Death Realm
Game looks beautiful as hell, and combat is silky smooth too.
The TAB menu and some audio stuff are a bit clunky but overall i’d say its really worth a try
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Gothic Action Games.
Pretty good game and graphics, needs more time to develop to make something out of it
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Hunt the Night
Hunt the Night is a retro-style action-adventure game that combines a fast, skilled gameplay with dark fantasy lore. Play as Vesper, a virtuous member of ‘The Stalkers,’ and explore the vast world of Medhram, a place filled with ruins and horrors. Go through dungeons full of gruesome enemies, fight challenging bosses, and use your arsenal of weapons and dark powers to take back the Night.
It is the 9th Age of humanity. The cycle of day is ruled by humans, the night one by horrid creatures. Despite its efforts, humanity is annihilated with every arrival of the Night.
A group of humans, calling themselves ‘The Stalkers,’ discovered how to use the power of darkness to their advantage and fought the Night. However, it was not enough, and with every new dawn humanity rose again knowing that, with darkness, comes extinction.
Humanity found the ‘Seal of Night,’ an artifact that allowed them to stop the cycle in an everlasting day. In exchange for a blood oath that The Stalkers were willing to pay, the sun ruled for hundreds of generations and, for the first time, hope was a beacon of light. Yet fate proved unstoppable, and they paid the ultimate price.
Now, as the Night starts devouring every single glint of light, Vesper, a Stalker by right and daughter of the traitor, will travel a dying land trying to save the last embers of humanity. She hunts in a race against destiny, as the shadows lengthen both in the world and in her mind.
Dash through enemies while you unleash your combos, use your weapons or destroy them with your dark powers. You can switch between melee and ranged attack in quick succession: slashing enemies with your sword and then dashing away to use your ranged weapons, avoiding enemy attacks.
Endure the ultimate challenge as you fight the ancient horrors of the Night that have been annihilating humanity over and over in intense boss battles. Learn their weak points, attack patterns and survive through the different combat phases as the battle gets more challenging and extreme.
Create your own build that will adapt not only to your prefered gameplay but also to particular bosses. Customize the upgrades of your arsenal and use the equipment that best suits your gameplay: Critical Damage, Life Steal, Poison, Close Combat, Firepower and more. Collect Sanguine vials, Crow Feathers, Moonstones and Noctilium to increase your stats and get ready to face the Night.
Explore Medhram in a combination of action-adventure and dark fantasy lore. Survive huge dungeons full of traps, enemies, puzzles and challenges. Discover all kinds of locations, from ancient cathedrals and libraries of knowledge to lost kingdoms and devastated floating cities.
Accept a hunt at ‘Crow’s Nest’ and track down the dark beast, find where it hides and hunt the most powerful creatures of the Night. After every completed hunt you will get rewards that will increase your health and dark energy bar.
Meet new characters and open full questlines that will vary depending on your actions: deciding to help them or not, finding them at their next location, failing to achieve the mission requirements in time… Everything counts!
Immersive and adapted music to every moment, boss and location, with the collaboration of Hiroki Kikuta, Secret of Mana composer.
Join the Hunt the Night Discord!
Read More: Best Gothic Action RPG Games.
Pale Cachexia
Beautiful Sadness
Lonely. This is the first word that greets you when you start Pale Cachexia. Alone in the dark wood. The contrast between forest’s spring awakening and “ghostly gloom” of the night, with “rustling sounds of crickets”, nocturnal creatures and “ominous howls”, the feeling that someone is breathing right behind you while you venture among the endless unmoving trees - all set the mood of the VN right from the start and mark it as decidedly Gothic and Romanticist. With a sense of crippling loneliness and smallness the main character Esther stumbles through this vast, misty forest in search of a cure for her terminal illness, and finds herself in a gloomy Gothic manor, almost like she just stepped into a dream.
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Gothic Psychological Games.
Short Review:
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Kinetic visual novel (no choices)
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Complexity in story and characters
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Heavy topics of death, illness, grief, guilt, and loneliness
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Somewhat open ending
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Nice art, including unlockables
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Soundtrack that perfectly enhances mood
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Overall an atmospheric, emotional story I enjoyed!
