Info about Darkest Hunters:

Official game description:
  
Choose your hero, grab a weapon, learn new spells and… HUNT! Eliminate every nasty beast you meet, collect loot and find the rarest and the greatest equipment ever made. Remember, it’s the live of a Hunter you’ve become, only you are able to defeat the essence of evil. Only you can win with the Lord of Darkness.  
Darkest Hunters offers dozens of hours of challenge for advanced gamers and everyone who wants to immerse into the epic journey through dark woods, dangerous sand dunes, dungeons full of lava, and more!  
If you liked the gameplay of such hits like Puzzle Quest and the dark atmosphere of RPG classics like Diablo, this title is what you're looking for!  
Key Features:  
*   Defeat other Players In Pvp Multiplayer Mode  
*   Find 250+ items and kill the army of various enemies  
*   Look for secrets, collect a lot of gold and diamonds  
*   Complete over 300 quests  
*   Try something you’ve never played before, a mix of styles and unique gameplay

Release date: 27 Sep, 2017

Categories: RPG, Match-three Combat, Competitive Multiplayer, Character Progression, Equipment Customization, Resource Management, Tactical Combat


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging & enjoyable core concept (weight 0.64): Players generally find the game's core concept and unique mechanics engaging and enjoyable, making it a good casual time killer. It offers a fresh take on the match-3 genre, providing hours of entertainment.
- Challenging and strategic gameplay (weight 0.12): The game offers a good level of challenge, especially for players aiming to complete all objectives and achievements. The difficulty scaling is appropriate, and strategic thinking is often required, particularly in boss fights.
- Appealing pixel art style (weight 0.1): The game's pixel art style is generally well-received, contributing to an 'old-school' nostalgic feel and a charming overall presentation. The graphics are considered decent and appealing.
- Various minor positive features (weight 0.09): Minor positive points include the presence of secret rooms, lore notes, clear inventory markings, free character selection, an interesting large map, different characters, spells, entertaining quests, and a well-implemented intro.
- Replayability through achievements (weight 0.08): The star-based progression system and Steam achievements encourage players to replay levels and strive for full completion. This adds significant replay value and a sense of accomplishment.
- Better than perceived (weight 0.05): Despite some negative sentiment, many players feel the game is better than its reputation suggests, offering more content than expected for its low price.
- Likely mobile port (weight 0.04): The game is recognized as a mobile port, with some players having prior experience with its iOS version. This context helps explain its casual nature and design.
- No microtransactions (weight 0.04): A significant positive is the absence of microtransactions, especially in the PC version, which is a welcome change from many mobile-ported games.
- Tactical movement system (weight 0.04): The unique movement system, where the path is one color per turn, adds a tactical component and offers high freedom of movement, enhancing strategic depth.
- Small-scale chain elimination (weight 0.02): The game is described as a small-scale chain elimination game, highlighting its core puzzle mechanic.
- Steam trading cards (weight 0.02): The game offers Steam trading cards, which is a minor bonus for collectors.
- Acceptable price point (weight 0.01): The game's price is considered acceptable by players, indicating good value for money.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive and Grindy Gameplay (weight 0.99): Many players found the game to be excessively repetitive and grindy, leading to a quick loss of interest. The core gameplay loop and level design offer little variety or challenge, making the experience monotonous after only a few hours.
- Poor Mobile Port (weight 0.18): A significant number of reviews highlight that the game feels like a poorly executed mobile port. This is evident in the UI, control scheme (designed for touchscreens), and an economy that seems unbalanced for a PC release, suggesting minimal effort was put into adapting it.
- Unrewarding Gear System (weight 0.15): Upgrading gear is described as a tedious and unrewarding grind, often requiring multiple duplicate items and scarce gold. The gear itself is bland, offers no visual changes, and elemental properties can be exploited, making most equipment choices feel insignificant.
- Game-Breaking Bugs (weight 0.14): Several players encountered critical bugs, including game crashes at specific levels (especially the final boss) and progression blockers. These issues prevent completion and significantly detract from the overall experience.
- Restrictive Camera and UI (weight 0.13): The camera and screen movement are highly restrictive, preventing players from zooming out or panning freely. This limitation hinders the ability to plan large combos and makes interactions clunky, especially when trying to connect tiles across the screen.
- Lack of Character Variety (weight 0.11): Despite a large roster of characters, players report that they all play identically, lacking unique skills, stats, or stories. This makes character selection purely cosmetic and removes any strategic depth or replayability associated with different playstyles.
- Flawed Match-3 Mechanics (weight 0.11): The game's implementation of match-3 mechanics is criticized for not being a true puzzle system. Instead, it primarily serves to charge abilities or health, and enemies do not adhere to the same rules, making the match-3 element feel disconnected and unnecessary.
- Weak Enemy Design (weight 0.06): The game suffers from a lack of enemy variety and simplistic AI. Boss battles are often described as mere HP sponges requiring little strategy, further contributing to the lack of challenge and engagement.
- Lack of Story (weight 0.05): The game's narrative is largely absent or underdeveloped, with many players noting that the plot is an unimportant addition that does little to enhance the experience or stand out.
- Missing Item Sorting (weight 0.04): Players noted the absence of basic inventory management features, such as item sorting or filtering by specific attributes. This makes managing gear cumbersome and inefficient.
- Useless Online Mode (weight 0.04): The online multiplayer mode is effectively useless due to a complete lack of active players and no bot support. This makes it impossible to engage in online play or earn related achievements.

