Reviewed on XBOX Series X
First Impressions: A Storybook World Worth Exploring
The first thing that grabbed me about Tale of Dark Lands was its visual style.
There’s something immediately appealing about its low-poly presentation. Villages, forests, and dungeons all have a handmade quality to them that gives the game a warm storybook feel. It almost feels like stepping into an illustrated fantasy novel, with simple but effective environments that rely more on charm than technical wizardry.
For a moment, I genuinely thought I might have stumbled across a hidden indie gem.
Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t quite last.
A Familiar Fantasy Journey
The setup is straightforward enough.
You play as a mercenary pulled away from village life and thrust into a growing conflict against an ancient force threatening the land. It’s the kind of fantasy premise we’ve seen countless times before, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, the story never really finds a hook to separate itself from the crowd.
The darker themes hinted at early on never fully develop, leaving the narrative feeling more like background noise than a driving force.
I kept waiting for a big twist, a memorable character, or a moment that would pull me in.
It never quite arrived.
Customisation Is One Of The Stronger Features
One area where the game deserves some credit is player customization.
There’s a decent character creator, plenty of equipment to collect, and enough build variety to let players shape their mercenary the way they want. It’s not the deepest RPG system you’ll ever see, but it adds some welcome flexibility to progression.
Finding new gear and slowly improving your character remains satisfying throughout the adventure.
Combat Quickly Becomes Repetitive
This is where the cracks really begin to show.
Early on, combat feels serviceable enough. Enemies fall quickly, attacks connect without much issue, and progression keeps things moving forward.
But after a few hours, I realised I was approaching almost every encounter exactly the same way.
Attack. Attack. Attack. Repeat.
There’s very little demand for strategy, timing, dodging, or thoughtful decision-making. Most fights can be won through simple button mashing, and because of that, combat starts to feel routine long before the credits roll.
For an action RPG, that’s a problem.
Exploration Should Feel Better Than This
Fantasy worlds live and die by how enjoyable they are to explore.
Sadly, Tale of Dark Lands struggles here as well.
The world design relies heavily on portals, narrow pathways, and awkward connections between areas. Instead of encouraging curiosity, it often feels like it’s funneling you down a predetermined route.
A larger issue is the draw distance. For a game built around a relatively simple low-poly art style, I was surprised by how noticeable pop-in could be at times. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it certainly hurts immersion.
Performance Is Mostly Stable
Thankfully, performance was generally solid during my playthrough.
Outside of a few minor glitches, the game ran smoothly and never suffered from major technical problems. I completed the adventure in roughly three hours and didn’t encounter anything game-breaking.
The controls, however, are another story.
Out of the box, they feel loose and oddly configured, almost like a rough port that never received a proper pass for optimization. The good news is that most of these issues can be improved through remapping, which I highly recommend doing early on.
Final Thoughts
Tale of Dark Lands feels like a project with genuine heart behind it.
The low-poly art style is charming, the world has moments of beauty, and there are flashes of a stronger game hiding beneath the surface. Unfortunately, repetitive combat, weak storytelling, awkward exploration, and clunky controls prevent it from reaching its potential.
That said, I don’t think this is a game that deserves harsh criticism. It feels more like a valiant first step than a complete misfire.
The developers clearly have talent, and I’d genuinely like to see what they create next.
For now, though, Tale of Dark Lands is a decent fantasy adventure that offers a few enjoyable hours but struggles to leave a lasting impression.
6/10
