Recent reviews by Slicin_Lunix

Lack of updates and very mid game play. Sad to see such a large amount of people working on a game and basically nothing happens.

No new proper boss since scrapbeak kinda sad tbh. I feel like the bosses are such a large part of the game and its crazy there isn't like 10 in the game right now. Also UI is apparently bad so thats funny.

Dungeonborne (DB) is obviously very a similar if not a shameless ripoff of Dark and Darker (DaD). I wanted to give it a try and attempt to have an honest opinion about the game instead of just hard riding on DaD. I was watching Summit1G play the game and figured ok it looks kinda ok let me try it. How disappointing this entire game was. I will give them they provide a tutorial which was nice but very basic and truly didn't teach anything besides basic controls and how to drink a pot/bandage that 98% of people are easily gonna figure out. The combat just feels terrible and idk how people are saying its better than DaD when it feels exactly like skyrim. It feels very unsatisfying and just basic hack and slash esq. The monsters in the map just feel like they're randomly placed and don't actually serve a purpose besides the knights that are guarding doors or hallways. The way the starting map traversal feels like ruins from DaD and if anyone knows what OG ruins feels like knows thats not a good thing. I think this game only has positive reviews because DaD is actually hard to learn and play and therefore people are going to flock more naturally to this even if the combat feels like its from 2009. I'll give it to the devs for being the only true competition to DaD so they're gonna soak up the other half of the players in the genre but I really feel like this game will not last or if it does it's gonna be the paladins to overwatch. Just overall lower quality all around on everything. Also kinda lame how they tried to smear DaDs name with the whole truly F2P but did the exact same thing as DaD with the only main difference being class slots. If you're looking for a very very casual experience this might be the game for you. It feels and plays like a mobile game and I think it deserves to be F2P because if it wasnt this would not be worth more than maybe $10.

I have allowed comments so please if you feel like I'm wrong or I don't have enough information please let me know.

People that are leaving negative reviews due to a "paywall" are crazy. Dark and Darker is an extremely fun and enjoyable game. They state everything that the free version of includes right under the free to play button right here on the store page. The only thing that the "paywall" stops you from doing is playing in High Roller which is where you can bring in better gear but all the PvE is much harder and not new player friendly at all. Most new players even if you bought the game would play 90% normal lobbies because its a lot easier to learn the game and prevents super geared skilled players from demolishing the lobbies. The game is in an amazing state and thousands of us bought the game from their website and downloaded the laucher. I love this game and sure the devs make wild balance changes sometimes but I still have supported them in many ways with buying the best edition of the game as well as both of the Madrina coffee promotions just to help fund them. They're not greedy and have an amazing vision. They're allowing people to try the game completely free (which again is basically 90% of the game for most people that paid) so you can try and see if you like it instead of spending the money and feeling like you wasted it. Don't listen to the all the negative reviews about F2P scam and pay to win because you cannot pay to win on dark and darker. Super awesome game that fills a unique role in the gaming industry and actually does something different. Give it a try and you can 100% enjoy it even with the so called "paywall" even tho its a paid game with a free version and not a free game with a "paywall"

Update posted by the devs in the discord that explains why the game has a F2P version if any would like a reason and understanding of their thinking instead of listening to all the negative reviews. Join their discord to see it posted in announcements and future updates too!

Devs post from discord below:

Our launch on Epic Games and Steam marks a major milestone in the availability of Dark and Darker.

We would like to address the Free to Play label. We’ve heard your feedback loud and clear, and would like to explain the reasons behind our current Free to Play model. We would also like to clear up any misunderstandings and layout our plans going forward. We apologize to anyone who felt misled by the game being marketed as Free to Play and acknowledge that we should have chosen a better method to introduce it in that regard. Throughout the game’s Early Access development, the game was always a paid product, and we intend for the full experience to remain this way. This ensures we uphold our promise to our loyal early adopters, and helps combat cheaters along with RMT to keep the dungeons clean for all to enjoy.

The main reason we released our game as Free to Play (F2P) was because we made a promise to our early loyal adopters on Blacksmith, that we’d do everything possible to not force them to repurchase the game again if it went to major platforms. We do not believe in double-dipping or taking advantage of our fans who are the sole reason we’ve come this far.

