Dungeonborne vs Dark and Darker - Similarities and Differences

Source: Dungeonborne, Developer: Mithril Interactive

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Story of Dark and Darker is rather long and convoluted, involving police raiding devs, legal challenges, being removed from Steam, and so on. Despite all the difficulties, this title was loved by its fans so much that they refused to accept refunds. Finally, the situation for Ironmance seems to be improving, but as that happens, the new contender enters the stage. Dungeonborne stems from the same idea of dungeon crawler, yet without all the legal problems. It can be hard to see the difference between those titles at a first glance, so let’s get a bit deeper and draw a cleaner line between those productions.

• Similarities in Dark And Darker and Dungeonborne
• Differences between Dark And Darker and Dungeonborne

Similarities in Dark And Darker and Dungeonborne

It cannot be denied that both Dark and Darker and Dungeonborne look very similar to each other. They are dark fantasy dungeon crawlers with PvPvE focus. Each of them is set in unforgiving, dark dungeons filled with unholy creatures. Since they are aRPGs, you are free to choose your class and create your own builds.

However, many players have noted that either one of those productions are having issues with enemies AI. Some, more observant, fans have also pointed out that those games use various marketplace assets.

Differences between Dark And Darker and Dungeonborne

For less experienced gamers, or those who just got hooked on this genre, these titles look nearly identical at first sight. However, there is a lot to unpack here, as Dark and Darker and Dungeonborne differ a lot in more subtle ways. Don’t get the wrong idea, sometimes seemingly insignificant variations can make a world of a difference.

First and foremost, there is a big contrast in how magic works in those productions. In Dark and Darker, spells are based on charges, and can be used a limited number of times, unless they have been refreshed at the campfire or by using specific mage’s power (that is quite limited). In Dungeonborne, however, magic works in a more classical way, based on a mana-like resource that can be refreshed by using potions.

Staying on topic of magic and spells, there are fans who believe that Dungeonborne’s abilities and passive skills are more interesting and implemented in better way that make spells more distinct. In Dark and Darker, spells look almost the same being a simple projectile varying only in their appearance and properties like range, damage and so on.

Where Dark and Darker shines is class customisation. This game offers more diversity, as it allows players to choose from a couple of active and passive abilities. In Dungeonborne passive skills are unlocked by spending stat points, yet their path is predetermined for a class of your choosing. Stat points are obtained by leveling up, but also by the equipment that one is using. This can lead to very interesting situations where level is not necessarily connected with the player’s power.

Another strong point of Dark and Darker is, at least according to fans, game balance. Again, Dungeonborne is not even available in Early Access so there is a lot more to come for this title, yet as things currently stand, it seems that the older one of those productions is better tuned. Apparently, in Dungeonborne there are problems with matchmaking, and it is easy to meet high level players, even if you are a beginner.

From smaller, a bit less significant differences, Dungeonborne offers an interesting mode focused on PvP content, where players battle in an arena. It can be a big advantage for gamers who seek difficult PvP challenges.

At the very end, let’s tackle the technical aspect, as Dungeonborne has more advanced graphics, and wider, more open environments. At this ground Dark and Darker falls short, yet it all comes down to personal preferences. Some players may enjoy clumped, dirty, and more jagged looks of the latter title better. Obviously, due to that, the requirements for the title are also more toned down.

Bear in mind that both games are still under development, so many aspects can be a subject to change. It goes without saying that the creators of those titles will be working on improving their productions to make them better in time, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the news.