Rating:

The only thing keeping this open-ended space shooter from 5 stars is the fact that is an incomplete DEMO. The complete game should be mind blowing.

Full Review

Calling this version of DarkVerse a 'demo' is generous. It's more like a beta test. An excellent beta test. The kind of beta test you would expect from a larger development team. A team consisting of at least more than one person.

However, that it is not so. DarkVerse is a free roaming space shooter, not at all unlike Freelancer, that employs an overhead view, mouse directed aiming, and some very cool action. The developer is a 3D designer by trade, so the environments, ships, and effects are exquisitely done and cleverly designed. The aesthetic is rounded and a bit cutesy; enough to charm you in and show you how serious a game this actually is.

Serious and seriously growing, DarkVerse has only the essential game systems in place, such as combat, trading, equipping ships, and gaining money. It is enough to entertain one for hours because there are enough goodies out there that beg for your space bucks and enough interesting combat to keep you earning said money, even without the mission system yet in place.

That, I feel, is why this game is worthy of a (p)review in its current shape. The combat, though from an overhead view, pits you into dog fights that feel right out of a space combat sim, albeit less technically controllable. The mouse-aiming feels just right and you experience the same nail biting and fist clenching tension of a flight combat game, until that wonderful release comes when you detonate your opponent in a glorious explosion. The explosion effects are not to be sniffed at, by the way.

To further blow your mind, DarkVerse is being developed in Game Maker. As I said before, it's one man whose background is in 3D design, not programming, so the choice of engine is understandable. However, had I not discovered it was using Game Maker I would never have guessed. The UI is seamless, everything has a professional quality that is unlike numerous Game Maker releases.

So, in short, DarkVerse is one to watch. It is far from complete but already a competitor against similar games developed by proper game studios. Play it now.