Developed and self-published by Event Horizon, a hopeful single-player RPG adventure game with optional online multiplayer co-op mode, it is disappoint,,, I mean Dark Envoy.
Some games are meant to be played online multiplayer co-op with buddies and this sure is one of them. Heck, if you don’t, like I did, you won’t have any shoulder to cry on when the eventual disappointment kicks in.
The Adventure Begins
You play as Malachi and Kaela, a sibling pair of relic hunters from the city of Bones, an isolated desert town that’s an oasis of peace in an otherwise chaotic fantasy world.
“Dad, who are those people? What’s happening?”
“Malachi, they’re plot devices. Roll with it.”
When chaos and tragedy strike their hometown, our heroes set off on a mission to unmask the villains who turned their lives upside down. Naturally, this leads them into a war with high stakes. They fight foes bigger and stronger with means much weaker. Regardless they never give up and carry on till they gain the one thing they surely desire… Fantasy hero plot ending 101!
Customising Your Heroes
Dark Envoy lets you deck out Malachi and Kaela with all sorts of combat goodies. Start by picking from four base classes: Warrior, Ranger, Engineer, or Adept. Level up, boost stats, and choose class specialisations, each with its own set of flashy skills.
Craft and enchant weapons, armour, and jewellery to complement your fighting style. I went the traditional route, making Kaela a sharpshooter. Light armour, high speed, and a tendency to zip around. Perfect for picking off enemies from afar.
There’s also a small pool of modifiable companion characters to round out your party of four for each mission. Obviously a game desgined around four people online multiplayer co-op does not have the ability to play with 4 people at a time. IT MAKES SENSE!!!
Tactical Shenanigans
Dark Envoy’s combat includes a tactical mode, allowing you to slow or pause time to strategize. Sounds cool, right?
Well, At first, it is.
The first boss fight makes good use of it. But then, it turns every battle into a slog. Repetitive enemies, same-old maps, and an endless loop of skills that make you wish the fight would just end already.
Story Time (or Lack Thereof)
The narrative promises depth but delivers meh. Choosing to side with either the Empire or the League should be epic, but it feels about as meaningful as picking between chocolate or vanilla. Both factions are painted as morally grey, but without much substance to back it up.
Even Malachi and Kaela’s companions are like, “Eh, we’ll follow you no matter what. War, shamwar.” Not exactly riveting stuff.
What’s in the Director’s Cut?
I am not here pretending that this RPG wasn’t released back in 2018. The only reason I am reviewing it is because of the new Director cut shtick that has been added to the end of that forgettable title.
Let’s see what we got here:
Event Horizon Developers: “We want to share an enormous thank you! We’re releasing Dark Envoy: Director’s Cut using each and every comment, report, and piece of feedback you’ve shared with us over the last six months.
Summary of most important Changes:
- Less shy about connections with the Tower of Time universe, new main meta-level voiced narration
- Major narrative changes reworked the main cutscenes, and some VO reworked, creating a completely different experience, especially during the first few hours of the game.
- Balancing, polishing reworking again, then repeating the process
- Improved Jaan map and unique boss items
- further optimization and QoL improvements
- And we fixed one major sinister memory leak bug that made us all so miserable!”
So, not much then.
Let’s just go to the outro and be done with this. I have got things to do.
What could have been but wasn’t
Dark Envoy might tickle the fancy of tactical RPG enthusiasts desperate for something new. But with repetitive combat, a so-so story, and technical issues, it’s a tough sell.
Hardcore RPG fans, maybe give it a shot. Everyone else, there are more options out there for you to scratch your itch.
