Dolmen is an action game with RPG elements, where the player’s worst fears turn against him, finding the aberrant alien world of Revion Prime. Sci-Fi and Cosmic Horror are mixed in an engrossing gameplay experience!
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This was a struggle to get through, and not in the good way.. I'm addicted to the souls like genre so I had to finish it. Stopping felt like I was doing something wrong. It's not worth it.
This isn't one of those average Souls likes that you hear people talk about being in love with. Like The Surge for example. No, this game makes wonder "what were they thinking" over and over again... If you're scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for something you haven't played in the genre.. This game is functional. >_<)
This isn't one of those average Souls likes that you hear people talk about being in love with. Like The Surge for example. No, this game makes wonder "what were they thinking" over and over again... If you're scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for something you haven't played in the genre.. This game is functional. >_<)
Dullmen. I'd apologize for the terrible pun if the devs apologized for adding another uninspired souls-like to the ever-growing pile. Bosses are terrible, levels are hugeass and unintuitive, does not alert you enough to be on your toes or excite you to explore. Pretty much everything are just SOUL-LESS. It'll be inevitably forgotten.
Pros:
+ the first act creates a brooding, foreboding atmosphere
+ biomes are distinct and the open areas are well designed
+ surprisingly good lightning, shadow and particle effects
+ technology equipment system is a smart and fresh new mechanic
+ Dolmen boss mechanic is a good idea that mostly works well
+ the reactor/elemental mechanic adds a lot of complexity to the combat
+ ranged attacks add a lot of options and gunplay is pretty satisfying
+ equipment crafting is quick and can be tailored to specific challenges
+ the (very limited) voice acting is pretty good
+ the relatively short playtime is quick and dirty
+ the cutscenes are stupidly enjoyable
+ performance mode is mostly stable
Cons:
- let's be honest here: the title is pretty terrible
- lack of polish: there's heaps of glitches, typos, clipping issues etc.
- the whole UI is flatout terrible and gives the game a cheap look
- damage numbers look amateurish and have an awful font
- enemy AI is mostly non-existent and bosses can easily be cheesed
- the various combat options can get confusing (7 buttons!)
- most animations are barebones and look unfinished
- close combat has no weight to it and hit feedback is weak
- enemy placement feels random and unintuitive
- most enemies have unreliable, unclear hitboxes
- many boss runs are far too long and tedious
- the camera freqently gets in the way of the action
- lock-on system is barely working at a greater range
- energy meter refills extremely slowly
- using a beacon (bonfire) does not refill batteries (flasks) in full
- crafting materials are not itemized in the menu
- the main antagonist is completely forgettable
- the music is bland and of low audio quality
- loading screens are in bad taste
- the final segment and the ending are short and laughable sequel bait
Magic Moment: Following frosty ranged attacks with a timed reactor hit and barely killing a big, wormy enemy in time.
Blagic Moment: Reading a random YT comment on how running in circles around a certain boss to kill him without resistance and asking myself: Is this fun?
Playtime: 17 hours at level 60 with all beacons, roughly half of all crafting items and all bosses, some killed repeatedly in Dolmen mode. Played in single player mode only - the multiplayer seems to be dead anyway.
Verdict:
Dolmen is a weird game. This debut by a Brazilian studio feels remarkably aggressive in its contradictoriness: with each new situation, it becomes clearer that this is not a good, or even a finished product, and yet, for some reason, it keeps you engaged through its relatively quick runtime. Each fresh new gameplay idea - of which there are many - is offset by subpar production values and lazy design decisions. The audio-visual quality oscilates between terrible and surprisingly decent, the atmosphere is involving until the broken enemies and mindless boss fights appear, and the combat is a collection of unfair but sometimes also incredibly satisfying situations. It almost feels like the team uncovered a lost PS3 game with bonkers PS2 cutscenes and added modern combat mechanics to it, while also, somehow, offering a surprising amount of fun to anyone willing to grind their way through a whole lot of jankiness along the way.
Most people should probably skip this, but if you are a die hard fan of Soulslikes and would like to know how the genre is evolving at the moment, take a look at it. However, finishing it is not really necessary to get something out of it and one playthrough is absolutely enough - there is no New Game+ anyway.
+ the first act creates a brooding, foreboding atmosphere
+ biomes are distinct and the open areas are well designed
+ surprisingly good lightning, shadow and particle effects
+ technology equipment system is a smart and fresh new mechanic
+ Dolmen boss mechanic is a good idea that mostly works well
+ the reactor/elemental mechanic adds a lot of complexity to the combat
+ ranged attacks add a lot of options and gunplay is pretty satisfying
+ equipment crafting is quick and can be tailored to specific challenges
+ the (very limited) voice acting is pretty good
+ the relatively short playtime is quick and dirty
+ the cutscenes are stupidly enjoyable
+ performance mode is mostly stable
Cons:
- let's be honest here: the title is pretty terrible
- lack of polish: there's heaps of glitches, typos, clipping issues etc.
- the whole UI is flatout terrible and gives the game a cheap look
- damage numbers look amateurish and have an awful font
- enemy AI is mostly non-existent and bosses can easily be cheesed
- the various combat options can get confusing (7 buttons!)
- most animations are barebones and look unfinished
- close combat has no weight to it and hit feedback is weak
- enemy placement feels random and unintuitive
- most enemies have unreliable, unclear hitboxes
- many boss runs are far too long and tedious
- the camera freqently gets in the way of the action
- lock-on system is barely working at a greater range
- energy meter refills extremely slowly
- using a beacon (bonfire) does not refill batteries (flasks) in full
- crafting materials are not itemized in the menu
- the main antagonist is completely forgettable
- the music is bland and of low audio quality
- loading screens are in bad taste
- the final segment and the ending are short and laughable sequel bait
Magic Moment: Following frosty ranged attacks with a timed reactor hit and barely killing a big, wormy enemy in time.
Blagic Moment: Reading a random YT comment on how running in circles around a certain boss to kill him without resistance and asking myself: Is this fun?
Playtime: 17 hours at level 60 with all beacons, roughly half of all crafting items and all bosses, some killed repeatedly in Dolmen mode. Played in single player mode only - the multiplayer seems to be dead anyway.
Verdict:
Dolmen is a weird game. This debut by a Brazilian studio feels remarkably aggressive in its contradictoriness: with each new situation, it becomes clearer that this is not a good, or even a finished product, and yet, for some reason, it keeps you engaged through its relatively quick runtime. Each fresh new gameplay idea - of which there are many - is offset by subpar production values and lazy design decisions. The audio-visual quality oscilates between terrible and surprisingly decent, the atmosphere is involving until the broken enemies and mindless boss fights appear, and the combat is a collection of unfair but sometimes also incredibly satisfying situations. It almost feels like the team uncovered a lost PS3 game with bonkers PS2 cutscenes and added modern combat mechanics to it, while also, somehow, offering a surprising amount of fun to anyone willing to grind their way through a whole lot of jankiness along the way.
Most people should probably skip this, but if you are a die hard fan of Soulslikes and would like to know how the genre is evolving at the moment, take a look at it. However, finishing it is not really necessary to get something out of it and one playthrough is absolutely enough - there is no New Game+ anyway.