Dark and Darker

Dark and Darker is a PvPvE FPP dungeon crawler. It was developed by an independent Korean studio IRONMACE. Although the team is made up of industry veterans, this is its debut project.

Mechanics

Dark and Darker tasks the players with extracting treasures from the depths of a mystical underground fortress. They are thus matched into several teams of three players each, competing against each other (PvP). An important part of the game is choosing the right character classes - these include fighters, barbarians, wizards, clerics, rangers, rogues and bards - able to cover each other's weaknesses.

The players are also threatened by AI-controlled monsters wandering the fortress' corridors (PvE). When fighting monsters and other adventurers players can use dark alleys to their advantage. These can serve as hiding places and great locations to set up traps.

Death in Dark and Darker means losing all acquired treasure. The most difficult part of the challenge, therefore, is escaping the fortress with gathered riches. The players must escape from expanding darkness, which aims to regain its loot and claim their lives, using hidden routes and paths. Taking risks can result in greater rewards, but also death and loss of progress.

The high difficulty and inaccessibility of Dark and Darker is mitigated slightly by the portals. After unlocking them, players can start their next run deeper into the fortress, letting them reach lower locations and discover more of its secrets.

Combat system

Dark and Darker features a complex combat system. There are many different weapons to choose from, both melee (swords, axes, etc.) and ranged (bows, crossbows, etc.). There's also magic, which can be especially deadly if wielded by a skilled user. Rather than speed and agility, the game emphasizes precision.