February 1, 2023

Drakengard Review: Let Flow The Oceans Of Blood...


Story
A religious war between two factions, the Union and the Empire, has broken out, with the odds tipping in favor of the Empire. Caim, the deposed prince of the Union, is fatally wounded in battle while protecting his sister. Seeking vengeance against the Empire, Caim is forced into making a pact with a red dragon named Angelus. Together, they attempt to stop the Empire from destroying four magical seals that keep the world in balance. Without them, malevolent beings known as the Watchers will enter the world and destroy humanity.

Gameplay
The game is broken up into thirteen chapters, each containing multiple levels (called verses). Every "verse" is a collection of missions that will be either ground or aerial based. Ground missions are carried out by Caim, who cuts down droves of enemies with hack-and-slash sword attacks, or with a very limited range of magic, mostly fireballs. Up to eight weapons can be accessed during a mission and swapped out via a weapon wheel. Weapons gain experience and level up through use, dealing more damage as a result. During most ground-based missions, Caim can mount Angelus to quickly traverse the spacious battlefield.


Aerial missions are carried out by Caim's dragon partner Angelus, who uses a free-aim blast of fire to cause massive damage or homing bolts that can hit multiple targets but at the cost of doing less damage. She can also perform a special area attack that damages, or outright kills multiple enemy units. As Angelus gains experience through combat, she levels up similar to Caim's weapons.

 
 Conclusion
The story and world building never felt fully realized because all you get to see of it is battlefields and enemy forces, which makes it hard to care about the fate of a fictional world when you know so little about it and the people in it. The player needs a reason to want to save it and there just isn't one. Then again, Drakengard's world is so repulsive (in a good way) that I kinda wanted to see it burn to the ground. The core gameplay isn't particularly deep either, and can get repetitive rather fast thanks to the lack of mission variety. Everything controls loosely with a camera that can get wonky at times; perhaps one of the quirks of it being an older game title.


Despite it's flaws, Drakengard is still worth a look for its unconventional cast, strange themes and gritty atmosphere. Just be warned that it does contain images and references to incest, child murder, cannibalism, pedophilia and other taboo subjects - this game touches some dark stuff! It is also worth mentioning that Drakengard ties in (very loosely) to the much more beloved and equally unconventional, spin-off series NieR.


First posted to videogamegeek.com

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