Dark Scrolls Reviews
Dark Scrolls does a good job of balancing the cosy repetitiveness of a roguelike with the challenge inherent to the Soulslike genre. There are so many different ways to play, with six characters unlockable on top of the original three, all with their own unique abilities, movement and attack patterns.For the price, there's very little reason to not give this a shot, especially for those who gravitate towards pixel art or any of the genres encompassed within Dark Scrolls.
While it has plenty of charm and solid fundamentals, the nitty gritty in Dark Scrolls really weighs it down.
Dark Scrolls is a game which I reckon will be a perfect salve for some people, being a neat call-back to the days of 8-bit gaming and old school shmups, but I just found it to be a bit too samey. It's fun, sure, but it works best in shorter half hour bursts for me. I expect a bit more from my roguelites, but if you approach this as an arcade game instead, you'll be in a better frame of mind.
Dark Scrolls looks and plays like an old-school 8-bit game, but it doesn’t have the refinement and diversity of the top games from that era.
It isn't that Dark Scrolls lacks outright complexity, with multiple paths through the short game, nuance between characters, and some secret mini-quests to round out its content.
Dark Scrolls takes the philosophy of old SonSon-style forced-scrolling arcade platformers and infuses it with a modern roguelite structure.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you need a time waster and you're fond of sidescrollers, Dark Scrolls is an OK entry that can keep you busy for a while at a budget friendly price-point. It does the job for which it is designed, but the execution is a bit lackluster.
Dark Scrolls is certainly fun at times, but it overall feels a bit insubstantial.
You can strongly dislike automatic side scrolling platformers and still love playing Dark Scrolls. I am proof in the proverbial pudding – I struggled to put it down. What sets Dark Scrolls apart from other platformers is its focus on simplicity. It's a great co-op platformer that's merely held back by its balance and relatively punishing progression. Its charm and co-op chaos will win you over the next time you want a party game to play with your friends!
Dark Scrolls is retro for all the right reasons, and very few of the wrong ones, and you’ll get plenty of substance considering its budget price point.
Devolver Digital often publishes experimental and unusual games, and Dark Scrolls certainly qualifies as such. But while playing, I'm reminded time and again of another recent release, Ball x Pit.
Review in Russian | Read full review
A bit too much is left up to the player to figure out, and I would have welcomed a bit more transparency while I struggled through my first couple hours with the game. By the time I hit my stride, I was bored of fighting the same enemies and bosses over and over. Short bursts and co-op play feel like the best ways to enjoy Dark Scrolls. Even then, there's really not enough charm or polish to shine through an experience that references the classics without containing what gives them staying power.
As a co-op game, Dark Scrolls offers a whole heck of a lot of fun so make sure you bring a chum along for the ride to get the most out of it. 📜
Dark Scrolls delivers an entertaining arcade experience that excels in local and online co-op play. Its vibrant pixel aesthetic, catchy soundtrack, and character roster provide plenty of initial charm and fluid gameplay. While repetitive layouts and a grindy progression loop keep it from matching the heights of its peers, it remains a fun, budget-friendly option for fans of quick action sessions.
There's no denying that the game has charm and solid foundations, but Dark Scrolls falls a notch short of Doinksoft's previous titles. Unlocking new perks takes time, and using them isn't worth the effort. The co-op mode is interesting but doesn't offer much beyond chaos. At the end of the day, I'm left with mixed feelings.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
#DarkScrolls is pared back and straightforward, but finely crafted.
So: Fun but unbalanced, or unbalanced but fun? I legitimately still cannot decide which part is more meaningful for the Dark Scrolls experience, but I can say this: I did have a good time with the game, and I respect the passion put into the old school vibe. Even the digital game guide filled me with nostalgia!
I really enjoyed my time with Dark Scrolls. If I’m being honest, dear reader, it took a few runs before everything finally clicked, but once it did, I could really see what Doinksoft was going for. In fact, I ended up finding it noticeably easier than Demon Throttle. It’s still a fairly niche game, though, one aimed squarely at players who love the NES era of gaming, and don’t mind a healthy dose of roguelike progression. If that sounds like your kind of thing, the variety between runs does a great job of keeping you coming back for more.
Dark Scrolls brilliantly blends bullet-hell intensity with platforming prowess, delivering a roguelite experience that’s genuinely challenging and packed with personality. The Mixed score at launch is honest about the problems — zero onboarding, run-ending bugs, balance inconsistency, visual clutter — but it undersells what the game is when those problems don’t get in the way. The perk combo system is original and satisfying. The character roster has real depth. Co-op is an excellent use of $7.99. doinksoft clearly has interesting ideas here, and if they address the onboarding and stability issues in post-launch patches, this could shift to a clear recommendation without caveats. Right now it’s a conditional one: buy it if you’re comfortable learning a system by doing, especially if you have someone to play with.
It’s ambitious, stylish and full of promising ideas, yet it never quite finds the balance needed to turn those ideas into consistently enjoyable gameplay. And sometimes expectations are unfair, but this time, I don’t think they were. Dark Scrolls looked like the kind of game I’d happily lose dozens of hours to. Instead, it became a game I admired far more than I enjoyed, and somehow, that’s the greatest disappointment of all.