Gameplay feedback:
- Deep Equipment & Upgrade System (weight 0.34): The game features a robust progression system where players collect and upgrade a wide variety of weapons and armor. Equipment can be found in chests or purchased, and duplicates are used to enhance existing gear, boosting character stats and proficiency.
- Unique Match-3 RPG Gameplay (weight 0.32): The core gameplay blends RPG elements with a unique tile-matching or line-drawing puzzle mechanic. Players move their hero by connecting chains of colored gems, which also generate resources like health, attack points, mana, and gold, crucial for combat and progression.
- Gem Types & Special Combos (weight 0.23): Different colored gems provide specific resources: red for attack, green for health, blue for mana, and gold for coins. Connecting five or more gems of the same color creates powerful special blocks that can deal massive damage or clear sections of the board.
- Strategic Boss Battles (weight 0.14): Boss battles are a significant part of the game, each with unique mechanics and elemental weaknesses. Players must strategically adapt their equipment and tactics to counter these weaknesses and defeat challenging foes.
- Star-Based Stage Progression (weight 0.14): Progression through the game's stages is tied to a star system. Each stage has specific sub-missions that grant stars upon completion, and accumulating a certain number of stars is required to unlock new areas and advance.
- Replayable Levels & Loot Retention (weight 0.1): Players can replay completed levels to farm for more experience, gold, and loot. Even if a player dies during a mission, they retain any experience and loot collected, encouraging continuous play and grinding.
- Functional Town Hub (weight 0.1): The game includes a central town hub with various functional buildings. These include a weapon shop, magic shop, and a tavern, each serving different purposes like purchasing items, learning spells, or checking game records.
- Level-Locked Multiplayer (weight 0.08): Multiplayer mode is not immediately available and requires players to reach level 20 to unlock. This gatekeeping ensures players have a foundational understanding of the game before engaging with others.
- Casual-Friendly Accessibility (weight 0.07): The game is designed to be accessible and easy for casual players to pick up. It features a simple concept and a gradual increase in difficulty, making it approachable for a broad audience.
- Key Stat Importance (weight 0.06): Attack and magic stats are crucial for combat, as they determine the effectiveness of weapons and spells. Players are advised to frequently upgrade these stats, as they are consumed during combat encounters.
- Fixed Dungeon Layouts (weight 0.05): Dungeons in the game are fixed in their layout, meaning they are not procedurally generated. While the start and exit points may vary, the overall structure remains consistent, and they lack complex features like traps or multiple floors.
- Achievable Achievements (weight 0.05): Most achievements in the game are relatively easy to obtain, though completing all of them, including the multiplayer achievement, is estimated to take around 20 hours of gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Critical portal bug (weight 0.04): Players are encountering a critical bug in the final stage of the Furious Boss where portals fail to activate, preventing progression and effectively breaking the game experience. This issue significantly impacts end-game content.
- Low system requirements (weight 0.04): The game is noted for its extremely small file size and minimal system requirements, making it accessible to a wide range of players, including those with older or less powerful hardware. This is a positive aspect for accessibility.