Full Review:
What an atmospheric, emotionally complex story. This kinetic novel (visual novel without any choices) has elements of horror and fantasy, and there are some creepy parts, but it’s mostly mysterious and melancholic, dealing with the heavy topics of death/dying, illness, grief, guilt, and loneliness.
– Real player with 8.7 hrs in game
Darker : Episode I
This is just like those indie games that you think are gonna be shit, because of the low budget, but isn’t. The soundtrack is just gold and everything in this game scream talent, but not money. I was constantly on my heels playing this, it’s so scary! They handle tension brilliantly.
This could turn out to be an amazing series of Darker games, if it is supported by the community. And this is not a full game! This is just a little teaser and test if we want more of Brothar, wich i would LOVE!
Thanks.
– Real player with 5.6 hrs in game
Very short game, with nothing really to do. Have to figure out the controls yourself, as there was no way to figure out key binds. There is not a hell of a lot to do in the game, and no real story. The atmosphere and music were awesome, and this could be expanded into an awesome game, but at the moment, its would be better if it were a free demo.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Rogue Lords
I really enjoyed Rogue Lords, and I decided to write this review as I have a slightly different take from the others I read.
It took me ~40 hours to finish all chapters, and I always played with the same team (the starters: Dracula “the Support”, the Headless Horseman “the Tank”, Bloody Mary “the DPS”). I think I had a total of two game overs, one at the second or third chapter, and one at the second-to-last (but see below).
I read several reviews mentioning that the game is hard and RNG can hit hard. I think they are not wrong, but I did not find it THAT hard: I think it’s more a matter of COMPLEXITY. Damage already starts in the double digits, and it is not unusual towards the end of the game to hit for 30-50 (multiple times). With 3 characters on your side and 1-3 characters on the other side, you can also have several status effects in play at the same time (probably the maximum I’ve seen is ~20). You accumulate this with relic effects and maybe even battle effects, and suddenly it becomes really easy to make a fatal mistake. I remember in one boss battle I accidentally made the Headless Horseman use an attack that steals HP and SP, while he was under the effect of a Zombie debuff (healing received becomes damage), so instead of healing him I made him Vulnerable with 0 HP and 0 SP. Fun times.
– Real player with 132.9 hrs in game
Note that while I am giving this a thumbs up, there are definite issues that sour the experience (that I will go into more detail over below). Honestly, this rating should be 3/5, 6/10, or a neutral but we don’t have those options.
Long story short:
Rogue Lords is a fun roguelike very much like Slay the Spire, but not being a rip off in the slightest. It has a unique cheating mechanic and is pretty difficult while also having balance issues and run destroying bug. The concept is unique, fresh, and fun, but the gameplay could use some retuning and class balancing.
– Real player with 116.7 hrs in game
1428: Shadows over Silesia
Shadows over Silesia is a dark action adventure game with fantasy elements, set in real medieval Europe. With true historical events in the background, you can mainly expect challenging puzzles and difficult battles, but also stealth passages and important decisions. You will come across possessed devil worshipers, sexual demons, and beasts from hell, as well as creatures well-known from European mythology.
Dark fantasy story
Europe is in the middle of religious upheaval and many preachers predict that the end of the world is near. The year is 1428 and the Hussites have just set out on their Silesian campaign. These heretics appear to be the biggest threat in the kingless country. But true evil of a completely different kind is lurking nearby and it does not intend to engage in religious disputes.
The game is linear and takes place during the entire Hussite campaign. It will be divided into thirteen chapters, with which you will be able to spend about 30 hours of playtime. You will experience everything from the point of view of the two main characters. Hynek, a grumpy Hussite hetman who doesn’t hesitate to swear or mess around with anything, and Lothar, a Hospitaller knight, a man of good education and manners who stands alongside his brethren in the front line of the Silesian defense. Each has their own motivations and views of the world around them, different equipment and abilities. Their fates will soon become intertwined. Will they face one another, weapon in hand, or forge a fragile alliance to stand shoulder to shoulder against a far worse enemy?
Isometric graphics
The graphics are inspired by classic RPG games. They are isometric, stylized, and a bit fairytale-like. The action often takes place underground, in the rain, or at night, which serves to amplify the dark atmosphere and focus, which is mostly placed on the contrast of light and shadow.
