Divinity: Dragon Commander

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 263 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 149 out of 263
  2. Mixed: 61 out of 263
  3. Negative: 53 out of 263

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  1. leSange
    Jan 5, 2019
    4
    Я думал меня ждет мочилово за дракона
    Но я получил-
    Жену- наркоманку
    Генералов- суфражистку и лесбуху
    однообразную стратегию
    Клевых скелетов
  2. IHugShortPeople
    Jan 4, 2019
    8
    I have been co-oping Divinity 2 with my boyfriend, and he recommended that I play this game since it is loosely within the same universe and he knows that I enjoy politics and RTS. I loved this game. The characters are all so fleshed out and have such fantastic voice work, and I feel that the writing is really where this game shines. The RTS sections are also very fun and challenging. TheI have been co-oping Divinity 2 with my boyfriend, and he recommended that I play this game since it is loosely within the same universe and he knows that I enjoy politics and RTS. I loved this game. The characters are all so fleshed out and have such fantastic voice work, and I feel that the writing is really where this game shines. The RTS sections are also very fun and challenging. The only complaint I really have is that much of the dialogue was exhausted by the time I was only halfway through the game. The game begins to drag a bit after I've completed my generals' and wife's sidequests and all of the political decisions have been made, but I still had a lot of fun. I really don't understand the hate this game is getting. I didn't know about it until finishing the game, and it really surprises me cause I really enjoyed it and think it's a pretty damn good game. I could maybe see how someone might not be satisfied with the RTS part of it, but not to the point of calling the game a "con" to make money for another game. I can tell someone's heart went into this, even if it wasn't the game some people wanted.… Expand
  3. theirrelephants
    Oct 15, 2017
    8
    I actually wanted to give this game a worse rating than I did on account of the gameplay, but I couldn't justify it with how much it made me laugh.

    The RTS portions are, to be blunt, absolutely awful. I've heard that they ran out of time and money and I believe it, because it shows. It seems like the only thing they got done was the politics/advisers 'visual novel' tier-esque section    I actually wanted to give this game a worse rating than I did on account of the gameplay, but I couldn't justify it with how much it made me laugh.

    The RTS portions are, to be blunt, absolutely awful. I've heard that they ran out of time and money and I believe it, because it shows. It seems like the only thing they got done was the politics/advisers 'visual novel' tier-esque section of the game. Which is the 10/10 section of the game, and even then, they actually admitted that one of the "princesses" got cut due to lack of time.

    If you're looking for a good for a good RTS, look somewhere else. I'd break down the game like this:
    Real Time Strategy: 3/10
    First Person Shooter (when you become a dragon during the rts segments): 4/10, well done but pointless.
    Everything else: 10/10.

    It's a game that tried to do three different things at once, and only succeeded at one of them.    … Expand
  4. Schuback
    Feb 26, 2016
    6
    The combat is lame and boring. You control a dragon flying around with a jetpack (cool idea) and spam flame at the enemy troops while your troops attack and control the enemy forts. After an hour you'll probably just use the auto-battle option. But the politics is freaking hilarious!!

    Very interesting (though stereotypical) advisers/diplomats each representing a faction and it's up to    The combat is lame and boring. You control a dragon flying around with a jetpack (cool idea) and spam flame at the enemy troops while your troops attack and control the enemy forts. After an hour you'll probably just use the auto-battle option. But the politics is freaking hilarious!!

    Very interesting (though stereotypical) advisers/diplomats each representing a faction and it's up to you to keep them loyal to your cause. Every month a new issue will pop up, and each advisers will give you their opinion. Your decisions will please some of them while disappointing others as you manage the relationship with these diplomats. Some of the topics can be quite sensitive but the fact is there are no trolls among the diplomats as they always have some point in their stance. Whether you agree with it is separate matter.