Recommendations:
- Best purchased on sale (weight 0.36): Many players recommend purchasing the game only when it's heavily discounted, suggesting it doesn't offer full-price value. Some even advise against buying it at all, regardless of price, indicating mixed reception on its overall worth.
- Good for short sessions (weight 0.07): The game is often described as a good 'time killer' for short, casual sessions, such as waiting for an appointment. Some suggest the mobile version might be better suited for this type of play.
- Niche genre appeal (weight 0.06): The game is specifically recommended for fans of match-3, puzzle, and RPG genres, especially those who enjoyed games like Puzzle Quest. It's seen as a quick and cheap entry point into this hybrid genre.
- Missing key features (weight 0.04): A significant number of negative reviews stem from the game lacking certain features that players expected or desired. This indicates a gap between player expectations and the game's delivered content.
- Generally playable (weight 0.03): Some players simply state the game is 'playable' or encourage others to 'try' it, indicating a neutral or mildly positive sentiment without strong conviction.
- Avoid completionist focus (weight 0.02): Players suggest that the game is more enjoyable if one avoids the pressure of collecting all stars, implying that the completionist aspect might detract from the fun.

Other player notes:
- Unmemorable soundtrack (weight 0.05): The game's soundtrack is generally considered functional but not memorable, with one main song for most gameplay. Some players describe the sound quality as 'from a barrel' but not annoying.
- Efficient money farming spot (weight 0.03): Players have discovered and recommend a specific secret path in stage 15 for efficient money farming. This suggests a useful, albeit hidden, gameplay mechanic for progression.
- Rich in-game lore (weight 0.02): The game includes lore elements such as notes in dungeons, detailed enemy descriptions, and hero profiles. This adds depth to the game's world and narrative.
- Good battle sound quality (weight 0.02): The sound quality, particularly during battle sequences, is highlighted as being good. This enhances the combat experience.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.26): Players expressed disappointment due to the game's overall mediocrity, lack of innovation, and unfulfilled potential, particularly concerning RPG elements and depth. Specific issues included repetitive gameplay, bland gear, poor difficulty management, and the perception of the game being a low-quality mobile port with missing features like language support and cloud saves.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.21): Satisfaction stemmed from the game being perceived as fun, enjoyable, and a good time killer, often highlighting its unique style and interesting mechanics. Players also found value in the game, especially when purchased on sale, appreciating its overall quality and engaging nature despite some mobile port characteristics.
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Frustration was primarily caused by repetitive gameplay, excessive grinding, and a significant number of bugs, including game-breaking ones. Other contributing factors were clunky controls, poor balancing, UI issues, and the absence of expected features like cloud save and specific language support.
- Boredom (weight 0.14): Boredom was a common sentiment, largely attributed to the game's repetitive and monotonous gameplay, coupled with an excessive grind. Players also cited a lack of challenge, depth, and overall engagement, leading to a short-lived appeal.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Excitement was generated by the game's engaging nature, its challenging aspects, and the overall quality of its features. The prospect of continued play and its availability on Steam also contributed to this positive emotion.
- Annoyance (weight 0.03): Annoyance was specifically linked to the final boss, the pixel graphics, and the perception that the game was artificially prolonged. These elements detracted from the overall player experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Enjoyment was derived from the game's distinctive style, graphics, and its overall concept, leading to an addictive and positive gameplay experience.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy was experienced due to the game's simplicity and its inherent fun factor, providing a straightforward and enjoyable experience for players.
- Acceptance (weight 0.02): Players expressed acceptance of the game's flaws, including its grind, mobile feel, simplicity, and repetitiveness. This indicates a willingness to overlook shortcomings for the overall experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Admiration was specifically directed towards the game's visual style, indicating a strong positive impression of its artistic design.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement was fostered by the game's progression system, achievements, and its core mechanics and features, which kept players invested in the experience.
- Contentment (weight 0.01): Contentment arose from the game's unique combination of style and genre, as well as its suitability for a casual playstyle, providing a satisfying and relaxed experience.
- Dislike (weight 0.01): Dislike was specifically mentioned in relation to the game's 2D drawings, indicating a negative aesthetic preference.
- Informative (weight 0.01): The game provided an informative experience through the process of mastering its mechanics and offering opportunities to provide tips to others.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise was felt when players found themselves playing the game more than they initially intended, indicating an unexpected level of engagement.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest was piqued by the game's features and its progression system, drawing players into the experience.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger was a direct result of the game's unplayability, indicating severe technical issues that prevented a proper gaming experience.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion stemmed from certain design choices and mechanics within the game, making it difficult for players to understand or navigate.
- Curiosity (weight 0.01): Curiosity was aroused by the game's unique aspects, prompting players to explore and learn more about its distinct features.}