Challenging puzzles
The original puzzles you will come across on your dangerous journey will most definitely be challenging. Classic adventure games of the 1990s were a big inspiration. You will have to take advantage of your surroundings, look for objects, obtain information, and solve puzzles or encoded messages. Some problems can be solved in multiple ways, or they can be cleverly worked around.
Sneaking in the shadows
Sometimes you’ll have to blend into the shadows and sneak past enemies to avoid being detected. Following their patrol routes and habits will help you find the best path. Or you can try to quietly take them out, one by one.
Complex combat
The combat system is easy to understand but it takes practice to fully master it. Remember one thing: being outnumbered is a problem! If three or more opponents attack you at the same time, you will die! The key is to take advantage of their mistakes, wait for the right moment, and then attack. You will face not just knights, villagers, and robbers, but also various supernatural beings - and you shouldn’t underestimate them.
Diverse environments
During the game, you will move around on foot as well as in the saddle. You will visit various real as well as fictitious places in medieval Silesia. You will plunder villages, doggedly defend the city walls, and explore places such as secret dungeons, abandoned mines, or forbidden parts of monasteries. For example, you can look forward to visiting Röwersdorf, Nysa, the Brzeg monastery, or the Rabesberg castle.
Hidden coins
You will have the opportunity to search for two kinds of hidden coins. Only the best of the best will be able to collect them all. Not only will you fill your wallet with them and unlock unique achievements, but you can also occasionally use them to progress through the story.
HeXen II
Another Raven & id collaboration project but whereas Heretic was a modification of Doom, Hexen II is a modification of Quake. Or more precise - their engines. Seems history repeated itself in terms of quality ratio between the “re-skin” job and the original game. Almost everybody can agree Doom is a better game than Heretic, although I gave my respect to level design of the latter which was notably more advanced. The exact same thing can be said about the Hexen II and Quake relation in that regard.
– Real player with 32.1 hrs in game
HeXen II is a testament to how Raven software was the bees knees back in the 90s and on through the early 2000s. While not perfect and definitely not for everybody, HeXen II is still enjoyable.
First off, there is a very good patch in the community guides that uses the Hammer of Thyrion source port and the game runs flawlessly on modern systems (with music) with that installed. With that out of the way, in the presentation department, we have the Quake engine firing on all it’s fully 3D, fantasy-world-spewing cylinders. Today, this might not look like much, but in days of yore this was jaw-dropping stuff. And to be fair, the environments themselves are very detailed and a lot less cartoony than HeXen or Heretic. Raven nailed the feel of old, eerie, long-forgotten places and walking around these levels really immerses you into a hostile, dark fantasy world. Sound design is also great, the music is atmospheric, the weapons and spells feel meaty and impactful, it’s just all there. It’s dated, yes, but that doesn’t automatically make it bad.
– Real player with 15.0 hrs in game
Risen 3 - Titan Lords
Risen 3 is a third person open world action roleplaying game made by Piranha Bytes, the team that gave us the Gothic games and of course the first two Risen games. It’s hard to talk about Risen 3 without referring to the previous games, which I’ll call ‘PB games’ for short.
To summarize: Risen 3 is definitely a step up from Risen 2 but all in all, it is probably still a game that only fans of PB games will love and a game that only fans of the genre may learn to like.
To talk about this game more in-depth, I’ll take the list I used for my reviews of ‘Risen’ and ‘Risen 2’.
– Real player with 94.2 hrs in game
This is a long review, so just read the bottom paragraph for a simple summary of my thoughts.
It surprises me that the general consensus for this game is worse than Risen 2: Dark Waters. To be fair, if you hated Risen 2, there likely are not enough redeeming factors about the end of the trilogy to be worth your while. But nevertheless, some substantial improvements to the overall experience have made this a promising step in the right direction for Piranha Bytes as a developer.
Risen 2: Dark Waters was ultimately a failure as an open world, engrossing RPG. It was extremely shallow, overall having one of their smallest and most lackluster world designs to date, with most of the islands consisting of winding pathways with few interesting landmarks leading between major locations. These locations were greatly devoid of life, as the characters were as dull and two-dimensional as wooden boards. The combat wasn’t the worst I’ve ever seen in a game, but it took forever to get the necessary skills to stay on top of combat, and by then you just got used to button mashing between prayers. Beyond combat, half the skills in the game were worthless or used in only scripted situations that were easy enough to do without.
