DAIMON BLADES Review Summary

Its excellent art, fun addictive gameplay, and unique concept are undermined by frequent crashes, general jank, and numerous bugs.

Excellent art direction and visuals: The art direction and visual style are frequently described as amazing, stunning, and immersive. Reviewers appreciate the unique and detailed aesthetic that enhances the overall experience.

Fun and addictive gameplay: Players consistently praise the gameplay as fun, satisfying, and addictive. Many highlight that it is easy to get into yet challenging, keeping them engaged.

Promising and unique concept: The game's concept and unique look generate positive first impressions and high hopes for its future development. Players find it conceptually likable and full of potential.

Satisfying combat feel: Combat is often described as good, balanced, and fun, with a satisfying feel. Some note it is simple but pleasant, while others praise its depth and hack-and-slash style.

Overall positive reception: Many reviewers simply describe the game as good, great, or excellent. It is liked and enjoyed by a broad audience.

Game frequently crashes: Many players report the game crashes frequently, sometimes every few games, and crashes are a major source of frustration. Crashes occur across various modes and can halt gameplay entirely.

General jank and unpolish: The game is often described as janky, rough, and unpolished in many areas. This jank affects overall gameplay feel and contributes to a lack of refinement.

Numerous bugs and glitches: The game is loaded with bugs and glitches, ranging from minor annoyances to game-breaking issues. Players frequently mention countless bugs that detract from the experience.

Combat feels janky and unresponsive: Combat is frequently criticized for feeling stilted, unresponsive, and floaty, with poor impact feedback. Many players find combat clumsy and unsatisfying.

Multiplayer connectivity issues: Multiplayer suffers from frequent disconnections, crashes, and infinite load times. The co-op mode is often unplayable due to these problems.

Roguelike elements present: The game includes roguelike or roguelite gameplay, featuring runs, procedural generation, and meta progression. It is often described as a roguelike hack-and-slash or dungeon crawler.

Co-op and solo play supported: The game supports both solo and cooperative play, including up to four players in session-based co-op. Co-op can be played with friends or via quick play matchmaking.

Melee combat is core: Combat is melee-focused, with attacks, charged attacks, dashes, jumps, blocks, parries, and ultimates. It is often described as first-person melee combat with parry mechanics.

Boss fights included: The game features challenging boss fights, some of which spawn additional enemies. Bosses appear across multiple levels.

Set in E.Y.E universe: The game takes place in the E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy universe, specifically in a technological Middle Ages setting. It is set a few millennia before the events of E.Y.E.

Frequent random game crashes: Players report random crashes, sometimes occurring every 1-2 hours or multiple times per session. These crashes often interrupt gameplay and can happen in various modes.

Performance issues and poor optimization: Many players report bad performance, lack of optimization, and low FPS, even on capable hardware. These issues are especially noticeable on release and with Unreal Engine 5.

Multiplayer netcode problems: The netcode is criticized as bad, causing lag, disconnects, and unplayable multiplayer experiences even with good connections. Issues persist with friends and random players.

Positive performance experiences with optimization: Some players report excellent optimization, achieving 120+ FPS on high settings and smooth gameplay with DLSS/DLAA. Loading times are also quick.

Disconnection and stability issues: Players experience random disconnects and overall stability problems during online play. These issues disrupt multiplayer sessions and progress.

Not Recommended in Current State: Many players cannot recommend the game due to its current early access state, citing bugs, crashes, and unfinished content. They suggest waiting until it is more polished.

Not Worth the Price: Many reviewers feel the game is not worth its price in its current state, with some saying even a low price like 20 yuan is barely acceptable. They recommend waiting for a sale or improvements.

Positive Recommendation: Some players firmly recommend the game, giving it high praise such as 'A+' and calling it a gem that deserves more recognition. They believe it is worth playing despite any issues.

Recommended for Vermintide Darktide Fans: Players recommend this game to those who enjoy Vermintide or Darktide, as it offers similar cooperative gameplay. Some even suggest playing those games instead if you want a more polished experience.

