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Drakensang: The Dark Eye Review for PC

Drakensang: The Dark Eye Review for PC

The Old-School is in Class

RPGs can be a two-edged sword. They are notoriously lengthy and involved games, and depending on the quality, they can offer amazing bang for the buck, or drag on forever and ever. Drakensang: The Dark Eye has the potential to last more than a hundred hours. Thankfully, it’s the kind of game that you don’t measure in time units. Like a good RPG, you actually live it. You’ll always find the time to play a game that you truly enjoy.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye screenshot

Drakensang: The Dark Eye is not going to instantly appeal to everyone, especially those that have been coerced into the genre with the recent glut of hybrids and persistent online multiplayer games that combine different elements that not only varies the gameplay, but streamlines it in favour of more real-time action. Dark Eye is not hardcore traditional, but it does embrace the old-school RPG formula. This game is produced in Germany where it won the best RPG of 2008. Based on the original pen-and-paper RPG, it includes all of the standard RPG elements including monster-killing combat, dungeon-crawling, character interaction, and levelling-up. There’s no shortage of challenges for the initiated, but the learning curve is not so steep that it will alienate the action-oriented.

Truth be told, there’s some confusion concerning the damage points, the scoring system, and choosing the best levelling-up attributes. Newbies may also feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options, stats, weapons, and abilities, but it does all come together even if you don’t fully understand what effects your choices will have. I look at it this way, it’s better to have levelled-up and lost than never to have levelled-up at all. When in doubt, balance it out. You may want each party member to specialize in specific abilities, but then each party member should be different from the others. I like my party to be as diversified as possible to tackle the many different situations you will encounter.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye screenshot

In an RPG, it’s all about the gameplay. The story doesn’t make or break the game, but a good story is always coveted. Sometimes a weak story can be overcome by good character development, with good dialogue and voice acting. Dark Eye’s presentation is very good, certainly worth more than the thirty-dollar price tag. The story is good… it’s not great, but the characters more than make up for it. There is a discernable difference when compared to recent Japanese-produced RPGs. The focus is entirely on the single-player experience. The characters are less exuberant and cocky, and they’re not anime. However, they are still standard RPG characters. As cliché as they may be, there’s a sharp vein of humor that runs through the presentation, letting us know the developers are aware of having to include these traditional characters to remain true to the genre. Dark Eye is not a comedy, and when things get intense, the mood gets very dark. Adhering to the proven, manic RPG formula, the developers work their magic within this framework. They did not attempt to reinvent the wheel in terms of gameplay, but they’ve rust-proofed and lubricated it so that it rolls along just fine.

Humans coexist peacefully with dwarves in the land of Aventuria. That is, until a few murders startle the inhabitants. The circumstances surrounding these murders raise suspicion among various community members and organizations. Light is shed on the darkest corners of the once tranquil world, causing shadowy specters to retreat further into the underworld recesses. Paranoia and false accusations are rampant, as Aventura begins to come apart at the seams with reactionary witch-hunts and vigilante justice. Of course, this is where you come in. It’s your destiny to assemble a party and save your world. Just another day at the RPG office.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye screenshot

You can select three other party members to accompany you on your adventure, which is rife with side quests offered from the non-playable characters you’ll bump into. All of the party members are playable. The classes are many and varied including elves, wizards, amazons, monks, pirates, and dwarves. The battles are technically turn-based but play out in real-time. It can get to be a little overwhelming watching all of the actions take place simultaneously, but you will have the option to stop the game to review and revamp your strategy.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye screenshot

Parrying is an essential combat move. After attacking an enemy, you will be able to parry the attack. This will help keep your stats up, since a powerful attack from an enemy will result in a wound that will lower your stats until you can heal yourself. This is a situation you don’t want to be in, since it can quickly deplete your points. You can’t rely on your armor to fully shield you from such attacks. The best you can hope for is to minimize the damage.

Crafting involves combining items to create hybrids. Mixing foods and chemicals will result in more powerful potions that may be used for everything from healing to blowing up the enemy. Weapons, armor, precious metals, and spells can be crafted with unique results. Overall, the game does a good job of giving the player a sense of freedom to experiment. I say sense because there is just no getting around the linearity that drives the storyline, but it’s nicely disguised as paths through the forest, roads to the next town, invisible walls, and information and directions provided by NPCs. With more than one way to solve puzzles, this sense of freedom is also heightened. This personalizes the game and also increases the replay value – a great bonus for such a single-player game.

By using some of the game background graphics and textures, Dark Eye makes the best of things by keeping the quality high at the expense of visual diversity. This also keeps the price of the game more than reasonable. Who cares if all of the forests look the same? There’s no avoiding repetition in an RPG, so I’m making allowances, not excuses. The character models may be cliché but they are well-detailed right down to the cross-stitching. There are not a lot of ambient sound effects or voiceover work, giving the game a feeling of emptiness. But by contrast, when you finally reach a village or city, the hustle and bustle is absolutely electric. The soundtrack has three main themes: lighthearted, dark, and neutral, all of which are triggered at the appropriate times.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye is a rare breed these days. It’s not a hardcore RPG, but it still offers a lot of complexity. The beauty of the game is the way in which the developers tailored the gameplay to include newbies without dumbing-down the genre. Don’t miss a chance to play a game marinated in the classic RPG tradition.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
There is some repetition, but it’s acceptable for such a long game. Character models are great. 3.5 Control
Some confusion with scoring and leveling-up. Interface becomes easier as you use it. 3.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Lots of dead air in the audio department. It’s great when it finally kicks in. 3.9 Play Value
Good traditional RPG formula. Plenty of replay value. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Developed by the original pen and paper authors, Drakensang: The Dark Eye is a new party-based role playing game that uses advanced 3D technology allowing players to visually experience the landscapes, edifices, heroes, and creatures of the TDE universe.
  • Players start out in the city of Ferdok in Aventuria, a unique medieval world where sinister forces are at work.
  • Only after gathering trusted, skilled companions as part of Drakensang: The Dark Eye’s compelling party-based game play where players can control four unique characters, in addition to their own, can players battle to uncover the sinister conspiracy threatening the world of Aventuria.
  • The game also features a talent-based dialogue system that will allow gamers to threaten, persuade and charm their way through a universe full of unique characters, creatures and locations, as they seek to fulfill their sacred mission.

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