Dark Deity Reviews
This is absolutely a game worth playing for any tactical RPG fan.
For those hankering to play a Fire Emblem style game, Dark Deity will no doubt scratch your itch. Its tactical gameplay is satisfying and engaging, with a wide array of units at your disposal to lay waste to your enemies. The story and characters are lacking, however, which leads to a lot of the game feeling like a slog to get through. The contestant addition of new characters leads to a “shiny new toy” mentality with other characters being forgotten about and left to waste away in the meaningless bonds
Even without introducing major innovations and surprises, Dark Deity manifests itself as an excellent surprise for the first quarter of 2022 on Switch. Its main merit lies, in fact, in its ability to bring depth to both its narrative and its battles. Thus, it is difficult not to head into the lands of Etlan to live an addictive adventure alongside Irving, Maren, Garrick, Alden and company.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Dark Deity is a flawed—but enjoyable—take on the classic Fire Emblem formula. I wish some of its elements weren’t so obtuse and vague, but I still found it impossible to put down. There’s room for a sequel, so hopefully, it won’t be too long before we get a chance to revisit Terrazael.
My final thought on Dark Deity is that the game can sometimes feel like a copy and paste of the Fire Emblem series. There is taking inspiration from a video game.
A modern homage to the tile-based TRPG’s of the late 1990’s, Dark Deity will land solidly as a nostalgia hit with older gamers who grew up playing these games. Unfortunately, two decades of progress in game design have left elements of this format feeling dated and behind the times. With excessive reliance on static tableaus behind endless text dialogue windows, limited visual information during player-controlled battle segments and a lack of any tutorial or introduction to the game’s mechanics, Dark Deity simply doesn’t stack up favorably against other modern offerings.
Any strategy fan looking for a good challenge, interesting gameplay, and fun and customizable cast of characters should find Dark Deity up their alley. Just maybe wait for a patch on the Switch in hopes that the performance issues get addressed.
"Academy student's budget is limited."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Dark Deity is a flawed game. Its story left me wanting more, and certain game balancing issues decreased my enjoyment at times. However, despite its faults, Dark Deity scratches an itch with its quality base gameplay and unique features that any SRPG enjoyer would be remiss to overlook. In addition, its quality visual-novel style portraits and pixel art are undoubtedly boons for the title. I rate Dark Deity a 7, with the caveat that for folks who aren’t into or haven’t tried SRPGs to do more research before buying. But, if you find yourself in love with the art style, are intrigued by a preview video, or are itching for a Fire Emblem-like experience outside of Nintendo, it’s absolutely worth a try, and a commendable first offering from Sword & Axe.
This is a bit of an unusual tactical RPG that excels in some areas but makes some strange decisions in others...