Dungeon-crawling is not new to gaming. But few games have transcended this genre into something more, something so pure and addictive that one cannot help but take notice. Allow me to introduce an indie game that attempts to reach lofty heights of dungeon-crawling: Din’s Curse.
Din’s Curse follows a silent and unnamed hero who has lead a worthless life. As such, his (or her) punishment is to serve the god of honor, Din, for all eternity. Or at least until he feels the character has redeemed himself. But there’s a major problem with the story: Nothing is explained. You don’t learn about your character’s crimes. Nor do you have an opportunity to create a backstory. You never learn anything about Din. All he does is introduce himself, and that’s it. Towns do not have a sense of history, and they don’t have characters that sell it. There is no overarching plot to keep everything together. In other words, the game has no character. I do not think there is much there to distinguish itself from other games.
What Din’s Curse does do differently is the overwhelming skill choices. Yes, there are different character classes to play as, but the real joy comes from two things. First, you can create your own character class. You take two skills, and they can come from any class you want. Yes, you could take two skills from the same set, but why would you? You can combine necromancy with archer skills. Gladiator skills with a warlock’s skills. Any skill combination you can think of, you can create. Furthermore, you are not chained to a skill tree. That’s the second joy of the game. You’re not chained to a specific skill order. Instead, you spend skill points on any skill you want. Granted, skills lower on the “tree” cost more (especially monetarily) than those higher up. The same is true for skills you wish to improve. In fact, it’s one of the most flexible skill tree systems created.
As such, this is traditional point-and-click hack-n-slash gameplay. You left click to move your avatar around the map and to attack monsters. The right-mouse button is not used. Instead, you have to rely on the hot keys to use your character’s special abilities. This felt odd to me because I’m used to having that button perform special attacks or spells. Characters who have quests are easily found when they are on screen, but you can’t find them using the auto map. And the auto map takes you to a different screen. It is not a transparent overlay on top of the action. On the plus side, it makes completing quests easier.
This brings up the main issue I have with the game. Dungeon-crawlers require perfect balance of things. Make quests and monsters too difficult, and no one will play it. Make them too easy, and there’s a lack of accomplishment. This is the problem: It ranges too quickly between the two extremes. Perhaps choosing the difficulty is part of the problem. Another aspect of the problem is having inept characters with chutzpah trying to solve their own problems. Additionally, monsters will surround characters in distress, effectively killing them before you can rescue them. To summarize in a single statement: great ideas, but rough around the edges.
Graphically, things are a bit dated. It looks like something released at the end of the 1990s. This is not a bad thing, at least per se. The problem is simple: A fair amount of animations are not completed. Your character can attack and move. It is cool, but your character looks like he’s a moving chess piece. This is especially true if he’s transformed into a beast. It makes the game feel incomplete.
Sound design includes standard fantasy sounds. The same is true for its music. It is there, but there is nothing that stands out — nothing to truly capture the imagination. However, the ambiance is awesome. What can I say; I love the sound of rain and thunder.
Din’s Curse is a solid PC game that doesn’t live up to its full potential. With a concept about redemption, it is a high hurdle to reach. The graphics need to be completed, the game needs a bit more balance, and ultimately, it needs some character. Its universe needs to be explained and fleshed out. I shouldn’t have to play a previous game in the series to understand it all. At the end of the day, Din’s Curse is completely playable. It is fun but uninspired. I find it hard to recommend it when other games do the same thing better for the same price. As such, give it a whirl and see if it belongs in your library. For others, some might see holy water as a cure. How else do you break a curse?
