Review: Dragon Takers Is an Inoffensive Turn-Based RPG

Dragon Takers is an RPG that’s aggressively okay. The story is serviceable, however presents no surprises or fascinating twists. The characters all really feel like empty vessels that ramble on to 1 one other because the story chugs alongside. The fight is suitable and the ability-copying system, Ability Taker, doesn’t actually add something apart from a magic spell system with a little bit of legwork concerned. The artwork is sweet however doesn’t seize the creativeness, and the music conveys the temper with out impressing any trace of creativity upon the listener. In the event you want an RPG to play it is going to do the job, however that’s about it.

Helio is a younger man who lives in village named Haven. He’s identified for not having any Expertise, and the complete city (save for just a few folks) deal with him like rubbish over it. He accepts this and doesn’t need anybody to make any bother (though a pair of attractive ladies appear terribly upset about his plight despite the fact that nobody else cares). His option to be a doormat for these folks is one thing I do know is meant to set him off on a journey of self-change as he good points confidence, however proper out of the gate he appears boring and unlikeable. I do know he’s had a tough life on this world, however he simply didn’t appear to be somebody I wished to spend hours and hours on an journey with even when I suspected he’d change.

Naturally, issues go south in Dragon Takers when the Dragon Military involves city (a reputation that didn’t encourage me with any confidence in how inventive the sport’s story can be). Preventing breaks out as they’ve come for certainly one of your woman pals, and the battles encourage the awakening of your skill to steal expertise from monsters. Seems you do have expertise! You rapidly use these to devastating impact on the enemies, and your different woman pal goes on and on about how superb your new hearth energy is (and the entire copying expertise factor). This all occurs in a span of some minutes, feeling like the entire story is dashing via Helio’s growth and rapidly setting him as much as be nice and robust.

RPGs, particularly retro-looking ones, want sturdy characters and story to hold them via. Already, I’ve received a stereotypical self-loathing character who gained’t rise up for themselves. Not fascinating, however may result in some compelling storylines. Nonetheless, he good points superpowers inside minutes, creating this sense that the sport is railroading via their character arc (and so they proceed to take action). All of it feels rushed, and whereas it’s written competently, nothing about this character’s story (or any of the opposite ones) really feel like one thing new, fascinating, or compelling. It’s not good, however it’s additionally not dangerous. It feels prefer it’s written to hold out an in-game objective – to maneuver you alongside a narrative observe to the following gameplay beat – and that’s it. It washes over you. You understand what’s taking place, however none of it actually connects with you.

The paintings for the characters most likely ought to assist this alongside, however it doesn’t. The sport’s builders put in numerous effort into some good nonetheless photos of the assorted characters, however there simply aren’t many of those. You get the identical handful of photographs of Helio, his friends, and his enemies making the identical faces over and again and again. Whether or not they’re chatting with buddies or screaming about family members at risk, it’s the identical picture used repeatedly. If Dragon Takers put somewhat emotion into these photographs then perhaps I’d really feel one thing, however because it stands I simply felt no connection to the story or the characters in any respect.

This isn’t a recreation the place the fight goes to make you neglect the boring story, both. It’s a turn-based RPG the place you choose quite a lot of assaults from a menu to smack nonetheless photographs of varied (and depressingly predictable) monsters. Outdoors of some visible flare with the swipes and plumes of fireside or crackling electrical assaults, there isn’t a lot for visuals in fight. Whereas older RPGs have gotten away with this, they often work in some form of visible impact to suggest injury. Even the unique Dragon Quest gave somewhat satisfying display screen shake once you received clocked to suggest the burden of the hit. This recreation provides you nothing in addition to the visible of the strike impact to indicate you hit one thing.

You don’t even get an impact when the monster dies in Dragon Takers. They simply disappear and aren’t there any extra. I makes fight really feel like I’m simply choosing the right button sufficient occasions till I’m not in a fight scenario. There’s no sense of energy or effort within the fight to make it really feel satisfying. It’s simply one thing you do till you not should do it.

You would possibly suppose that the Ability Taker skill would add one thing contemporary or thrilling to the fights, however having the ability to steal enemy powers isn’t that thrilling. To steal an influence, all it’s important to do is hit an enemy with a capability a sure variety of occasions and also you get it. Whereas there are 100 of those, since fight doesn’t really feel that fascinating visually, all you get is 100 totally different results to juggle (and it’s important to equip them earlier than fight – it’s not such as you get an enormous pool of helpful talents you need to use on a regular basis). And because you acquire them by hitting creatures usually, it doesn’t really feel such as you acquire the powers in an fascinating method, both. It’s only a characteristic to say that there’s something about this recreation that stands out.

Equipping the powers is extra of a ache than it’s price in Dragon Takers, too. You possibly can equip talents within the Ability menu, however as an alternative of selecting certainly one of your slots after which choosing an influence, you end up flicking via the powers whereas locked to the primary slot except you hit a particular non-directional button (X on my controller) to swap slots. It feels completely backwards. Likewise, you’re anticipated to equip issues out of your full stock to a personality as an alternative of going into that character’s private tools and equipping issues there. You possibly can solely actually take away issues whereas within the character’s tools. It’s completely backwards and made placing on gear, the best factor in most video games that has been finished proper for many years, into an irritating occasion.

Whereas Dragon Takers is okay to play, nothing about it grabs the creativeness or evokes you to maintain going. It’s a recreation that’s inoffensive sufficient that you would be able to get via it with out a lot concern or with out feeling indignant about some irritating components, however there simply isn’t something right here to make you need to play it. If you’re completely determined for a turn-based RPG and can play absolutely anything tolerable, this recreation will work. That’s sadly the nicest factor I can say about it, although.

Dragon Takers is out there on the Swap, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X, iOS and Android gadgets, and PC.

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