This recently announced title has only just entered the Alpha playtesting phase, but Dark and Darker already appears to be offering a unique experience to those who love the dungeon crawler genre. Specifically, this is through the way that developer IRONMACE is focusing on evolving the possibilities for online multiplayer among these types of games.
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Dark and Darker’s Complex Battle Royale World
The type of combat offered by Dark and Darker has become known as PvPvE, thanks to the way that it not only pits players against an environment full of monsters, but also against each other. This is a game type that has grown popular in games like Titanfall, Destiny 2, and the Hunt: Showdown. In fact, it’s the last game in that list that IRONMACE seems to be emulating the closest, as the developer’s upcoming title has a similar focus on clearing out mobs while either avoiding or hunting other players in the same world. It’s a type of game design where beefing up early-game loadouts can be just as important as the player’s skill as they continue diving into dungeon after dungeon.
These unique gameplay aspects don’t simply end at putting players in a room with a group of monsters and other players, though. To give the experience some extra pressure, Dark and Darker’s map pulls from the top battle royale titles. This comes complete with an enclosing space that will eventually kill players who can’t stay on the move as they loot the dungeon. That being said, the game especially shines with the way that it handles both dolling out loot and tasking players with selling it off.
Layered Loot Pools and Merchant Systems
It would be easy enough to allow players to simply jump into a match, grab up a certain amount of loot, and then leave with a modest earning from a few spare chests here and there. However, Dark and Darker offers its own unique approach to the risk and reward of PvPvE gameplay by not only hiding the best treasures deep in each dungeon, but by also making exits incredibly rare. This means that every jump into the dungeon is its own adventure, with every trap, mob, or enemy player being one step closer to losing everything the player has gained.
Beyond the simple aspect of retrieving high-level loot, there is a separate section to the gameplay in the vein of the roguelike Moonlighter, where players must now decide how they are going to spend their well-earned treasure. While in the lobby between dives into the dungeon, players are tasked with finding the merchants who will be able to give the best price for everything found on the last crawl. This is also one place where a sense of progression can arise, as a player’s reputation with a certain merchant can have a large effect on how good of a price they get for certain treasure.
All of this makes for an intricate give and take on choosing not only where to sell treasure, but also when to sell it to the highest bidder, similar to another popular PvPvE title called Escape from Tarkov. A confident player might be able to hold onto some of their more valuable loot and bring it back later in order to get a better deal when finally selling it. This all adds to the way that Dark and Darker pushes players to take as many risks as possible with the promise of impressive reward if they succeed.
Dark and Darker is scheduled to release in late 2023 for PC.
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