Dolmen Reviews
One of the most thrilling parts of Dolmen is the horror element that grows exponentially as the monsters become more difficult and much better at hiding. At first, most enemies can be seen from a distance, but they quickly begin to hide around corners, on the ceiling, or within the environment. A few jumpscares will lead to cautiously approaching every turn and inspecting all of the walls. Horror mixed with features like an intricate upgrade system, daunting combat encounters, and the ability to take on difficult bosses alongside some friends makes Dolmen an exciting title that delivers constant action and intense challenges.
This game’s impressive just by virtue of it being Massive Work Studios’ first. But it wouldn’t be fair to only give it credit for that reason. Dolmen is a fun, and exciting cosmic horror-themed soulslike whose unique (and successful!) inclusion of ranged combat helps it to stand out from its peers. If this is just the beginning of what Massive Work Studios have to offer, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us down the road!
Dolmen manages to take the Souls formula by giving it a twist and incorporating it into a space environment, with very exciting action-rpg and exploration properties.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Although he bets on a different setting, Dolmen does not risk in the development, and repeats the mechanics that we have already seen in the Souls saga. The Massive Works RPG is a challenging game that has been entertaining, but also shows technical shortcomings.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
For every frustration I had for not having quite as many “Aha!” moments when opening a door or discovering some lore, it’s equalled with other ways the game is working to impress. On offer is a solid nightmarish journey from the darkest depths to the dreadfully eerie conclusion at the world’s own horrific ground zero. This is held up by clever combat implementations and a rewarding sense of experimentation and exploration.
A unique world with some fantastic environment designs and challenging combat, let down by often unfair enemies and a story that just wasn't that interesting.
DOLMEN is a new action RPG with influences from the Souls franchise, where we must travel to a hostile planet to find answers to what happened there while trying to recover the fragments of the DOLMEN crystal, which has the ability to transport us between realities. An interesting proposal that will satisfy lovers of this type of game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I had more fun than expected playing Dolmen and everyone who enjoys a good soulslike game should check it out. The environments are varied and look nice, the level design was appealing, it has great character and gear upgrades systems, and multiplayer was a nice touch. The real downside is the poor enemy A.I., so while combat was satisfying, aside from a few well-designed bosses don't expect a stiff challenge. Overall though, it's still a solid recommend.
Dolmen is a solid sci-fi spin on the Soulslike formula, even if there are some places where it falls short. Not being able to jump is a simple but detrimental design flaw, and the mediocre cinematics bog down what could have been a very cinematic experience. Despite that, Dolmen still features challenging combat, as well as a variety of ways to play to your own unique style. I look forward to seeing if and how Massive Work Studio will build upon this foundation in the future.
Dolmen provides fans of SciFi and Souls games with another daunting adventure full of defeat and satisfaction. The game isn’t without faults, having a few bugs as well as some inconsistencies with some combat mechanics, but the team at Massive Work Studio have laid a solid foundation. The game provides just enough reward to make the challenge worth it.
Dolmen is a serviceable, sci-fi ARPG that sets players up against a gauntlet of strong enemies and varied bosses. Utilising the Metroidvania style approach to progression, the game aims to keep players on their toes with it’s striking visual design and level layout. It’s just a shame the story isn’t up to scratch and a few certain gameplay features are left wanting.
Undoubtedly a good alternative to the Souls saga. Although it may be a somewhat burned out theme, Dolmen will keep you hooked thanks to its cosmic horror setting and fluid combat.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Dolmen is a good game and has fun without any doubt, but it does not raise passions like the «souls-like» that it is.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Dolmen surely has its flaws and is nowhere the quality displayed by From Software in its Souls series, but if you enjoy that formula you can still have some fun hacking and slashing through hordes of enemies.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite its sci-fi setting, Dolmen is less a Soulslike than a Dark Souls clone, with very few original ideas. The biggest issue, beyond the overall familiarity of just about everything, is that it brings back annoying mechanics that games like Elden Ring have evolved away from. While there is some fun to be had in Dolmen’s weapons and combat, at some point you’ll just wish you were playing a FromSoft game instead.
So overall, Dolmen is sitting somewhere in the middle for me. On one hand, you have some really great ideas, but on the other, there’s still some refinement to be made to the overall experience. A lot of these issues I could see being fixed down the line through a few balancing and adjustment patches, but I think Massive Work Studio and Prime Matter have done a good job. I hope to both see some refinement as well as a potential sequel down the line.
Dolmen is an honest game and a good souls-like. However, its rigidity, capricious camera and great difficulty (sometimes poorly dosed) sometimes have a hard time letting us enjoy the experience properly.
Review in French | Read full review
Dolmen emerges as a good entry in the world of soulslike and has its value, mainly due to the risks taken by its developer. Even so, the title has positives and negatives points in almost the same proportion, with AI, visuals and interface falling short of what they could be.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The sci-fi action RPG inspired by the Dark Souls series tries to bring players an engaging experience. But the rough hero fails.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
While Dolmen offers fun, challenging, and rewarding gameplay and a rich crafting system, its other features are a bit of a hit-and-miss.