Adventure Quest 8-Bit: Dungeons and DoomKnights Switch Review | Hard To Battle On

Adventure Quest 8 Bit Dungeons and DoomKnights is a good example of a game that has great intentions and poor display. As a title for the switch, it feels at home, if not a little weird among titles such as old Legend of Zelda and Mario. However, beneath the surface is a game that needs a lot of work, and some prior knowledge to find aspiring.

Adventure Quest 8 Bit Dungeons and Doom knights Switch Review | Hard To BattleonAdventure Quest 8 Bit Dungeons and DoomKnights is a great case of why not everyone should develop classic system titles. Being an odd mixture of the modern lore from Flash games in a classic NES frame, the game tries hard with narrative and gameplay. However, in trying to distinguish itself as playable on the modern platform, it serves as a letdown to the spirit of these titles. Artix Entertainment is a publisher that prides itself on whacky fantasy adventures that range from turn-based to card games. However, Dungeons and Doom Knights feels like more of a step backward than forward in their development.

Everything attempts to be a challenging action game, however the most difficult part is navigation and clunky controls. Through limited storytelling and repetitive and overdone quest lines, there’s little more to be established than a low-quality game. Even the music and sound of this title have lost touch with the usual stellar performance Artix takes with their games. The most criminal aspect of this game, however, is the criminal lack of fun to be hard while trying to grind through the familiar world of Lore. 

Adventure Quest 8 Bit: Dungeons and DoomKnights is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch for 19.99$ USD!

Adventure Quest meets the 8 bit universe in Adventure Quest Dungeons and Doomknights!

Adventure Quest meets the 8 bit universe in Adventure Quest Dungeons and Doomknights!

Story – Confused And Tired

Perhaps one of the worst offending aspects of Dungeons and Doomknights is the lack of an actual story to go with it. What it offers is hidden behind fights and puzzles that are so stretched out that it’s easy to forget what you were doing originally. Coupled with the familiar faces, and ideas from former titles it’s clear they’ve embraced certain aspects of their lore while forgetting others. You can see this with characters like the chaos lord being present. However, Artix himself lacks much of his latent abilities established in Adventure Quest Worlds and DragonFable

Another confusing aspect of these adventures is where exactly they fall on the storyline they have established in previous games. Most Artix entertainment titles in some way loop into each other, yet this one feels oddly strained. Down to killing the Grim Reaper in the game’s opening section should you jump down the cliff. While many of the undead fit the bill of evil, it also ignores the peace pact between good and evil to confront chaos. Since this is present during that chaotic scenario, it leaves the player with more questions than answers.

Gameplay – Clunky and Dated

One thing that’s very easy to say about Dungeons and Doomknights is that the gameplay makes it unenjoyable. Between tank-like controls and delayed button actions, there is a level of luck bestowed on every action. The number of times you click the jump button only to be stopped by the timing delay will cause death to happen a large amount of the time. To this end, some controls like jumping are only active sometimes, making traversal difficult and unwieldy. Perhaps the biggest flaw in the gameplay however is that it’s just not that entertaining for long periods.

Welcome to the world of lore where you play as the paladin, Artix!

Welcome to the world of lore where you play as the paladin, Artix!

Abilities and other attacks in the game feel as though they were developed for something that moves at half the game’s speed. Healing and item pick-ups occasionally don’t register until the second or third time you interact with them in play. And while there are plenty of secrets and unique challenges like fighting death and Dage the Evil, they all feel half-baked. In truth, this is the least enjoyable adventure Quest game to play besides maybe something from Ebil games. With their upcoming release of adventure Quest Worlds Infinity soon on the rise, one is left wondering how much work went into dungeons and doom knights that could have gone towards that?

Visuals – Simple and Colorful

Where Artix Entertainment usually shines is their visual qualities, from the stunning features of dragon fable to the simplistic nature of Adventure Quest. However, Dungeons and DoomKnights somehow feels more like a mini-game for these games than its title. In truth, the collection of mini-games throughout this title is no better as each has a simplistic art style reminiscent of old RPG makers. One of the main faults is possibly the change from flash animation to something else. Even their title Adventure Quest 3D suffers from the fact it’s incredibly unattractive, and Dungeons and Doomknights is no different. 

The only real aspect where this title excels beyond the norm is when discussing the way that colors are implemented in the old pallet. This game at least has an eye-popping eye in light places for characters and an important set design. However, these nice aesthetics take a back seat when looking at the landscape of certain places like Deaths Fight. You get a sense that some of these characters had a lot of thought and effort poured into them, which looks beautifully done. However, in other places, the title looks rushed, making it hard to get through. Overall it’s hopeful that with a few updates, this title can look more polished and put together for a team capable of great things!

Lurk in dungeons, find titular Adventure Quest characters including the green dragon!

Dragons and other monsters await you in this 8-bit adventure!

Sound Design – Mediocre and Repetitive

Another area where Artix Entertainment usually holds itself high is in sound design, though it’s absent here in Dungeons and Doomknights. In the past A.E. has worked with some brilliant musicians and DJs to put together some top-notch events and games. However, in this title, there’s only a generic and overly-used soundtrack that had the volume turned down quicker than anything. There is barely anything other than this music and outdated sound effects to speak about. It’s not that there isn’t the potential for a better soundtrack or even better sound effects, it’s just not there.

In that sense, it highlights a lot of the major issues that exist with Dungeons and Doomknights. The game feels half put together, and more of a personal passion project than a reasonable game. For that reason, it makes the title hard to justify purchasing. However, one thing became clear throughout the many minigames, main stories, and extras made available. There isn’t much substance to this title where there definitely should be some to go around!

Adventure Quest 8 Bit: Dungeons and Doom Knights was covered on Nintendo Switch with a key given to us by NovyUnlimited!

Summary
Adventure Quest 8 Bit Dungeons and DoomKnights needs a lot more baking in the oven before it could reach its maximum potential. As an idea, its great to bring back the use of retro gameplay mechanics, and design. However in this title, we see not only what happens when its done with little regard for playability, but also a sad lack of story loop. Instead it packs itself with mini games, nostalgic memorabilia, and a hype train speeding towards its final destination to mediocrity.
Good
  • Interesting world and character design
  • An old take on a nostalgic series
  • Simple objectives
Bad
  • Confusing Maps
  • Clunky Gameplay
  • Repetitive Sound
4
Poor

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