    Overall, not to be taken too seriously. Recommended if you play for the laughs in conversations with npcs, not the gameplay. Game's kinda short though, around 10 hours long. But hey, it's cheap.    … Expand
  5. JimCorbett
    Nov 18, 2015
    8
    Dragon Commander is a mix of a very basic RTS game and a decent Turn based campaign. The whole selling point of the game is that you play as a dragon during the RTS battles and can completely wreck your opponent quite easily. It's basic, but it's very fun until you realize how repetitive the game is (which will probably last you at least one playthrough - ~10-15 hours). Strategy fans willDragon Commander is a mix of a very basic RTS game and a decent Turn based campaign. The whole selling point of the game is that you play as a dragon during the RTS battles and can completely wreck your opponent quite easily. It's basic, but it's very fun until you realize how repetitive the game is (which will probably last you at least one playthrough - ~10-15 hours). Strategy fans will enjoy their time with it as long as you don't expect it to challenge you due to its lack of depth.… Expand
  6. barakav
    Apr 10, 2015
    5
    It is a great game but if you are good at it and plan your moves well ,it is just too short ,I finished it in around 5! hours and it was very easy. This is crazy...
  7. Dhelio
    Oct 29, 2014
    3
    So much potetianl left untapped!

    Dragon Commander is an hybrid of RTS, card and board games of ambiutious proportions but lacking quality. On paper, the promised experience is astounding: you, the player, as a jetpacked dragon must rally an army to take the throne that's rightfully yours, in a steampunk-ish fantasy world, all the while managing your generals and counselors, all with    So much potetianl left untapped!

    Dragon Commander is an hybrid of RTS, card and board games of ambiutious proportions but lacking quality. On paper, the promised experience is astounding: you, the player, as a jetpacked dragon must rally an army to take the throne that's rightfully yours, in a steampunk-ish fantasy world, all the while managing your generals and counselors, all with their agenda and personality. The battles are fought in real time, the general army and empire management on a map a-la Total War, and the politics are handled in first person on your castleship. Sounds awesome, right? On paper, at least.

    Gameplay wise, the game's a mess! The RTS battles reward an aggressive tactic above all else, thus encouraging zerg rushes and win by starvation. There is no incentive in playing defensively, and whoever estabilishes a forward base first, wins. There is no reason in building a varied army but the two basic infantry units (Anti-infantry and anti-air), so most of the units are never used.
    On the Total War map, everything gets resolved in a blitzkrieg: ammass a moderate army, smash the first line of defense, and rapidly occupy all the territories but the capital. Don't worry about resistance: there isn't any. Sometimes, if the CPU is in good mood, enemies will send one or two troops at you. Specifically, at your TWENTY-SOMETHING army, with a 0% -ZERO- chances of victory (btw, that is not said by me. The game says it. On the battle screen.). What's the point?

    Luckily battles can be auto-resolved. But why am I playing if the computer plays itself?

    Even the politics have a good start. You're posed with great questions. Allowing gay marriages or not? Do you allow females in your army or not? Do you allow cigarettes or not? You're posed with great questions, that would make anyone think. But fear not, dear player, because this important questions are resolved with the stupidest system yet: a binary morality system!! BINARY! Either you're good or bad, no middle ground, no ethics, no nothing!

    But even if the politics system weren't so flawed, it would still be useless. Your counsellors decide by majority if you decide not to act. And, if you choose to act, you still have to abide to the majority, to not cause discontempt among the population. So why am I posed these problems if they resolve themselves? Am I even needed in this game?

    You have to get a bride in the game too, and that's a little interesting, but always dealed with a binary morality choice. So you don't have to choose.

    There's even the possibility to make a pact with a demon to make you and your armies stronger, but that's a lot of wasted effort for such an easy game.

    This game was a 5 for me, but after reading all I wrote, this becomes a 3. There are just too many dumb choices for a game that required more serousness by developers and players alike.    … Expand
  8. RMDsilva
    Oct 26, 2014
    6
    main problems:
    RTS is.. meh. alright. I could rarely beat the AI directly because of all the micromanagement with the different game changing abilities (charm!!!) but then it was dumb enough to allow defensive tactics to grind his resources down.
    Worst of all though... the dragon just feels useless. and annoying. it would be cool to be supporting the troops, but since they're much more    main problems:
    RTS is.. meh. alright. I could rarely beat the AI directly because of all the micromanagement with the different game changing abilities (charm!!!) but then it was dumb enough to allow defensive tactics to grind his resources down.
    Worst of all though... the dragon just feels useless. and annoying. it would be cool to be supporting the troops, but since they're much more effective when micromanaged, then it becomes irrelevant. And I was always being charged by 100s of troops. If they had any anti air capabilities, dragon is dead in seconds. Hurray.

    About the strategy in itself.. well, forcing yourself to pick a battle to NOT auto-resolve is not particularly fun. Why would you force players to be more effective in one front?
    Paying for generals just felt silly, especially in the end. (yay, one auto resolve per turn where you get more luck).
    The cards were interesting but.. felt unbalanced.
    So another meh.

