With a sequel around the corner Dusk Diver brings out an anime dynasty-warriors type of feeling that is worth checking out!
Recently I found myself playing Dusk Diver, a game I wanted to check out and play since I found out it was a thing around a year ago. I want to write down my thoughts without making a full on review for it due to some issues and time being an obstacle. So here are my thoughts and opinions about Dusk Diver!
As far as the price point goes I have usually seen the game at around 25€ so I cannot say it is much. It is a fairly cheap game for the work it has pilled up on it. In addition, if you buy the physical version you get a pretty cool artbook and a pin set with chibi versions of the characters, included in the Day One Edition which is surprisingly easy to find. Extra points there for accessibility, both physically and digitally of course.
Now when it comes to time-to-price value. Like I talk in many of my extensive reviews, I like the hours I put into any game to reflect its pricing as worth it. Personally I am quite fond of reading through story and dialogue and really immersing myself in a game even if it a short one. Heck, one of my favorite franchises is full of 'short' titles given the fact that they are all metroidvania games. But we are talking about a musou game right now and although I didn't expect some grand hour hitting timers, I expected the game to be around the 20-30ish hour mark.
The game reached a 10-ish hour mark for me. Something that somewhat was a let down, but compared to its price I cannot really blame it too much. It is here that I do have to point out that I didn't go for completion, I didn't do max friendship or ALL the side quests or S-ranked all the stages. If someone seeks to practically 100% the game I am pretty sure it can take way above the 30 hour mark I set before, given the fact that collectibles are all over the place and grind is necessary to obtain some of them.
Following the touch up on the hours, I simply have to talk about the story and characters of the game. In order for you to put a lot of hours in a game, the story has to be explained and steadily evolving throughout. I hope this could be the situation for Dusk Diver, but sadly it is not.
The story itself is well built. The idea of a parallel world that is inhabited by monsters is always a staple appealing idea, one that I personally enjoy seeing in games myself. I truly found myself enjoying the gimmick of the world Dusk Diver takes place in, the city even seemed very life like when it came to buildings and such, but I found myself wanting more. I wanted more info on the plot and the characters, more story and more alongside those lines.
The characters were actively likable, their recruitment was a bit too fast for my liking but they were all enjoyable to fight and to see. The back to back encounters confused me at some points, I felt like the characters weren't fleshed out enough to recruit another one, but it didn't leave such a bad aftertaste. What I truly wish that was done with the characters was a more nicely structured hangout mechanic. You see, the game has a relationship meter with character events, but they last only a few minutes and you barely learn anything about the characters. Even if they are cute little moments I really would like if they followed a more extensive event.
When it comes to the graphics I will give Dusk Diver this; it is very aesthetically pleasing. The modeling of the main characters is done well, the animations are also nicely polished and the general design idea is quite appealing and easy to the eye. Which funnily enough is quite surprising, seeing how many things are happening at once and how colorful are the designs of the characters.
The attacks now are more of the graphics I want to praise. Every single attack and weapon is done beautifully! The textures and the animations on them are so well done, as expected of a musou game after all! The enemy attacks are simple and yet work! The only nitpick I have is that when an enemy was too large I could barely see the attacks and everything was chaos, annoying at first but with a bit of adjustments I personally didn't have an issue.
Now, the music. The music is pretty good actually! It is nothing grande, as someone would obviously expect when such a small team makes a game, but it is not lacking. It compliments both the overworld and battle stages quite nicely, especially the boss music when it hits riiight at the correct moments! You just feel that even if the tracks are just a handful, they really compliment the whole feeling of the game.
Last but not least, the gameplay. I don't think I have something bad to say about it. It is a dynasty warriors type of game with anime touches, it does its job well and the combat is fast paced, combo based and really pleasing. It gives you 3 partners (Leo, Bahet and La Viada) which all 3 have different playstyles to fit whoever wants to play a specific way or mix and match. The single issue I found myself having was the dodge input being a bit too slow to respond and the lock on option being designed, let us say not optimally.
BUT! Would I recommend the game?
Yes and no. Allow me to explain. If you want a game to just pass your time, you are in no hurry in completing and are on a small budget, sure pick it up. It is a nice game for its price honestly! But if you have a bigger wanton of story and characters, this game is really not for you. Its RPG elements are there but not well fleshed out, something that I really hope changes in the 2nd instalment, which I am really looking forward too~! I wonder what Dusk Diver 2 will have in store for Yumo~
Also they (for some reason) decided to make LeViada broken as all getout.
ReplyDeleteHer barrage, when you unlock it turns the game into buttom-mashing, as your enemies simply explode from the piercing bullets and their guts spill out to recharge your energy. That plus the fact that the higher your combo count, the more energy and health you recover, as well as recharge for your Super Saiyan form... ye...