Drakensang: The Dark Eye Review (2009, Role Playing)

An Epic Adventure game that could have been so much more

Graphics - 8
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 7
Difficulty - 7
Overall - 7.5

First Impressions are one of the most important things in any game. And as far as Drakensang goes the first impression that i got from it was very very poor. For starters the story and the opening movie isn't the greatest you'll ever see. The graphics are pretty decent and the sounds are not that bad. However the awkward camera and the confusing interface really leaves a poor impression.

The world of Drakensang is a wast and beautiful one

Another thing that you come to realize very early is that unlike most adventure games that you have played Drakensang is different in almost every way. The spells, The traits and even the Combat is completely unique in Drakensang. Although most players will enjoy this uniqueness that the game provides, the lack of a proper tutorial will leave you confused about the many things in the game even after playing it for a long long time.

Character creation and progression is something that is out of this world. With so many things to control this aspect of the game is certainly more complex that it should have been. But having said that the amount of character customization allows you to create a bunch of characters that are tailor made to combat any situation.

Character creation can be very complex.

The gameplay in Drakensang is pretty decent. With a fair arrangement of combat moves and spells Drakensang's game play is certainly one of its strong points. However it could have been a lot better if there were more spells and combat moves to choose from. The Quests are pretty decent and completing side quests dish out a fair reqward. However the main quest could have done with a bit more attention to it as it seems linear most of the time.

One more thing that is likely to grab your attention is that you can almost never shake off that feeling of "This game could have been so much better if only they had done this.. or that". For example the world of Drakensang is vast and requires a lot of traveling however this takes a lot of time since the traverl speed is extremely slow.

Another nice feature of the game is the ability to create potions, weapons and Armour. Some of the most powerful items in the game can only be obtained only by creating them. But again even this aspect of the game could have been a lot better by allowing players to tweak with recipes rather than have them unchangeable.

The Bottom line

Although it is flawed in many ways, Drakensang is a rare gem of a game that should be enjoyed by all RPG lovers. But for anyone to really enjoy this game they must be patient.