    The RPG component was cool. The characters and the story are entertaining, shame it doesn't affect much of the actual game (if one faction really hates you, get less support in some regions.. ). but it's always cool to mix up a bunch of politics with a weird set of races.    … Expand
  9. Stigggggggy
    Oct 26, 2014
    0
    The game really looks nice, but when u get to the level where the RTS side start its like a frigging RTS from the 80s, barely manageable, worst UI ever --> just plain bad. After hitting the RTS side, I uninstalled, damn what a bed RTS ...

    It's really a petty cos i really liked the story telling ... :/
  10. augh18
    Apr 13, 2014
    1
    This game a perfect example of how Kickstarter and Early Access is letting video game developer's get away with stooping to increasingly depressing lows.

    "Dragon Commander" is an unfinished game that came out of Early Access status not because it was ready, but because Larian had another title that finished its Kickstarter funding so they wanted to get to work on that (Original Sin).    This game a perfect example of how Kickstarter and Early Access is letting video game developer's get away with stooping to increasingly depressing lows.

    "Dragon Commander" is an unfinished game that came out of Early Access status not because it was ready, but because Larian had another title that finished its Kickstarter funding so they wanted to get to work on that (Original Sin). What we're left with is an unfinished game with a lot of potential (Dragon Commander) that asks $40 when it's left in a late-alpha state, and another game (Original Sin) that people are currently giving the developer's money to work on when it's in the exact same condition, and when Larian has been allowed to get away with cashing in on one unfinished product, what's to prevent them from doing it again? Especially when there are players that seem all too content to give developers money to work part-time hours on games with no incentive to bring them to true gold status because hey, they're already making bank off unfinished work!

    Gets a 1/10 anyway because the soundtrack is amazing.    … Expand
  11. Citizen2BX
    Feb 2, 2014
    1
    Flat out horrible!

    Another case of lets make a game by pretty artwork and flash then hey lets add some game play to it. There is little sense of direction from the start. And then concept of "gradient" apparently doesn't exist anywhere in the designer(s) mind. If you get so far as to actually play on the map before uninstalling from the confusion, the AI is apparently some sort    Flat out horrible!

    Another case of lets make a game by pretty artwork and flash then hey lets add some game play to it.
    There is little sense of direction from the start.

    And then concept of "gradient" apparently doesn't exist anywhere in the designer(s) mind.

    If you get so far as to actually play on the map before uninstalling from the confusion, the AI is apparently some sort of flock/swarm thing that feel more like your fighting a flock of "T-1000" robots rather then any kind of thing natural or humanoid.

    What happened to game design? What happened to awareness?
    What happened to keeping the players perspective in mind?

    Hey designers/developers when you think of some cool concept (or just a name?) for a game please think it through first.
    Yes the public loves flashy graphics and all pretty things, but please just hash the game out first with even stick figure graphics, and beeps and bops for sounds, etc. Make sure you got some solid working concept in game play, fun AI, etc.
    Take this little test bed and see if you can make something fun and working first.
    And THEN add the graphics, etc., that should be more the "icing on the cake". Else there is no substance and it's not something your players will want to play.    … Expand
  12. evild4ve
    Dec 18, 2013
    3
    It's a basically ill-conceived, badly implemented game in a shiny package. Starting with the positive, the (spoof) high-fantasy setting, voice acting, and artwork are extremely good by any standards and manage to stand out in an extremely crowded market for this sort of stuff. In particular, the Undead as a civilian race along with skeletal council-representative are splendid. TheIt's a basically ill-conceived, badly implemented game in a shiny package. Starting with the positive, the (spoof) high-fantasy setting, voice acting, and artwork are extremely good by any standards and manage to stand out in an extremely crowded market for this sort of stuff. In particular, the Undead as a civilian race along with skeletal council-representative are splendid. The political decision-making is "lite" but entertaining e.g. you can support or veto an Elfish motion to make all the war-machines out of renewable materials, with predictable and meaningful effects on production costs and public opinion (which influences the economy and also battles).

    After making a great start with things that fantasy strategy games get wrong more often than not, they somehow botched almost everything else in the game, starting with the game. It's a "lite" RTS bolted unceremoniously onto a "lite" strategy boardgame, and in the RTS you can basically cheat by destroying all enemy units with an infinitely fast, indestructable, regenerating dragon.

