The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance Tactics Review

One of my favorite movies has recently been made the subject of a Netflix series called The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. I have yet to watch the new show, but was very interested to see what the game would be like. Upon first seeing it last year, I was glad they decided to create it as a tactical RPG in the same vein as Disgaea. As a fan of strategy games, this one seemed like a perfect blend of an IP and genre I typically enjoy. Does the formula work well here? Read on to find out!

I think it would be rather obvious that you will play on the side of the Gelflings and fighting against the Skeksis. I feel as though the story is merely a way to relive the experience of the series – a way to weave together the different tactical scenarios as it were. Aughra, a character from the movie, starts you out by introducing you to the characters you will have on your roster.  You will select the ones you want to have on your team before each battle much like other tactics games. There is a lot of fun to be had, however without the need to be completely original. After all, each Disgaea title was basically a rehash of the one before it, yet they were all amazing in their own right.

One battle early on will give me the canvas on which to paint you a picture of what you will experience.  We start off with three Gelflings. Who they are is unimportant, as I would hate to rob you of any story lines whether you have seen the series or not.  As you escape from the previous battle’s outcome you find your team in a poisonous swamp. One of the Gelflings, during the conversation at the beginning warns you to stay out of the water due to its toxicity.  This is when you are told that a certain type of Gelfling is impervious to the danger and can freely move in and out of the “water”.  You are to use this to your advantage by luring the enemies to confront you in the poisonous goo so they take environmental damage as you fight. You will find that using the terrain to your advantage will be just as useful as any weapons and armor you earn.

As with any tactical RPG, you will earn money that you use to purchase items, weapons, armor, and anything else you may need to complete each battle.  All told, there are over 50 scenarios to work your way through so there is plenty of content to keep you busy for many hours. To say they are challenging is actually a bit of an understatement.  I found them to be difficult right from the start. Allow me to paint on another demonstrative canvas, as the goal of another early battle was to get to the exit of the area. For some reason, stupid fell upon my shoulders and I didn’t pay attention to that.  A Skeksis showed up and started beating on my team. I attacked it thinking I could do something about that.  It was quickly apparent that I would need quite a few more on my team to do anything against it.  I also recognized the particular character from the movie, so I assumed it could not be killed. I was able to finish the level, but a Gelfling was defeated in the process.

The graphics are well done and look very nice. The artists did a nice job with the character models, which look like they’re ripped straight out of the movie/show. I like the music in the game, but I’m not sure if it’s from the show or not.  I do apologize for not watching the series to verify that. Although, I’m probably doing myself a disservice by playing the game before I watch the Netflix show.

Each type of character, Gelfling, Podling, and Fizzgig has their own secondary job they can be assigned.  That way you can add skills to your team members that you need to defeat each level.  I found that I usually failed the missions the first time because I didn’t know what types of characters I would need to be successful. I tried to use a good mix of character types and jobs, but found that there are times when you don’t really understand what you will need. Granted you can replay them so it gives you as many tries as you wish to try to get all your players up to the maximum level of 99.

Whether you are a fan of the show or the movie, it doesn’t matter because The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is a solid tactical RPG on its own merit and will provide you with plenty of enjoyable game playing time and is well worth the price of admission. It may take a bit of trial and error to figure out how to proceed through some of the areas, but I had fun doing so!

Jay Kittelson

Jay has been an avid gamer since the Intellivision days.  His hobbies include building PCs, 3D modeling and printing, and spending time with his children and dog.