Early Access Caveats: Players recommend the game with caveats about its early access status, suggesting to buy for the discount and support the developers but wait to play until major issues are fixed. They advise only if you can tolerate typical early access problems.

Community fair range: $13.00 - $20.00.

Story completion: 40.0h.

Session length: 0.8h.

Daimon Blades has early friction such as crashes, broken multiplayer, confusing progression, jank, and repetition that delays fun for many. Timing-specific reports suggest it clicks after players learn the systems and push past the first few levels, while some reviewers enjoy the combat immediately.

Friction: confusing progression; multiplayer crashes and broken netcode; janky movement and grappling hook; repetitive enemies and combat pacing; slow and unrewarding meta-progression; performance issues on weaker hardware.

Unlock drivers: learning the game's systems; reaching godlike power; getting past the first four levels; upgrading gear and levels; performance upgrade or settings changes; playing in co-op with friends.

Co-op-First Dungeon Crawler: Teams up with friends for four-player roguelite runs, coordinating through floors and boss fights. Motivation: Shared co-op dungeon runs and intense team combat. Stance: sale.

Vermintide-School Action Veteran: Compares weapon feel, difficulty curves, and run structure to established co-op hack-and-slash games. Motivation: A new melee-focused co-op roguelite that matches Vermintide and Darktide standards. Stance: sale.

E.Y.E. Cult Loyalist: Tolerates early-access jank while exploring cryptic lore, mysteries, and unconventional systems. Motivation: Support the developers and experience their signature weird lore and atmosphere. Stance: buy.

Reports are strongly tied to VRAM headroom: the 8-11GB cohort largely runs the game well, while the <8GB and 16GB+ cohorts are dominated by crashes and instability, and the 12-15GB cohort is split between smooth high-framerate play and repeated crashes.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: mixed. Several players report smooth high-detail play at 120+ FPS, but an equally strong set of reports describes freezes, crashes on loading zones or opening chests, and losses of run progress.

Windows <8GB VRAM: negative. This cohort is dominated by crashes, memory-leak style failures, forced upscaling concerns and low framerates, with even recommending players mentioning heavy performance issues and drops to about 20 FPS.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: positive. Most players here report good performance, including consistent 120+ FPS with occasional dips during busy fights, and only isolated reports of crashes or lost rewards.

Steam Deck: Audit of Steam Deck reviews reveals a split experience: several users report the game runs well on Steam Deck and Linux out of the box, without Proton tweaks. However, multiple other reviews describe frequent hard crashes, especially in offline mode, along with forced upscaling, missing resolution options, and controller sensitivity resets. The presence of frequent crashes triggers the Broken 70-100 band, despite positive Deck-specific reports.

Linux and Proton: All available Linux and Proton feedback is positive. Users report good performance, no crashes on Linux, and successful out-of-the-box Proton compatibility without needing compatibility mode or workarounds.

External guides: The primary feedback centers on inadequate in-game explanation of core systems and fundamentals. Players report being unable to understand basic gameplay, needing walkthroughs, and calling the lack of explanation the game's fatal flaw. This is an instructional-data barrier, so the audit classifies the issue under Tier 3: The Student. A secondary crash complaint exists but is not the dominant wiki-tax theme.

Early Access State Noted: Many reviews emphasize the game is currently in Early Access, with the understanding that it is unfinished and will evolve. Reviewers often note that polish and content are still lacking, but bugs are expected at this stage.

Set in E.Y.E Universe: The game is set in the E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy universe, often described as a prequel taking place 2000 years earlier. This connection is a major draw for fans of the original.

Compared to Vermintide and Darktide: Many reviews compare the game to Vermintide and Darktide, often negatively, stating those games have better melee horde combat. The game is also likened to a roguelite version of Vermintide.

Frequent E.Y.E Comparisons: Reviewers constantly compare this game to E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy, noting similarities in setting, atmosphere, and gameplay. Some feel it lacks the freedom and open feel of the original E.Y.E.

Responsive Developers on Discord: Developers are active on Discord, collecting feedback and implementing suggestions quickly. This responsiveness is praised by reviewers.