– Real player with 84.7 hrs in game
DEMON’S TILT
The Developer has proved that the impossible can be achieved; to actually refine an already perfect game and make it even better with every subsequent update. Pinball goes back decades and the game that Demon’s Tilt is based on is actually around almost thirty years old. The Pc Engine hosted some amazing shooters (including it’s almost arcade perfect version of R-Type), Gunhed and the aforementioned Devil Crash, which was the best occult themed pinball game ever created and nothing could ever come close UNTIL Demon’s Tilt emerged nearly three decades on the heels of Devil Crash. Three decades is a very long time to wait for a worthy successor and surprisingly, nobody tried to replicate or improve on Devil Crash until now…first enter the developer of Demon’s Tilt and later the publisher who came on board and the game went from being pretty special to nigh-on-perfect with scaling, rotation, tons of large hand drawn sprites, shmup elements and the occult. Wow, this is like winning the lottery and every time you play this utterly stunning pinball game you are constantly rewarded with more discoveries and higher scores. The table is good stretching up three screens high and the mood is dark but when things liven up it does get hectic and very colourful. The music is straight out of a Megadrive/Genesis but the core game remains true to the Devil Crash formula. Occult pinball just got better and gets better with every update, the developer has to be seriously applauded for making the impossible happen, can you get better than perfect? He has proved that you can with a resounding YES. Every update of Demon’s Tilt either tweaks or adds something new. And we haven’t even left EA yet. For the price, you get the best pinball on Steam and for your time, you get happy memories created in seriously wanting to beat your high score again and again. Going retro with Occult Pinball with hints of Saturn, Neo Geo, and Playstation thrown in. The epitome of the perfect video pinball game 100/100 and it just keeps on getting better.
– Real player with 31.1 hrs in game
DEMON’S TILT
DEMON’S TILT is a retro-stylized pinball on a huge 3 sections table. I’ve played with Xbox controller and I believe it’s much more comfortable than keyboard for this game.
I can say only positive things about DEMON’S TILT:
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Gameplay is very addictive and the game is a great fun for short playsessions
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Cool music/sound effects
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Game looks really good + there’s plenty of settings to adjust visuals/colours
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I’m not super impressed by bosses in a current state, but the whole table in general is absolutely awesome.
– Real player with 22.6 hrs in game
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Its Soul Reaver lite
While not a bad game, its definitely not as good as it’s predecessor in a lot of respects.
The Good:
Superb voice acting, nice story, the puzzles are more complex and involved yet overall pretty good and offer a bit more clues to solve them, which is a marked improvement to the previous game.
The Not-so-good:
-The combat - In comparison to SR1 it feels distant, with little weight or consequence behind your punches, making it rather unsatisfying.
Furthermore, by the endgame, when fighting 4+ opponents, they will ALL attack at the same time, and while realistic and “challenging” it really comes out as cheap, specially when
! some of those enemies would naturally attack each other, but as soon as they detect you, ALL of them go for your ass instead. . Your Soul Reaver blade can be used from the start of the game and is a bit OP, that however is countered by a bar which fills the more you use the blade and kill with it, and once filled takes away some of your health, thus forcing you to mix its use with regular weapons, which at least brings some depth to an otherwise humdrum combat system. Speaking of the blade, it can be infused throughout the story with different elements (light, dark, wind & fire) but disappointingly only come into play in puzzles; yet another sign that the combat is undercooked at best.
– Real player with 20.1 hrs in game
I was finally able to get the game working courtesy of this excellent patch right here .
“But suppose your throw a coin enough times – suppose one day it lands on its edge.”
The opening to Soul Reaver is seared into my memory.
No matter how many times I watch the introductory cutscene, the booming synth pulls me right back into the Gothic tableau of the Legacy of Kain universe, as if I were discovering it anew. With slick narrative efficiency, it sets in motion a tale of vengeance that spills out across time, daring its protagonists to challenge the apparent indomitability of fate.
– Real player with 17.4 hrs in game