If the games grimdark aesthetic didnt warn you, heres another from me directly: this game is brutal.
Be mentally prepared to start over, over and over again.
The one more round syndrome is strong with this mashup of tower defense and strategy.
The games premise is simple: survive.
See those little creatures all over your screen like bees in an unstable hive?
Now picture building a settlement over them.
Known as Nightmares, these monsters come in all shapes and sizes, growing bold and lethal at night.
Fortunately, its not just Nightmares vs. defenseless buildings.
These heroes level up and gain new skills as they clear out waves of grisly Nightmares.
Lose them and youll have to sit through a timer and stick to mortal fodder to defend your encampment.
You dont control them directly, but you do control who works in fishing wharves and quarries.
But remember villagers run defensive towers and bear arms as well.
Your villager supply (determined by houses and food) is split across defensive and production buildings.
Build in too many directions and youll have a hard time defending your resources come nightfall.
Miscalculations and assumptions are deadly in Age Of Darkness: Final Stand.
Survive enough of them and youll finish the game.
Years of Age Of Empires andStarCraftexperience meant that I had to unlearn old ideas while learning new ones.
And youll want to pause this game often.
Careless expansion without prior planning will rob you of more than a few limbs at night.
Youre given the standard fare of archers and swordsmen at first.
A tech tree lets you unlock more powerful arbalests and shield-toting combatants.
A siege workshop offers flame-spewing machines and catapults that can switch to a more potent siege mode.
Remember that these units cost you resources even when theyre idle.
The devs roadmap shows promise, with campaign and multiplayer components on their way.
Perhaps theyll do a better job explaining the lore of Age Of Darkness and the disarray of its inhabitants.
Death comes swiftly and often but it brings lessons as well.