    The strategy boardgame has at least two flaws I'd consider fatal: firstly the units' relative importance here doesn't carry over into the RTS. A basic "Trooper" might take the full production resources of a country for a turn to produce at the strategic level, or about 10 seconds at the RTS level. However at the RTS level they are worthless cannon fodder, but at the strategic level when combats are auto-resolved they get a "fair" chance of destroying enemy units. The second fatal flaw is that the resources carry over between maps so once you complete one map, you can start the next with an unstoppable army.

    The problems with the RTS are more subtle and could be solved in different ways. Personally, I would:-
    remove the fixed population cap, nerf the perfectly accurate anti-aircraft defences, make the dragon constantly consume resources, slow down the units or make the maps bigger, make the units carried in from the strategic level irreplaceable and more powerful than the RTS-level equivalents, and replace the whole "control point" system with something less clunky.

    It's virtually impossible to lose, unit special abilities can't be used quickly enough, the computer can churn out units (by clicking!) so quickly and so soon that the dragon is needed to mop them up, (at which point you just win), but if you get hold of 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 4 recruitment "control points", the producing units impossibly quickly advantage goes from the computer to you pretty quickly.

    It's just a mess, and it feels like it resulted from a complete lack of thought followed by a policy of obstinately ignoring playtesters who would have picked up on these problems. The dragon could have been introduced into a bog-standard C&C clone and worked better without all the stuff they did to the RTS formula to try and balance the dragon.

    Three more problems: using the dragon makes strategic unit production and delivering commands temporarily impossible; the dragon cannot even be summoned in sea battles (due to there being no "recruitment centres"); and there is no option to auto-resolve with dragon.

    If you could auto-resolve with dragon so as to completely ditch the RTS segment, and had an option to dump unwanted gold, it would be possible to have a passable boardgame a bit like Risk without the strategic depth.    … Expand
  13. MrZero
    Oct 28, 2013
    6
    Dammit, I wanted to like this game so much more, and I wanted to give it a higher rating, but this is as good as it deserves.

    First of, this game has balls. It tries to take so many different genres on: a card-based game, real-time strategy, first person shooter, a Risk-map game. It initially appears to do all of these things good but then the cracks start showing. The platform    Dammit, I wanted to like this game so much more, and I wanted to give it a higher rating, but this is as good as it deserves.

    First of, this game has balls. It tries to take so many different genres on: a card-based game, real-time strategy, first person shooter, a Risk-map game. It initially appears to do all of these things good but then the cracks start showing.

    The platform for all of these different elements within this game are there; they're solid at first but, then they never seem to fully materialize. Examples:

    1. You will never, ever use the Dragon mode, where you morph into a dragon and enter a first-person shooter, during the mini-skirmish real-time strategy moments on the game. It wastes time, money, much needed attention, and the dragon dies almost instantly. A cool idea; however, completely useless. The dragon mode should have been used as a global command, i.e., reign down fire on units, and it would have been just a cool and way more effective.

    2. Mini-skirmish games involving the real-time strat moments are just that. Min-skirmishes which recycle the same three maps and same 6 or 7 units over and over in a capture the flag style match. The AI is horrible, even on the hardest setting, and even on a 0% chance to win prediction you easy win as you let the rush your base turrets and then zerg-counter with the cheapest units.

    3. The Risk-map portion of the game is lackluster. The AI will suicide bomb you ever chance it gets, only to die repeatedly, making itself weaker and easier to beat.

    4. The card portion of the game is fun and interesting as far as turning the tide of battle; however, only a handful of card are actually useful and greatly overpowered.

    5. The political portion of the game, such as dealing with the generals wants and needs and/or dealing with different faction leaders is pretty much yes or no. The problems dealt with in the game range from genocide to gay marriage, including a part where one of your generals actually declares themselves, in private to you, as being gay. I can say that I was never bored when listening to these problems and it was a breath of fresh air to see a game handling these issues, but man, your responses to them are watered-down and the outcomes are glossed over.

    These are certainly only a few of the games problems, but with that said, I can say the music and voice-acting is top-quality, the graphics are usually pretty good, the humor is hysterical, the story is generic on purpose and makes fun of itself in the process.

    I really hope that this game is just a first in the series, and that the devs are able to tighten up gameplay on the second round. But as it stands now, this game deserves to have the public take a look at it, if only for possibility of what it could have been.

