DVK

An interesting game with a unique aesthetic. I have a growing suspicion that the vast majority of “indie” games are not indie at all, but are funded by the same shadow corporation, so they all have a similar look and a similar bluehair vibe. DVK is what most indie games should be, if they were really made by a small team of people with no business types breathing down their neck. A strange little game that isn’t pushing any narrative, a creative project made by some people who just wanted to make something fun and interesting, rather than try to mold the player into some kind of idealized soy-guzzling modernite. I loved the over the top gore when you get a deathblow, and I wish there had been more violence all around!!! It was fun seeing the new types of locations and dragons. I laughed at the unexpected final boss. The unlockables were fun too. I hope they make more!

With the rise of AI, there's a growing concern that real art will become squashed out, which isn't something I personally look forward to. Maybe that's just me being paranoid. This game leans artistically in the opposite direction, everything looks hand-crafted with soul in a style that reminds me of game dev and gamedev software in the 90s, Klik N Play, Click & Create, Multimedia Fusion etc. It's apparent that even for info screens like the How to Play campfire screen, the devs knew they wanted to make something with feeling. Something about the stats screen with the open book and the font and font colors reminds me of '90s medieval/fantasy games in a good way. The music also has personality, there are different tracks for each enemy which contributes to making each one unique. All the tracks are warm in a sense and have sort of a familiar feeling that's hard to describe. It's pretty clear the devs are fans of oldschool RPGs and had an idea for something totally unique, decided to just set out and make it and succeeded. The gameplay isn't overly complex, the powerups mix things up but from my view DVK is more about an overall aesthetic/vibe. Looking forward to seeing more adventures from the devs in the future.