For those of you out there who have seen a lot of Indie/quirky shows/movies this could be a relatively short read with all you need to know in one sentence. Napoleon Dynamite Tripping balls at the stranger things school while playing real life dungeons and dragons.
There is a sentence I never thought I would write.
However not everyone has seen Napoleon Dynamite (shame on you) or played dungeons and dragons (Cersei Lannister shame). This little gem of a game from danandgary games, is an RPG style of game with old skool platform- brawler combat thrown in the mixer.
You could be mistaken for thinking this is just another Indie RPG destined to be lost amongst a rather overcrowded marketplace. It has character(stats) progression, equipable accessories, a main arching storyline with lots of little optional side quests, dungeons(classrooms), dungeon bosses and save points. Sounds like a pretty normal role player? This game is far from normal in the best possible way.
I have to admit when I watched the trailer for this game I was mildly discouraged, the Mrs laughed at me for having to play this game. So, when I started playing when she went for a shower imagine my delight at finding a rather unexpectedly funny game. The general chat is very tongue in cheek from the off, packed full of subtle jokes and ridiculously OTT stereotyping.
You play as Daryl who is either so ridiculously introverted his imagination overplays his reality like a constant AR game, or who has consumed too many tabs in his day and is stuck in his own tripping head. On his first day the robot headmaster, introduces him to a pair of kids, who are trying to set up a business of selling textbooks in a school. They want to sell them to a hat summoning girl, a squirrel boy, a boy who likes to eat glass and a bear. All of this seems apparently normal to the small amount of kids left in the school. The rest have all disappeared. Nothing unusual there then.
I Would have liked some superficial changes, like when you equip a vampire’s cape it adds strength, but Daryl doesn’t wear it in the game itself. I know it would be a lot more work to have him running around in all his accessories but for me, I think it would have really added to the comedic value of the game. But if that is really the biggest flaw a game has, then kudos to the developers.
Solid Indie game, with around 15 hours game time, lots more if you’re a trophy hunter
Verdict
All in, if you like RPG’s comedy and story rich gaming then buy it. If you don’t, then why are you still here?
Available on Steam on the 10th April and Playstation around the same time.
Over Score 7/10
Developer: Dan & Gary Games
Publisher: Dan & Gary Games
Release Date: 10th April 2018
Price:
File Size:
PlayStation 4 copy provided for review purpose.
Available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch & Steam