    I myself beat the game in about 8 hours on the hardest settings, and while I smile the entire time, I gave a sigh when the game was finished, knowing that I'd never go back and play it again. I want to, but not until these problems are addressed.    … Expand
  14. euu
    Oct 20, 2013
    8
    Dragon Commander was quite a nice surprise. It's great to see a game taking such risks in an industry as homogeneous as the video game one. This game combines elements of RTS, RPG, TBS and Arcade Shooter; none of which exceptional on their own, but when put together they form something special. By far the best part is the board of your capital ship,the Raven. This is what Blizzard tried toDragon Commander was quite a nice surprise. It's great to see a game taking such risks in an industry as homogeneous as the video game one. This game combines elements of RTS, RPG, TBS and Arcade Shooter; none of which exceptional on their own, but when put together they form something special. By far the best part is the board of your capital ship,the Raven. This is what Blizzard tried to do with the Hyperyon in Starcraft 2 and failed miserably at. In Dragon Commander you can interact with people that feel like real characters and not sentient cliches; you can take political and military decisions that can affect your empire as well as research new technologies and dragon powers. The writing, while not breaking any grounds in originality, is still clever and is reinforced by superb voice acting. Another part of the game is the strategy Map. This is similar to games like Battle for Middle Earth or Rise of Nations where you move troops on the Map, build structures in each province and play cards. Unfortunately the part that was supposed to be the meat of the game, the RTS element, is the one most lacking. It's not terrible but it feels too MOBA-ish and the fact that the graphics look like that of games released a decade ago doesn't help. The only element that spices things up is the fact that you can become a dragon and enter the battle directly; this is when the game turns in a fun arcade shooter. It's best not to ignore the dragon upgrades and abilities as the dragon can turn the tide of any battle. All in all, Dragon Commander is one of the most innovating and original games to come in a long time. It has plenty of flaws, but it's a breath of fresh air in an industry full of GTA and Call of Halo clones.… Expand
  15. Madrigall
    Oct 17, 2013
    3
    Politics and games don't mix. The game has a great concept, I was quite happy and excited to play this at first. Then I was presented with a number of politically charged decisions that I apparently "got wrong." I'm now 10+ hours into the game and on the final level and no matter what I do I cannot gain a positive income and it's impossible to play the game further. I'm a completionistPolitics and games don't mix. The game has a great concept, I was quite happy and excited to play this at first. Then I was presented with a number of politically charged decisions that I apparently "got wrong." I'm now 10+ hours into the game and on the final level and no matter what I do I cannot gain a positive income and it's impossible to play the game further. I'm a completionist and I almost never leave a game behind unfinished but Dragon Commander will have to be an exception for me since I was too busy trying to create armies, wage war, command battles from the back of a dragon, etc. when I instead should have been trying to predict the minds of the developers and decide how best to agree with their own political views.… Expand
  16. Dokkodo
    Oct 15, 2013
    3
    Short game that's almost good. It's not very difficult and you can burn through it in half a day.

    It has a bit of an interesting twist on the RTS genre, but the lack of difficulty and the awful graphics really drag it down. It's worth trying out if you get it on sale or something, but I wouldn't rush to buy it.
  17. giskarduk
    Oct 11, 2013
    3
    Dragon Commander is a very shallow game lacking any level of depth what so ever. The videos you see showing its features are literally all there is, do not look deeper than the surface, do not expect strategy of any kind other than an expert zerg rush from the AI. Nor should you expect an AI to run out of recruits as a human does, you may start with 3000, and it may start with 350, but itDragon Commander is a very shallow game lacking any level of depth what so ever. The videos you see showing its features are literally all there is, do not look deeper than the surface, do not expect strategy of any kind other than an expert zerg rush from the AI. Nor should you expect an AI to run out of recruits as a human does, you may start with 3000, and it may start with 350, but it will build men endlessly and will always still have 350 recruits left, where as your 3000 will slowly drop until you run out of men.

    I have a pet hate of games that use cheating AIs, it is just an excuse not to make a properly AI. As a modder I often make AIs for games like this just to prove a cheating AI was not necessary. I could write one for this game but its just not good enough to bother with.

