[Released Today] Review of "DOLMEN!　Cosmic horror and sci-fi themed, high difficulty action RPG with a sense of fear and tension

DOLMEN, a title for PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/PC, was released on Friday, May 20, 2022. This title is a highly challenging action RPG that combines cosmic horror and science fiction, and offers a profound and challenging game experience with a retry premise. We had the opportunity to play this title to the end in advance, and will provide a review of the sensation of playing, the difficulty level, and the system.

Players go to the planet Levion Prime to fix a serious situation.

The story takes place in a world where humans have colonized planets in the galaxy and established various colonies, including the Empire and the Federation. The player heads to a planet called "Levion Prime" as a mercenary hired by the Zoan Corporation to retrieve important data and documents.

Since the story is kept fairly secret, information about what happened on Levion Prime and what the local tribes tried to do is conveyed in fragments in the form of audio data obtained from items and interactions with the enemy. While these games often include flavor text that hints at the background of the story and worldview, the text in this game is as simple as a description of the performance of the target object.

The only time a movie is shown is before or after a boss battle, making the game quite simple. The almost complete absence of flavor text makes it feel simple, but the deciphering of the story from the limited information is in itself an element that those who like to think about it will enjoy. As I will write in detail later, this work is a so-called "death game," in which the player will die many times. By simplifying the story, not only does it improve the tempo of the game, but it may also be a consideration to minimize the stress placed on the player when starting over.

Game over screen

This work, which combines cosmic horror and science fiction, incorporates a number of scare-inducing effects. One of these is the sound that occurs when moving between areas. As you approach a door, you can hear the groans of enemies ahead of you penetrating the separation. It can be heard even before it is opened, so the player can only guess what is beyond it from the sound. I encountered several situations that could be found in a horror movie, such as entering a room with a sense of caution after hearing the cries, only to find no enemies, and being attacked from a blind spot when you were caught off guard.

The beautifully rendered graphics also contributed to the eerie atmosphere of the game. The intensity of the shadows created by the lighting, the texture of the equipment, and the surface of the water where light and objects ripple are all depicted in great detail, and the ray tracing function allows the player's image to be reflected in mirrors and other objects. The game is priced at approximately 5,000 yen for the home console version and 4,000 yen for the PC version, yet the level of image quality was surprisingly high. The increased immersion of the photo-realistic images seemed to amplify the fear of what might be possible.

Highly challenging action that you learn by dying

In this title, enemies, both mooks and bosses, are highly aggressive, so a momentary mistake can be fatal. It is not uncommon to have nearly half of your HP taken away by a single blow from a mook in the early stages of the game. If you try to pass by enemies because fighting them is a hassle, or if you try to attack them single-mindedly, you will be cornered and die in no time. Tactics such as creating one-on-one situations, avoiding the front and going around as much as possible are important without being overconfident.

There are three attributes in this game: fire, freezing, and strong acid. Enemies have a weakness to one of these attributes: fire lowers defense, ice lowers speed, and strong acid increases speed and lowers defense.

Particularly difficult is the management of "energy. Energy is used not only to recover strength, but also for long-range attacks and "energy mode," in which the enemy is clad in a specific attribute and attacks at close range. If it is used for recovery, it is stable, but it is not decisive because attacks are neglected. On the other hand, if it is used to attack, it can defeat the enemy quickly, but it is difficult to cover for the loss of energy. In a situation where a single blow can be fatal, it is difficult to decide whether to use energy for recovery or attack.

The author was a forceful fighter, so instead of slashing at the opponent with the intention of taking damage, he allocated his energy to recovery. Even so, I was able to clear the game to the end, so even those who are not good at managing the gauge should have no problem.

Incidentally, the consumption by long-range attacks and energy mode is temporary and will recover naturally over time. However, the recovery speed is slow and the remaining amount must be managed, making it quite difficult to switch between attack and recovery. It is recommended to focus on one or the other, at least in the first round.

In addition to energy, "just guarding" is also an important technique in this work. This is a technique to temporarily incapacitate an opponent by holding up a shield just before receiving an attack. It may sound difficult, but in reality, there is plenty of time to perform this technique, so even if you perform it a little early, you can still succeed. It is better to use this technique as if you were catching the attacker rather than flipping him off.

As mentioned at the beginning, the enemies in this game are extremely strong, so even if you make full use of Energy and Just Guard, you cannot avoid game over. If you die, the "nanomachines" (items for leveling up) you have collected from the enemies will be dropped on the spot. However, even if you die, you can start over from the last beacon you touched, so you are not sent back to the beginning of the stage. If you return to the spot where you fell, you can retrieve the nanomachines you once dropped.

