users noting that it is generally enjoyable and complements the enhanced artwork. Overall, the soundtrack is considered satisfactory.
“The music isn't too bad either.”
“The artwork is improved, and the music is somewhat improved.”
“The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“While the artwork has seen improvements, the music still feels flat and uninspired.”
“The soundtrack doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been criticized for extremely poor performance, even on high-end hardware like an i9 processor and a GeForce 1070, which can handle other demanding titles like Witcher 3 and PUBG without issues.
“Extremely bad performance - it's 2019 and with my i9 and GeForce 1070, I'd expect decent performance. After all, Witcher 3, PUBG, and similar games are no issue in full HD.”
“The game runs like a slideshow on my high-end PC. I can't believe how poorly optimized it is.”
“I experience constant frame drops and stuttering, even on the lowest settings. This is unacceptable for a game released in this era.”