    If your an RPG fan, give this a miss, if your a strategy fan, give this a miss, if your zerg rush fan... your going to love this game. Sadly nobody else will.    … Expand
  18. Ukiyo
    Sep 30, 2013
    8
    This game is fantastic. I love the take on modern politics as a game mechanic. Of course there are obvious mechanic based choices that can be made, but what fun is in that? Best to fallow your own political beliefs and see how the dice fall. Ended up hurting my gold income with socialism, but it balanced out due to my conquests. The strategy map functions well, though finding the unit IThis game is fantastic. I love the take on modern politics as a game mechanic. Of course there are obvious mechanic based choices that can be made, but what fun is in that? Best to fallow your own political beliefs and see how the dice fall. Ended up hurting my gold income with socialism, but it balanced out due to my conquests. The strategy map functions well, though finding the unit I wanted and moving it can be problematic. The story though good could be executed with more emotion and the voice acting falls flat. Once in the RTS portion I found myself engaged on a level more than sufficient. The second I turned into a dragon though, Immersion was achieved. Torching enemy units was enjoyable at worst and ecstatic at best. Though lacking a bit in terms of aesthetic appeal for units and voice acting, the gameplay tells a story of I am the dragon and I win because I am a boss. Eat the toxic rockets of my grenadier hordes! Mwahahahaha! Best strategy game I have ever played that wasn't tabletop.… Expand
  19. Harpyrnon
    Sep 17, 2013
    8
    A combination of aerial combat, role playing game, real time strategy in a fantasy steampunk setting sounds odd, but somehow manages to amalgamate into a fun game.
  20. Sjalka
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    this game is very nice in between the battles if you ignore the cheesy humor every now and then. the main part however the RTS part is its weakest point. checkpoint rushes is kind of the tactic that worked for me all the time.

    from the concept it reminds me on the latest Blizzard RTS title with its story choices between battles. but SC has much better RTS parts. on the other hand    this game is very nice in between the battles if you ignore the cheesy humor every now and then. the main part however the RTS part is its weakest point. checkpoint rushes is kind of the tactic that worked for me all the time.

    from the concept it reminds me on the latest Blizzard RTS title with its story choices between battles. but SC has much better RTS parts. on the other hand it was similar to Rise of Legends with the larger strategic map and the tactical battles, sometimes skirmish, sometimes fixed.

    but both these games do a much better job on the RTS part. however being immersed by "being" the dragon is something the other games do not offer. it does not quite distract from the poor strategy though.

    my result a VERY ambitious attempt that falls short where it counts.    … Expand
  21. Sydonian
    Sep 1, 2013
    8
    Does so many things at once; an absurd amount of things, really. With how ridiculously ambitious it is, it pulls it off surprisingly well. The game is so suffused with excitement and fun, you get the impression the dev team was having a blast the entire time they were making it.
  22. Deschain89
    Aug 24, 2013
    6
    It is odd to see the likes of this game emerge in modern gaming, it is odd and welcome. In these times of modern military/shooter, fantasy/RPG, and other safe bets, to see a game that challenges it and goes straight for a strategy title that focuses on decision making is a welcome change of pace.

    However, one can't simply deny that it's great weakness stops ducking under cover once all    It is odd to see the likes of this game emerge in modern gaming, it is odd and welcome. In these times of modern military/shooter, fantasy/RPG, and other safe bets, to see a game that challenges it and goes straight for a strategy title that focuses on decision making is a welcome change of pace.

    However, one can't simply deny that it's great weakness stops ducking under cover once all the talking is done, and it is time to face the strategy portions of the game. These ones lack any excitement and depth, and honestly, are quite boring at times. I found myself just building a bulk of an army and steamrolling all opposition with one of my generals instead of commanding the troops myself. Albeit, being a dragon and burning everything to ashes is interesting, the novelty wears quickly off.

    The game shines when it comes to the wife and council managing, however. As the emperor, you have to decide in issues and regulations that are en-par with current ones, shaping your empire as you would shape the Federal government. It's a pity to see, nonetheless, that decisions the player character makes do not impact the gameplay in a more substantial manner; you get some flavor text detailing how much of a jerk or a saint you are when deciding on a pressing issue, a headline on the local paper, and some changes in your income or morale.

    All in all, this game is good, it just needs more polish when it comes to the thick of it's real time strategy sections, and a little bit more impact in the decision making. When I started playing I expected so much more, and it fell a bit short, still, it is refreshing to see these kind of more sophisticated games getting green-lighted. I would definitely give it a chance once the price drops.    … Expand
  23. PhobosAres
    Aug 23, 2013
    10
    I like to think of game genres and their differences as cookbook recipes. You could consider a RPG to be the more Gourmet side of cuisine. Whereas a Common FPS could be considered the fast food with little creativity. Now, in the world of cooking; you have fusion. Fusion is the idea of taking two different types of cuisines and "fusing" them together into a new hybridized style.