Beacons can be found in various locations and can be used not only to revive, but also to move between beacons. If you release the beacons you find, they are useful not only for retrying after a game over, but also for retrieving items that you missed.

Consuming nanomachines to increase stats such as strength and muscularity.

Although this title has been described as a high level of difficulty, I was a little concerned about the difference in speed between the player character and the enemy. While we attack once, the enemy often moves at such a speed that it attacks twice. Since the player cannot just guard or move while attacking, there were often situations where the player was unable to deal with the enemy's attack and the two would end up fighting each other. With small fry, you can try to counterattack after first interrupting a just guard, but with bosses, most of their attacks are unguardable, so this strategy does not work.

In addition, when using the "battery" to recover energy, the player must stay in place for a certain period of time, which also adds to the high level of difficulty. The above difference in speed, the frequent use of unguardable attacks by the bosses, and the rigid stance while using the battery make the overall difficulty of the game very difficult. Since energy already has elements such as recovery, allocation to attacks, and management of remaining energy, I felt that the battery, which recovers that energy, could be used instantly without any gaps, which would be enough to achieve a good balance.

Customize your abilities by combining technologies

Weapons, armor, and other equipment have an element called "technology," and there are three types: "human," "levian," and "driller. These three are based on a point system, whereby how much of the armor containing the technology is equipped with the corresponding ability.

Broadly speaking, Humans are for those who can use Energy, as it extends Energy and attribute attacks. Levians have enhanced HP and stamina, making them suitable for those who like close combat. Driller is a defensive and exploratory technology that enhances defense, resistance to abnormal conditions, and the amount of nanomachines obtained from enemies.

Although it is more efficient to enhance one of these technologies at the beginning of the game, as the equipment is enhanced to a certain level, eventually two types of technology will emerge. This will expand the range of battle strategies, such as specializing in attack with a human + leviathan, or focusing on defense with a leviathan that can easily increase its status and a driller for defense.

It is fun to create different types of equipment and explore different combinations to see what will happen if you create this equipment, or what technology will be enhanced if you strengthen it. As already mentioned, the nanomachines are dropped when a player dies, but the materials obtained from enemies remain intact, so no matter how many times the game is over, the amount of materials collected will not be wasted. Furthermore, since you don't need nanomachines to make armor, even beginners who get hit repeatedly can easily create and strengthen their equipment.

Since equipment can be replaced at any time, it is a good idea to create a special combination for each of the mooks and bosses. It is also interesting to prepare a set for exploration, with equipment that thoroughly stretches the driller. However, since armor can only be changed by opening the menu, it is difficult to switch between them in real time, so we do not recommend it.

Instead, you can change between two types of melee weapons with the crosshair. While on the offensive, you can use a weapon that enhances your Levian skills, and when you are in a tight spot, you can use a weapon that can enhance your Driller skills, allowing you to flexibly change your abilities depending on the situation. Although the technology points gained from a single weapon are small, they are surprisingly not foolproof in this game, where every attack is lethal.

Each boss can be rematched at any time by using an item called "dolmen shards. Since you will need materials from the bosses to make some of the weapons, you will naturally have to fight them if you want to keep going!

There were some personal concerns, such as the difference in speed between characters and enemies, too much difficulty in managing energy, and the disadvantages of frequent battery use. Nevertheless, the eerie planetary facilities and the creatures that appear in the game are finely rendered in photo-realistic image quality, and the world of cosmic horror x sci-fi horror can be enjoyed. The game also features battles with attribute-based attacks and just-guarded counterattacks. The equipment, which incorporates an element of technology, can be customized in a wide range of ways, expanding the range of tactics and providing relief to beginners who are trying to play games to the death.

We hope that people who like games of death, people who are not averse to science fiction, and of course beginners of this type of game will give this game a try. You will be able to enjoy the tension that only a high difficulty game can create, and the sense of fear that cosmic horror can generate.

（Text by Yoshiyoshi Natsumashiuchi)

Information on the game

DOLMEN

Compatibility: PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/PC

Genre: Action RPG

Player: 1~4 players

Price:

PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One version: 4,950 yen (tax included)

PC version: 4,100 yen (including tax)

Amazon limited edition: 7,150 yen (including tax)

Release date: May 20, 2022 (Friday)

CERO: C (for ages 15 and up)

Developer: Massive Work Studio

Distributor: Koch Media/Prime Matter

Dolmen (C) Massive Work Studio. Massive Work Studio and Dolmen are registered trademarks of Santa Rita Studio LTDA. Unreal is a trademark or registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. Unreal Engine, Copyright 1998 - 2022, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed by Massive Work Studio. Published 2022 by Prime Matter. Prime Matter and its respective logos are trademarks of Koch Media GmbH. All trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.