wfmag.cc \ 59ReviewRated
ReviewFighting fantasy
uddled is probably the best
word for this tactical outing.
On the surface, everything looks
pretty, and it’s evidently true
to the 1982 movie and The Jim
Henson Company’s series. The Gelflings are
proud and loyal; the evil Skeksis still creep me
out. Look past the style, and you’ll find a robust
system offering several options in its teams and
compact, diorama-like levels. Each character
leans towards a certain playstyle – fighting,
healing, magic – though their skills can be
changed around by using a job system that
allows for new abilities
and some level of micro-
management. This system
makes it easy to create
‘all-rounders’, however,
which removes the need
to balance a team – you won’t need a specific
healer if you can give a fighter a back-up healing
spell. In other words, the tactical action lacks the
depth needed to shine in a world of Mutant Year
Zero and, to a lesser extent, Mario + Rabbids.
The combat can often feel easy, too – in some
stages, there isn’t much need to put on your
tactical hat at all. I completed a few areas, for
example, by simply moving a Gelfling or Fizzgig
next to an enemy and wailing on them. There’s
a sense that the game wants you to play on the
high difficulty setting, which I tried – but I felt
the AI simply scaled the damage up, rather than
offering a new, smarter challenge to overcome.It is wonderful to interact with these familiar
worlds though, and some areas offer a unique
win condition to break up that simplistic combat.
I loved pushing the Hunter Skeksis, SkekMal,
into a biting pit to weaken him, or uncovering
texts in the Gelfling library in order to progress.
The world of Thra certainly comes alive in your
hands; it’s recreated brilliantly on the Switch,
and its intimate, nostalgic fantasy world really
suits the system.
The story gradually loses its some of its
charm, however, when you’re already aware
of the next stage of the plot, which retells the
Netflix series’ story almost
beat for beat. The Dark
Crystal: Age of Resistance
Tactics relies heavily on the
player’s familiarity with the
franchise, and it’s a pity
the game doesn’t stray far beyond the familiar:
the game needed to tell a new story, perhaps
one that complemented the series rather than
hewed so closely to it.
Ultimately, I’m not entirely sure who the
game’s aimed at. Die-hard fans will undoubtedly
enjoy the details on offer in the game’s world,
but even they may be disappointed by the plot’s
familiarity; tactical strategy game buffs, on the
other hand, will find little here to get their pulses
going. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is
by no means a bad game, but at the same time,
it doesn’t offer much that will satisfy either of
those camps.M
VERDICT
Lacks the crystalline
polish needed to become
as memorable as the rest
of the franchise.52 %
GENRE
Turn-based tactics
FORMAT
Switch (tested) / PC /
PS4 / XBOX / Mac
DEVELOPER
BonusXP
PUBLISHER
En Masse
Entertainment
PRICE
£16.99
RELEASE
Out nowInfo
ReviewRated
REVIEWED BY
Daniel LipscombeHIGHLIGHT
The realisation of a world I was already
so familiar with brought a smile to
my face on many occasions, and its
tiny interactive biomes are, at times,
spellbinding. The swamps and castles
all feel like home, and I often found
myself swivelling the camera around to
zoom in on the smallest of details.“There’s a sense the
game wants you to play
on the high difficulty”The Dark Crystal:
Age of Resistance Tactics
The Gelfling Gurjin needs to survive, so let’s move
him out of the way and get on with the fight.
Sure, he’s in the palm of your hand, but SkekMal
is still a horrible foe, and an evil one to boot.