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Sights & Sounds
- Have you ever thought about what it would have been like if Bethesda had released an Elder Scrolls game in 1999 on the Nintendo 64? Wonder no more
- Take a look at a few screenshots to see what I mean. It looks just a touch more modern than Daggerfall, but maybe a little more primitive than Morrowind
- Overlaying those visuals is a haphazard approach to color choice that coincides with some of the most surreal character, environment, and enemy designs I've seen in a while
- Nothing quite captures the look of fighting a floating neon green 1-eyed monster with golden crustacean legs under a magenta skybox, dying chartreuse trees, and towering turquoise mushrooms
- As wild, wonderful, and weirdly nostalgic as I found the visuals, the audio in this game is frankly pretty bad. I know it's referencing an earlier time, I just wish the sound effects didn't sound like 96 kpbs mp3 files
- The soundtrack doesn't sound terrible. It's appropriately fantasy themed and fits the setting well enough. There's just not enough tracks. With the exception of a few important locations, each of the four areas only has a single track. Considering that you'll spend 8-10 hours in each, you'll get sick to death of every song you hear
Story & Vibes
- I did not expect the world to be so intriguing. Consider the backstory: the world used to be inhabited by a civilization known as the Emberians until they started playing with a powerful artifact that winds up killing almost everyone
- The survivors flee to an archipelago of floating islands called the Skylands. These islands drift over the surface of the planets, floating in and out of orbit of giant "neuron stars". The Oneiric Isles, the archipelago on which Dread Delusion occurs, has a magenta one
- The plot kicks off with your character imprisoned by the Apostatic Union, a church-like government that paradoxically went on a deicide spree and murdered most of the gods. For your poorly-defined crimes, you've been forcibly put to work as an agent doing suicide missions at the Unions behest
- Your mission is to capture Vella Callose, a pirate captain who's up to some sort of nefarious plan that the Union seems especially worried about. You're let loose with a rusty sword and not much else, good luck!
- The writing is stellar. I found myself talking to every NPC I could and reading every bit of lore I could get my hands on
- The different Oneiric Isles are comprised of 4 kingdoms, each of which has its own unique look and feel
- First is the mushroom-dotted land of Pwyll, a cozy (if bizarre) hamlet that would be doing a lot better if it weren't for all the pirates and bandits. It'll serve as your introductory and tutorial area
- Next you'll enter the sprawling island of Hallowshire. In addition to hosting the Apostatic Union's headquarters, it's also temporarily hosting the Erudite Academy, home of the Skylands' most esteemed scholars
- Next are the Endless Realms, a floating graveyard and home of the Endless. They're a zombie-like group of people who developed a ritual that made them escape death. Unfortunately, they need to eat the living to do so...
- Finally is The Clockwork Kingdom, a steampunk Soviet Union facsimile ruled by a gigantic manmade automaton called the Clockwork God. Sadly, his psyche seems to be slowly unraveling, much to the chagrin of his people
- Each area is home to its own dungeons, enemies, NPCs, cities, and side quests. I highly recommend completing every sidequest you can; these add even more seasoning to the narrative stew
- All the great world building and the compelling narrative combine to engender some pretty excellent vibes. The open world is teeming with little mysteries to find. The whole experience is adventurous and enigmatic
Playability & Replayability
- Dread Delusion takes a spartan approach to the action RPG. There are only four skills and you don't even choose a class. There's not even really a point in experimenting with builds as only two skills (Wisdom and Persona) even warrant any investment
- The skills are as follows. 1) Might: increases your health and strength. You'll barely need to invest in this because combat is trivial. 2) Guile: lock picking and movement speed. You'll only need 5-6 levels since lockpick boosting gear is common. 3) Wisdom: Magic slots, magic power, MP, and "Lore". Lore checks appear often in the world and hide several secrets. 4) Persona: Bartering, regen rate, and Charisma checks. Charisma checks are some of the most important in the game and can change the outcome of many quests
- Combat is easy owing to how janky it is. Most enemies can be dispatched simply by circle-strafing and whacking them with your melee weapon. Spells definitely help speed combat along
- It's not an insufferable amount of jank. Just a little. Not enough to get between you and what you're trying to do. It's just enough to make combat feel awkward. If you've tried a melee build in an Elder Scrolls game, you'll understand
- Pickups include money, potions (HP, MP, and stamina), upgrade materials, and "delusions". Finding enough delusions allows you to upgrade a skill, so explore as much as you can
- You can find and upgrade your gear at crafting stations in towns. Other than moderating incoming and outgoing damage and boosting certain skills. None of the weapons or armor feel very different unless you get endgame upgrade materials, which can be used to make unique weapons
- Getting around in the game is tough. Fast travel is limited to one site per area, so you'll be hoofing it primarily. You do get a cool airship towards the end of the game, but it comes a little too late. It makes getting around in the endgame easy and opens up some cool new locations, but I still wish I had access earlier
- I might actually replay this someday. I know I missed a few side stories and secrets that I want to experience
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I can't help but feel like I'm underselling how enjoyable of a game this was. The high narrative quality, solid world building, worthwhile exploration, and interesting visuals go a long way to satisfy my tastes
- If you need an ARPG to have deep combat systems with high skill ceilings and diverse build possibilities, this isn't the game for you. However, if you want to immerse yourself in a philosophical tale of apocalypse-thwarting in a trancelike world of meat farms, sentient farm equipment, and inns built into the skulls of gods, then consider this a must-play
- Ran perfectly on the Steam Deck. No issues whatsoever
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10. I went in expecting a fun little RPG in a weird setting, but Dread Delusion overdelivers on basically every promise it makes. Music, mobility, and combat feel could use some improvement, but this is otherwise a strong 2024 GOTY contender in my book