Why is this game "overwhelmingly positive"rated?

[Gurthang]

And some players have thousands of hours in it? I´m seriously interested since it is basically just an arena horde mode. Where does the appeal in this game come from?

[∰space]

I've been a dd player since about 2017
the mechanics are somewhat deep but its just a very rewarding game to play because of its difficulty. you are rewarded for a playstyle toward being on the edge of overwhelmed all the time
it just feels so fluid and the audio design is the best i've seen

[xyz83]

Hi, I have 3000 hours on this game and I am ranked third in the world at the moment, so I suppose I can answer this question, somewhat - The premise is simple, it is indeed just an arena shooter where your goal is to survive as long as possible, that's it. The rest is up to you to figure out, strategies, enemy priority, learning mechanics etc. That's sort of the appeal I got from the game when I first started out almost 8 years ago, the game has no tutorial or anything, it just throws you into the deep waters immediately and that kind of idea was really interesting to me so I just stuck with it.

Not to mention that the community that me and few others formed almost a decade ago, ended up being one of the most wholesome and welcoming communities I have ever seen, everyone is very supportive of eachother no matter their score or whatever.

Also, the gameplay is very addictive, it's smooth as hell, yet insanely intense, especially if you get to play runs that go on pretty long, the sound design is unfathomably good, like, seriously, one of the best sound designs I've ever heard, especially on an indie game like DD. The game is really hard at first but it becomes magical once you actually get the hang of it, and even more so once you put in like 200-300 hours into it.

Also the dopamine release from a good run/new highscore makes me always crave more lol

[axe]

The beautiful sound design is definitely what first caught my attention. even in my first couple hours, I would let skulls orbit around me and spray daggers at the floor in awe that such an unassuming game has so much detail and love put into the just the sound alone.

I found myself more and more fascinated by the gameplay the more i played, and indeed, after 5k+ hours I can confidently say this by far the most interesting and difficult single player FPS game I've ever played. The concept is simple, but even at the highest level of play, every run is a nonstop barrage of dynamic decision making, and it manages to do that without being unfair.

Many people look at the game, and make the observation "It's just this one map?", but that conclusion isn't even scratching the surface. The enemies are the map. The enemies in DD have organic swarm-like movement that brings the butterfly effect to life. Every run is a constantly changing landscape that morphs and splashes around the arena.

At the core, FPS games are largely a puzzle where you're trying to figure out what to shoot, and where to go. Target priority and movement flowcharts. You will never play another single player FPS game that comes even close to the depth and dynamism of the flowcharts in Devil Daggers. It's a masterpiece of this dynamic.

[∰space]

well said

[anbyte]

Some of the best players in this community already replied to this thread, so I'm not sure if there's much I can add, but I want to try anyway:

Devil Daggers is deceptively nuanced. At the surface, it has simple gameplay and mechanics. But I am honest when I say that Devil Daggers is one of the most polished and well balanced games I've ever come across.

Now--it's NOT for everyone. For some people it really is just a silly arena game. They don't get to discover and thus understand the appeal of the game; they'll put in 1 or 2 hours and get a run a little over 100 seconds - and that's it. But the other people..; they discover how to push their records to new limits, how to decide which enemies to prioritize, how to take advantage of the hidden mechanics -- they discover the game's progression, study their own and other people's replays, come up with new strategies with a higher skill ceiling yet higher rewards. And those are the players that experience Devil Daggers.

And I suppose there really is only one way to find out whether you'll be that person.

:)

[terrapin]

tbh its the hardest game i have ever played. if you dont like punishing experiences i dont think youll really enjoy this but if you like FPS's and a challenge its def for you. its incredibly deep and nuanced, even though it seems shallow. also, adrenaline you get during a high score run is second to none. i dont think ill put as many hours into this as hyper demon but its an absolutely incredible game imo

[Gurthang]

Okay... i got hooked, don´t know how it happened but it happened. Already bought it for three of my friends because i can´t stop trying.

[Daikatan]

Do you people also enjoy Hyper Demon? It's from same developers

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1743850/HYPER_DEMON/

[Daikatan]

Also I wonder if any of you also play bullethell shmups like Dodonpachi.

[xyz83]

Originally posted by Daikatan:

Do you people also enjoy Hyper Demon? It's from same developers

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1743850/HYPER_DEMON/

axe is top10 in hyper demon while also being in the top4 of DD, other top dd players like pride or owl city (#6 and #3 in DD) also have 400+ in HD. The game is fun but it's certainly a bit different from dd, the premise is to go as fast as possible while dd is to go as long as possible. My personal score in HD is around 230 but the game causes me headaches so I just stick to dd.

[axe]

Originally posted by Daikatan:

Do you people also enjoy Hyper Demon? It's from same developers

Everything Sorath touches is gold, so HD an amazing game, but for different reasons than DD imo. The mechanics are super satisfying and stylish, and of course the visuals and sound are top notch. As a display of competitive FPS fundamentals, however, I still think DD takes the cake. HD is difficult and filled with interesting tech/strategy, but RNG is regularly fatal at the high level. I mostly play it to hunt for swag clips now (which is very fun).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iuelm6GiOw

Here's an HD montage I made lol. Also Sorath just added a multiplayer minigame to HD so go check that out :) look for the bird in the lobby that doesn't fly away when you walk over it.

[Daikatan]

Would you agree that "dd = survival, hd = scoring" as main philosophy per game?

[Snattlerake]

Gonna add onto this since I have a few points nobody mentioned. Pretty much every time I play it I get that "I can do better" feeling. It's also small and well optimized so even my ♥♥♥♥♥♥ laptop can run it smoothly at triple digit FPS.

[∰space]

I own hyper demon but have yet to dive into it. Some day....

[Skull of a Crowned Athlete]

Good risk reward system (gem farming)
A game where every attack is a projectile
Pure fundamentals. Simple objective: Survive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_IIORCnBxI
SKULLS