The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics Review

Would I go as far as calling myself a fan? NO, but I remember watching the original movie by Jim Henson and being very scared as a kid. I was brought up with Jim Henson ‘The Muppets‘, movies and tv shows, they were all funny, fluffy, cuddly, kid-friendly, this was not. The Skekses scared the pants off me, this whole dark undertone to such an amazing story, drew my young self in, even if I used a pillow to cuddle up into. Years have passed, I am now a Dad, Work in Marketing, which I do see my fair share of scary characters, and then Netflix announced The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, again made with puppets. I could not wait for the new series to start, and in all honesty, I watch the whole lot in one sitting and loved every moment.

Then to my surprise The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics was announced, a way for me to carry on my fascination with The Dark Crystal could continue, happy days were ahead.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is a turn-based strategy game Developed by BonusXP and En Masse Entertainment. The game follows The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Netflix show and puts you in control of the Gelfling as they battle the Skeksis and bring the clans of Thra together once again.

Watch the series before playing the game, or the game will spoil it for you.

The story to start your adventure is simple, and again I hope you have watched the series as this is a Spoiler Section. Rian a young Gelfling, works at The Castle of the Crystal, a castle controlled by the Skeksis, during one event he inadvertently sees the Skeksis drain the life essence from his lover Mira. Why is this crucial, when a child of Thra dies there essence returns to Thra which in turn prevents the Darkening? What is the Darkening? The Darkening, is an energy released from The Crystal and manifests itself in the form of a purple light or vapour, and causes plant life to die and causes animals to become aggressive.

Rian is seen by the Skeksis and decides to leave The Castle of the Crystal and warn the other tribes of Thra. Unfortunately, his words fall on deaf ears, this is where the adventure begins to save Thra and bring the Tribes of Thra together to defeat Skeksis and heal the crystal.

End of Spoilers, sorry had to add a short bio.

‘Mmmmm’ The Chamberlain says, ‘nasty Gelfling, a Gelfling with sense’, I love this character, but he just got his moment of fame in my review, now he much go, Mmmmm The Chamberlain says, as he walks off.

Instead of a wonderfully crafted story, with in-game cutscenes, we get short but brief comic-style panels that do give a sense of emotion to the characters portrayed. However, the drawback to the story is the lack of voice-acting, since Netflix owns the rights to the series, I would have thought that they would have asked the original voice cast to lend their talents to really flesh out and capture this amazing story.

As you progress through the game more Gelfling characters from different tribes become available to control. Each and every character has there own unique strengths and weaknesses, so be mindful of this when you choose the jobs.  Jobs include the following soldier, scout and mender with more becoming available as you progress and level up through the game. All playable characters, regardless of who they are, have access to the same set of jobs to choose from.

Here is a useful video that discusses the jobs in more detail.

When it comes to choosing an ability make sure you choose wisely as you are limited to the amount you bring in any battle. Now gear is something you will be needing through your playthrough and this can be purchased and picked up, however, I found that when I was going to purchase something, they seem to be stupidly expensive based on the amount of money I was picking up after a battle. Thanks to this I always seemed to see better gear becoming available, which in turn made me want the newer, better gear over the gear I wanted previously. Something is wrong with this section of the game and needs to be looked at, just to reduce these costs.

Combat is fun and intuitive on a grid-based system similar to Xcom, Mario Vs Rabbids or Divinity Original Sin, but lacks charm, this is simply due to any lack of voice acting. The overworld map allows for plenty of fun to be had, multiple choices on where to go next or how to take on the enemy, and you can even use the battlefield to your advantage, like a poisoned pond, which you can push the enemy into and poison them. On times the game can chuck in a curved ball with dynamic events which can change your tactics altogether, sometimes giving you the advantage, or on times the enemy.

Once a section of the map is completed you can replay, this can help you gain more money and experience, not to mention the Game Mode + is available once you fully finish the game.

Now the game follows the series well, with some new twists along the way, the combat can feel slow at the start, but as you progress it can become more fun. For fans of the franchise, this game might give you something to enjoy for the time being as you want for season 2. But I just feel that the game lacks the love and charm that was pulled in to the series by the creators. If they used voice acting, added in quirks and charms reminiscent to The Dark Crystal, used in-game cut scenes instead of comic-style panels, everything would just Gell well and bring the game to life in a way reminiscent to a Jim Henson production.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch, and is available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics was developed by BonusXP and published by En Masse Entertainment

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