Survival games and I don’t get along. I know it is a weird way to start a review about a survival RPG saying we don’t get along, but it is the truth somewhat. Okay, it isn’t like we don’t get along; it is more that I am too lazy to do the whole crafting schtick. It just isn’t for me, but when I heard about Doom and Destiny Worlds, I had a sudden desire to try the game out, even if I had to suffer through survival elements; because I was playing this no matter what.
What is Doom and Destiny?
For those that don’t know, Doom and Destiny is a comedic turn-based RPG series that started 10 years ago and not to be confused with two high profile shooters Doom and Destiny (see what I did there). The series has been released on almost everything, from mobile platforms to PC and maybe everything in between. Before Worlds was released, the series had been dormant, with the games the last release being for PC. History lesson aside, the series has found great success among fans of old-school RPGs, and Worlds looks to be no different.
Doom and Destiny Worlds Story
Doom and Destiny Worlds follows Nigel, Mike, Frances, and Johnny, who are thrown into a new adventure during the game of Dungeons and Dragons. While having their usual game night, a portal appears and takes the boys to a new world, with each landing in a different area in solo mode. Depending on which character players choose as their main is the character they will start with, it is then up to them to search for the rest. I am unsure if this changes, but in my playthrough, two of the boys were together, and the leader was in another section, which was pretty close to where I landed.
Once players find their team, they can set off to explore the rest of the world, but before doing that, they can enter the tower where they found Francis, but only if they have a wand to create a light source. Either way, it is best to do this early as players will find a character called Destiny who will give blueprints to create a raft which is basically your best friend when it comes to exploring the world.
The World
The world of Doom and Destiny Worlds is divided up into 55 different islands and can be explored in any way players see fit. Some islands are small, and some are bigger. Each island has its own look, with its own resources, chests, and things to do. Most islands can be m missed in the grand scheme of things, but if players want to explore what the game has to fully offer, they will want to go to each and every island.
For comparison’s sake, I have played around 10+ hours already and have only found about 18 different islands and only one of the story islands or maybe two. I am still not sure if one of the islands I had found was part of the story as I think I needed to craft something.
Craft your world
Speaking about crafting, this is where Doom and Destiny Worlds differs from its predecessors in that crafting plays a big part in the world. As I said prior, I hate crafting, and it is the one thing I afford in any game I play. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the game; it just means I never craft anything, but in this case, it is almost necessary if players want to progress the game as they will need to craft everything from a raft to the usual pickaxe to mine stone. I say almost necessary because if you are like me and stubborn, you may get lucky and eventually find the items or weapons needed, like me finding a torch in a chest. This is the harder way to progress, but it could be possible if you are set on not crafting.
On the other hand, I didn’t mind crafting in Doom and Destiny Worlds. At the start, I despised it, but after getting used to it, I enjoyed it (Fine, I was forced to after having a full inventory, but still). Crafting was simple and operates a lot like Minecraft in that certain items can only be built with the right crafting station. So, for example, players can build a standard crafting station, a campfire (which should be the first item to build on every new island), but not much else unless they have the standard one.
From there, other crafting stations can be built, like a wool spinner to create new clothes and other stations to create weapons and more. Creating equipment isn’t as hard as I thought, but like any game that allows players to craft, you will need the right resources to craft, which almost everything is a resource that can be used.
The Combat System
As much as crafting plays a big part in the game, it is still a turn-based RPG, and like any turn-based RPG, combat plays a big part. Unlike most turn-based RPGs, combat works differently in Doom and Destiny Worlds. In most RPGs, playing characters and enemies have a set amount of HP and gain more as they level up with a player’s attacks taking a number of HP from an enemy every time they attack.
With Doom and Destiny, there is, in a sense, HP, but instead, it is hearts and SP, the bar to perform special attacks. Sounds straightforward at the moment, but here is the fun part. Every attack only takes one point of health. Yes, that’s right, all attacks only take one heart, no matter how powerful they are. The only difference is that before an enemy can chip at a character’s main health, they need to attack their SP first. What makes it harder is players need to decide whether they will sacrifice their SP to take down the enemy’s SP first or if players will just do normal attacks giving them extra protection from enemy attacks. It added a new layer of strategy that was different from the norm.
When players do finally lose all their HP, they also lose all their items and reset back to the beginning island and will need to go back to the island they died at if they want to get all their stuff back. Remember when I said it is best to build a campfire on every new island? This is why as campfire’s restore health and the need to backtrack. As well as being a spot to restore health, campsites act as a spot to chill with the guys and chat like in Final Fantasy XV. The chats can range from one of the three islands that the guys need to go to get home to just a random conversation or nothing.
Conclusion
Story-wise the game is the usual RPG stuff, save the world, get to go home, but honestly, the story is second fiddle to exploration and the comedic dialogue. The translation was off in some sections, but it now seems to be the norm for the series, almost expected in a good way.
Doom and Destiny Worlds is another great addition to the comedic turn-based RPG series that survivalists will love. And even though it wasn’t my favourite part, those that love survival games will love this. Luckily the game has settings that can make the survival component easier or harder, depending on the challenging level you are looking for.
A review code for Doom and Destiny Worlds was provided by Heartbit Interactive.
