Daggerdale is a town in the Forgotten Realms world of Dungeons & Dragons, but more importantly it is a new hack and slash RPG coming out from Atari and Bedlam Games. We got the chance to check our Daggerdale and see what players will be experiencing on their consoles soon. The game is fun, fast paced, D&D with a great style and strong co-op game play. Follow us into the dungeon as we go through some highlights on Daggerdale.
There are four character races/classes that you can play. The Human fighter, Dwarf cleric, Elf rogue, and Halfling mage. Each class has a unique build system which mirrors D&D’s 4th Edition rule set. You can select stats, feats, etc. Even though the races and classes are set characters, there is still enough customization in the game to keep players occupied. In the demo we saw the human fighter and halfling mage were used. We also got to see the elf rogue with two different specs. There is a way to spec the rogue for ranged attacks (with a bow) or melee combat. The classes also have defensive moves which they can use, the rogue’s tumble ability was a great way to avoid strikes and get back into combat.
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The makers of Daggerdale explained that exploration is a big part of the game. They wanted the dungeons to feel like classic D&D and players will find many hidden rooms and secrets to discover. The game does have four regions to explore, taking players all the way to the Eye of the Abyss at the end. One of the great things about the demo is that you can really pick up some nice loot through exploring alone. Sure there are plenty of monsters to hack through, but don’t leave any stones unturned, you will find a lot just by looking around.
The gear system is straight forward D&D with items from normal to rare. The magic items use the classic D&D prefix and suffix system. So you may find a +1 Sword of Fire. There are a lot of merchants in the game to help you find what you need and players will see that loot is scattered throughout the dungeons.
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The level cap is not a hard cap but players slow down around the seven to eighth level range. Bedlam and Atari are planning downloadable content updates for the game so players will find more to come back to once they have beaten the game. Also one of the best parts is that Atari is expected to set the pricing around the “low end” of Xbox pricing. So players can get in quickly with direct download and start up the game. Another area that Atari is excited about is the co-op game play. Players can all log in from home and join up for a great dungeon crawl on a Friday night is their regular D&D session cannot be met.
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The story in Daggerdale is told through cuts scenes with some amazing artwork. The scenes we saw were of the dwarves in their mines talking to the players about the goblins overtaking part of their tunnels. It had a classic D&D feel to it. Even if you are not a fan of 4th edition, the game plays very well and has a great storyline for players old and new to enjoy.
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Daggerdale can be summed up in one word, fun. It is a quick hack and slash game with a classic D&D feel to it. The game is not expected to break your bank and give you many hours of fun game play either solo or in co-op mode. The idea of more content updates in the future should give players plenty to be excited about once they play through the full game. If you are an RPG fan and are just looking for a fun game to pass the time that won’t force you into endless hours of game play, then Daggerdale is the perfect snack to feed your need of adventure.