When we had the opportunity to release the game on the Epic Games Store and Steam platform we were thrilled to be back on large global platforms. However, due to the large number of previous customers on Blacksmith, it was not feasible nor fair to our platform partners for us to distribute thousands of keys to Blacksmith customers for free, increasing their risk with little benefit to them. The solution to overcome the technical, logistical and contractual hurdles we faced was to transition to a Free to Play model which would allow our current customers to naturally transition to a partner platform of their choice without the use of any abusable keys.

When we designed our current free to play system, our intention was to ensure that previous customers did not feel as if they were taken advantage of for supporting us. We wanted to make sure they felt properly compensated for their loyalty while still feeling excited for the new transition to a free to play version.

As a bit of context and history, we implemented the current Normal game mode that restricted items to common grade back in November of 2023 where it quickly became a fan favorite. Our Blacksmith players saw the mode as a solution to a divisive item gap disparity and many viewed the mode as the most fair and balanced mode rather than a limiting system. We decided to open the Normal mode to the free version precisely because of its high value to the community. We naively thought this mode would be compelling enough for incoming players since they got access to the most popular and accessible mode in the game for free. We had failed to take into consideration how brand-new players not knowing the development context would have a different perceived value for this mode, and how it could easily be construed as us trying to bait and switch them. This is the farthest thing from the truth as we are continually striving to find fair and open ways to run an online game while respecting our loyal customers.

A secondary reason for restricting free players to the Normal mode was to act as a barrier, and lower the incentives for hackers to disrupt the game. Like many other competitive online games, we face the challenge of fighting those that look for advantages through unfair means. We knew that once we went free to play, we would be sending an open invitation to hackers around the world. In our quest against hackers, our bans show they almost exclusively attempt to exploit the High-Roller dungeons as that was where their exploits would bear the most fruit. Limiting hackers with free accounts to the less disruptive Normal modes was also a preventative measure to try and compartmentalize the damage they could do.

When releasing our Squire and Legendary account models, our intent was to offer a free version of the game that had no time limit. This would give players a commitment-free opportunity to see what Dark and Darker has to offer. The free account status allows players to experience Normal mode dungeons with a single character, stash the loot they acquire, and complete quests. This improves their standing with the merchants - improving pricing and wares, while also expanding the arsenal of items the Squire merchant provides players with.

Despite our intentions, we failed in anticipating the expectations that new players would have when approaching our game. We did not intend to deceive our players, and we now realize that the current Normal/High Roller bifurcation is not well designed for F2P players. We built a full loot extraction game and then forced upon a large contingent of the player-base the inability to utilize their hard-earned loot without any workarounds. We now understand the absurdity of that situation and are looking to make amends.

We are currently working on solutions that take into consideration both the needs of existing and new players. Our goal is to give new players the ability to experience a complete loop of a full loot extraction experience and risk their loot while still respecting the loyalty of our existing players. We’re still working on the details for that plan that will address access to the High-Roller dungeons, the ability to unlock character slots, and will make an announcement very soon as the details are finalized. Our goal is to be fair and just with our players, and we’ll do our best to show our appreciation. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your incredible support over the past two years as we work to make Dark and Darker the best it can be. We could not ask for a better, more passionate community – thank you for holding the line!

IRONMACE

This is a game that really is not easy from the start. (Unless you choose a really easy start) Even then if you don't know how the game works you can still get beat into the ground with zero forgiveness. If you're a person that does not like to save and reload saves cause something went bad then you'll learn to love that function in Kenshi.

I'd say this is for someone who likes realism but with a COD or battlefield feeling. Game does require a pretty decent PC to run. POG

This is is great. I have technically beat the game. It has about 4-6 hours of story but it depends on how good you are at the game and if you coop or not. This game will need DLC for story hopefully free story in order to really make it better. Has connection issues but it's the first day. Other than that I do enjoy it a lot.

I reefunded the game becaausse I beat it that fast. There is no real ending to the game but all I had to do was just stand still and I would never die. The game is not worth 20 bucks, maybe if it was 5 bucks I would not have refunded it but it's 20 so I knew it was best to refund and wait for a sale. I would advise for you to wait for this game to go down to 5 bucks. Its kind of a money grab to me because of the lack of content.

TFW you are the 20th person to make a reveiw. This game is awesome and everyone should buy it!!!. This little note here is for all the haters that bought this DLC. Why the ♥♥♥♥ you gonna buy the DLC even tho you saw everything that came with it and everything, then get mad about it like WTH?!?!