When The Quiet Village Needs Saving
There is something about our villages in England that makes them quaint and calm places. The most exciting things that happen are that someone’s cousin once auditioned for The X-Factor, or that the local pub now sells vegan fish and chips.
But in games, villages are places of ultimate terror, filled with fire and brimstone. They are always getting burnt to the ground by dragons, terrorised by monsters, or attacked by unsavoury hoodlums. They always need a local hero, or a stranger hero who appears to save the day and bring safety to the place.
Tale of Dark Lands is a game about such a village, and you are the hero sent to save the day. Are you ready?
A Familiar Quest With A Cosy Feel
This is a low-poly, low-budget action-adventure game with its own style but a familiar structure. In the story, you play as a lonely warrior for hire, who you can make in your own image. This person is recruited by a village that has been the victim of various goblin attacks. So, you go out and deal with the goblins, then come back to the village to talk to its inhabitants and upgrade your equipment. But as soon as you get more narrative tasks, you realise there is a deeper evil involved, and only you can dispose of it…
It’s a story and narrative that works fine and, in a way, it’s like sitting next to the fire with a nice cup of hot chocolate. It has been told before without many surprises, but it is strangely comforting. It’s not a huge narrative, but for the size of the game, it does a good job.
A Village Hub Between Goblin Hunts
Gameplay consists of two areas, really. The first is the village, where you can wander around in third person, talking to a few people and going into shops to buy items like health potions to help with the adventuring. You can also upgrade your swords and even put magical charms on them. You then get a mission from one of the villagers, and have to get to a teleport device to go out into the world and reach your mission location.
In these areas, most of the action takes place. You will have a mission to complete, for example, killing a certain number of goblins, getting an item, or killing a boss. Once the mission is complete, you find another teleporter device and go back to the village. The areas where you complete your missions are quite large maps, but at times they can feel quite empty, so there will be a lot of walking around hunting for enemies.
Simple Swordplay In An Empty World
When you find someone, the attack system will be pretty familiar to action-adventure fans, but this is a much simpler version. You have light and heavy attacks, along with a roll and dodge. You can use a bow, but I didn’t do much ranged combat, as it was quite easy to get overwhelmed. The creatures themselves are pretty formulaic in how they attack and spot you. And because of the budget of the game, don’t expect very intelligent AI.
Because of this, and the large, fairly empty maps, the game does get repetitive quite fast. But in the same breath, it’s quite a relaxing affair because there isn’t any real pressure, and dying is quite rare, especially in the first half of Tale of the Dark Lands.
Experience gathering is key here, as is deciding where you want to focus your stats. Do you want to focus on melee, ranged, or put it into magic? The systems are easy to use and not as complex or bewildering as other games in this genre. There is crafting as well, using items like wood and such to make and adapt weapons.
A Fairy Tale Look On A Smaller Budget
Visually, Tale of Dark Lands has a brilliant low-poly charm about it. It’s like a cosy fairy tale at times, with its landscapes, villages, and goblin dens. I liked the character models as well, and the team has made something great with limited resources. It doesn’t look realistic, but that’s the beauty of the design. The soundtrack has an epic orchestral quality that fits the gameplay but doesn’t overpower it. Sound effects are okay, but the goblin screams may haunt me, repeating again and again as I kill them.
A Cheap Adventure That Knows Its Limits
During my time with Tale of Dark Lands, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the price; something which is very cheap for what is on offer here. However, there are some problems I couldn’t get over, namely the lack of variety in the combat experience. After the fourth mission, I started to tire of it. But others won’t, because the simple mechanics work, and the crafting, upgrading, and village elements are all good. Lovely visuals and some okay sound help complete the package.
For me, Tale of Dark Lands didn’t give enough to keep my personal interest levels high. But if you’re an action-adventure fan, consider the asking price and you’ll probably realise that this is just about worth a punt.
Important Links
Tale of Dark Lands – A Classic Fantasy Adventure – https://www.thexboxhub.com/tale-of-dark-lands-a-classic-fantasy-adventure/
Buy from the Xbox Store, Optimised for Series X|S – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tale-of-dark-lands-xbox-series-xs/9N2CMZ33XL25/0010
There’s an Xbox One version – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tale-of-dark-lands/9MX5VH8JZBH9/0010
