Daggerdale is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe in the Dalelands region. The evil Rezlus and his army have invaded the region and your task is to restore order by defeating Rezlus.
Daggerdale is a real time combat game which uses the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition rules. All the technical aspects such as dice rolling are automatically performed leaving you to get on with the fun part of hacking and slashing and casting spells. Four character classes are available to play with; fighters, clerics, rogues and wizards, each have their own abilities, spells and combat tactics. Characters earn experience for killing enemies and completing quests which increases their level allowing them to spend points on improving their abilities, spells and core stats.
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The quests generally last around 15 minutes each and usually involve you fighting your way to a location and then defeating a specific enemy or collecting items. Each of the three chapters have several quests which total to around six hours over the course of the game. Bosses are found the end of each chapter which are fun to battle, though a few more would have been welcome to challenge players. The chapter plots are overall average and at times they felt hurried in places. By the time you complete the last battle which features a very misplaced Quick Time Event sequence involving climbing a dragons back, you will feel short-changed after you remove your hands from your head in disbelief.
Both local and online co-op games are supported and allow to play through the campaign together. Item drops can be shared between players but only by dropping them, fortunately gold pickups are automatically shared so this cuts the inevitable sharing arguments by half. The game is intended to be played cooperatively and the experience is much more enjoyable than in single player, you never get bored with a wizard freezing several enemies followed by the fighter rushing in with a whirlwind attack to kill them all.
Depending on your class, combat is a mix of hack and slash or hanging in the background providing support for other characters or by casting spells. I spent some time with all the characters and they are fun in their own ways to play. The fighter is perhaps the most enjoyable as he gets the main share of the hack and slash action. Targeting is handled automatically by locking on to the nearest enemy, it can sometimes be confusing when there are multiple enemies nearby but overall it works well enough. The difficulty can vary depending on your class, I played through the game with the fighter and it was a breeze. Playing with other classes can bring up some challenges if you prefer that.
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It all sounds good so far but unfortunately I have to dedicate a paragraph to the amount of bugs and annoyances in the game. Bugs include unlocked spells disappearing and prevent you from being able to use them. Screen tearing is very noticeable, you do tend to ignore it after a while but it remains an issue throughout the game. Characters can often get stuck in scenery which is unforgivable by today’s standards. The games cut scenes can also get in the way, such as when you complete a quest; items often remain on the floor, the cut scene will automatically start and once over, the items will have disappeared. Restarting a chapter or dying will often see your characters equipment and button assignments reset which forces you to reassign them all again. Weapons can also visually disappear from the character, you can still use them but there are no animations for them. There are plenty more bugs and annoyances, though for review length I will keep them to one paragraph.
The games presentation is lacking, while the menus are easy to use they are basic in functionality. There are no options to compare items so you have to remember stats when comparing. Selling items can be an issue as the items randomly reorganise themselves and you can end up selling the wrong item if you are not careful. Graphically the game is average with bland scenery, granted the game is played in dark caves but I felt this could be improved when compared to other similar games. Character models are also bland, the dwarves look like they are wearing a rubber mask which I found hilarious when combined with the lack of emotion from them. Music, when heard is fairly good otherwise you will be spending a lot of time listening to the ambience. Sound effects are well represented but the lack of voice for NPC’s is disappointing, instead they mumble which grates after the first conversation.
Despite the many bugs and annoyances, the game is actually very enjoyable to play at times, especially when playing co-op with a few friends. The issues however do detract a great deal from the game, it all ends up in a half-ass attempt containing some highlights but many more lowlights. Is Daggerdale worth the 1200 :MSPoints:? Unfortunately not, wait until the bugs are fixed or it turns up on Deal of the Week which I suspect will be sooner than later. The Dungeons and Dragons name deserves better!
| Rating | Description |
| 5.5 | Gameplay Numerous bugs and annoyances plague the game. Co-op does lift the game with some enjoyable gameplay. |
| 5.0 | Graphics Graphics glitches, texture popups, missing animations, poor character models. |
| 5.0 | Sound Music when heard is enjoyable. Sound effects are reasonable but the lack of voice acting replaced by mumbling is dire. |
| 5.0 | Final Score |
