Dark Devotion

This souls-inspired roguelite frustrates just as often as it entertains.

Dark Devotion looks good and clearly has a lot of imagination behind it, but the systems that keep repeating throughout the game don't do much except getting you lost, confused, or frustrated.

Dark Devotion has been a challenging and interesting addition to the Dark Souls-like genre.

While Dark Devotion certainly adds a few novelties for a roguelike, it maintains a high difficulty level that can be off-putting. It looks lovely, though some iffy controls and sometimes convoluted story detract from the overall enjoyment.

Dark Devotion is a good successor of the school formed from the work of From Software, but who knows how to leave his own mark with the inclusion of rogue like and random game mechanics, which will become a nightmare for the player, a delicious nightmare and rewarding if in addition to be successful with the difficulty, we do it to bad luck too. Small details do not let the game shine more, such as bored secondary missions, or a half-resolved control, with some movements too slow.

There’s nothing that elevates it above its competition.

Dark Devotion is one of the most brutally challenging 2D action RPGs and the controls definitely don't complement its tough gameplay.

Dark Devotion is a 2D action game that focuses on combat and exploration. With a variety of weapons and items, foes, and branching pathways, you'll have plenty to fight with and experience. Some enemies, especially certain bosses, are frustrating and may have you considering throwing your controller. Even so, succeeding feels rewarding.

Dark Devotion is not free from failures, our movements seem excessively heavy compared to those of our enemies, some rooms are quite empty or a control not as polished as I would like. But none of these problems manages to blur a sharply brilliant end result. Luis and Alexandre have created a game where the challenge / reward relationship is almost perfect, the progression system is much more than satisfactory and its graphic aspect has a sweeping personality. The sum of all these factors makes Dark Devotion a small game whose shadow is capable of covering larger titles and budgets. An indispensable game for every lover of challenges.

A borderline unusable map and generally difficult combat combined with traps that kill you immediately could definitely turn people off, but those who choose to persevere will likely enjoy this game enough to see it through to its obtuse, confusing ending.