Darkstone (1999)
Darkstone is a third person Diablo style dungeon crawler. With up to 2 people in your party use swords, magic and bows to defeat your enemies!
First released
Jul 31, 1999
Developed by
Delphine Software International
Published by
Gathering of Developers, Microïds
Platforms
PlayStation, PC
Genres
Action, Role-Playing
Themes
Fantasy
Rating
ESRB: T, BBFC: 15
Releases
- PC - Darkstone United States
- PC - Darkstone: Evil Reigns United Kingdom
- PS1 - Darkstone United States
Community reviews
Old, clunky, and did not age well.
The title says it all, but I'll dive a bit more into it. This game has aged about as well as the contents of a septic tank. It started badly and then became much worse with time.
I'll give credit where credit is due: this game gets a point above the minimum due to the replay-ability options. A lot of games from this era lacked difficulty selection and character import/export features, but Darkstone seems to have implemented it well. There is also quick-save mapping which is incredibly useful in any game where it comes up.
Now for the rest of it. Well, it is by far the worst Diablo clone I've ever played. There was some nostalgia in Darkstone for me since I initially played it back on PS1. For a game that came nearly two years after the first Diablo and on the brink of Diablo 2 no less, Darkstone is awful in many regards. To start, you will fight in this dark world. Oh, you will fight. You will be fighting for your life with the atrocious camera. The 3D design of Darkstone is gimmicky at best, but typically incredibly clunky. This "feature" wholeheartedly differentiates it from the Diablo games.
Continuing, pick any single aspect of Diablo that Darkstone cloned, and you will see that it is a much crappier version of it. You have quests galore, but no quest log. Overlay map completely obscures your view. The monsters are hard to spot and fight. The loot is even harder to spot and pick up. Magical items are terrible. There is seemingly inflation happening in town as all prices are ballooning... but sometimes not.
You can make yourself an AI companion to travel, but lo and behold, your line of effect can be blocked by your allies. Combined with clunky combat to begin with, and this becomes an exercise in frustration. Then of course you have traps which will either do nothing or straight up kill you. None of this is worth it, especially since the story is dismal and forgettable.
If you have never played this game before, avoid it. Buy Diablo and call it a day.
I'll give credit where credit is due: this game gets a point above the minimum due to the replay-ability options. A lot of games from this era lacked difficulty selection and character import/export features, but Darkstone seems to have implemented it well. There is also quick-save mapping which is incredibly useful in any game where it comes up.
Now for the rest of it. Well, it is by far the worst Diablo clone I've ever played. There was some nostalgia in Darkstone for me since I initially played it back on PS1. For a game that came nearly two years after the first Diablo and on the brink of Diablo 2 no less, Darkstone is awful in many regards. To start, you will fight in this dark world. Oh, you will fight. You will be fighting for your life with the atrocious camera. The 3D design of Darkstone is gimmicky at best, but typically incredibly clunky. This "feature" wholeheartedly differentiates it from the Diablo games.
Continuing, pick any single aspect of Diablo that Darkstone cloned, and you will see that it is a much crappier version of it. You have quests galore, but no quest log. Overlay map completely obscures your view. The monsters are hard to spot and fight. The loot is even harder to spot and pick up. Magical items are terrible. There is seemingly inflation happening in town as all prices are ballooning... but sometimes not.
You can make yourself an AI companion to travel, but lo and behold, your line of effect can be blocked by your allies. Combined with clunky combat to begin with, and this becomes an exercise in frustration. Then of course you have traps which will either do nothing or straight up kill you. None of this is worth it, especially since the story is dismal and forgettable.
If you have never played this game before, avoid it. Buy Diablo and call it a day.