    So,    I like to think of game genres and their differences as cookbook recipes. You could consider a RPG to be the more Gourmet side of cuisine. Whereas a Common FPS could be considered the fast food with little creativity. Now, in the world of cooking; you have fusion. Fusion is the idea of taking two different types of cuisines and "fusing" them together into a new hybridized style.

    So, thinking about the food world; lets look at it in parallel with the game world!

    Larian decided to, instead of following a common cookbook recipe; to make their own home made creation. With previous knowledge they gained from previous Divinity games they produced, plus the industry standards: They have quickly mixed together a new genre hybrid that actually isn't a botched meal.

    Divinity: Dragon Commander is the latest "Fusion" recipe, incorporating RPG elements with Turn-based Grand Strategy as well as Real Time Strategy. Above all of this, they even garnished the game with Third person control of a Dragon! You, the protagonist; get to play as this dragon in the campaign as well as online.

    Instead of Larian following the cookie cutter fashion that seems to have hoarded a majority of gamers; they bent away with risk to create something, and did so very well done and executed. The artistic blend with the storyline and gameplay are just fantastic.

    Gameplay: 10/10 (Seamless integration of RTS, Grand Strategy, and RPG.)

    Story: 9/10 (Enriched with plenty of dialogue, has a backbone of reason for the events that have lead up to the game as well. Story progresses based off some player decisions as well as worldly events.)

    Art: 10/10 (Rivellon has jumped from a medieval/renaissance fantasy into a steampunk fantasy. The game amplifies a heavily-industrialized and diverse culture between the distinct races and of course: Steam power. Very creative!)

    Music: 10/10 (The romantic-era piano music merged with fantasy music as well as some more modern approaches to sound; have really blended into what this game really is about.)

    Graphics: 10/10 (How Larian managed to make the gameplay and story amazing, while making the game also look very good? It is beyond my understanding. Perhaps this is proof that not all games trade off between looks and heart?)

    Conclusion: I love this game.    … Expand
  24. AuldWolf
    Aug 21, 2013
    0
    I'll preface this with how I plan to end it: It's a con. If you're buying this game for the dragon, or for the promises that Larian originally made, don't. Please don't. Even if you don't trust me, I implore you to wait for a demo so that you can see for yourself.

    This game, to me, was a massive disappointment. Early on it was described as a dragon air-combat game with elements of    I'll preface this with how I plan to end it: It's a con. If you're buying this game for the dragon, or for the promises that Larian originally made, don't. Please don't. Even if you don't trust me, I implore you to wait for a demo so that you can see for yourself.

    This game, to me, was a massive disappointment.

    Early on it was described as a dragon air-combat game with elements of political intrigue. What it is is avery poorly realised traditional RTS (traditional in the sense that it's similar to ancient RTS games like Dune, which just aren't great when compared to modern RTS standards); an unimaginative, watered down, and strategy-challenged take on Risk; some buffs and debuffs optimistically described as a 'card game;' and 'RPG elements' which are the precise equivalent of those simplistic Choose Your Own Adventure books from the '80s.

    Even the most redeeming point, the Choose Your Own Adventure elements, are ruined by the fact that your most important choices are made for you you cannot choose to not have a partner, you cannot choose the gender of your partner, and you have no agency or control over how the game ends (there's one ending, and it's not exactly what you'll have been looking for as the closing moments of your supposedly epic struggle). Infuriatingly, the game even builds up this fellow named The Architect as the big bad, then you never meet him. That would be like removing Sovereign from the end of Mass Effect.

    The RTS element is just nauseatingly phoned in. It's obvious that the so-called RTS section was originally designed as a MOBA, until they ran out of resources to create new unit types and just slapped a clumsy RTS interface over the top of it instead. The clumsy RTS interface doesn't hide that the AI is blobby and follows pre-defined paths (like a MOBA AI would), nor does it hide the problems with the dragon. The dragon feels like it was designed for a MOBA game (versus other hero dragons) and it would have agency and use there, but with the half-hearted switch to RTS the dragon becomes an afterthought rather than a focal element. There's fun to be had in the MOBA it could have been, had they finished it.

    The game was originally painted as having the dragon play an important role combating air fortreses of various sorts, with enemy dragons, and even with your own generals having their own dragon forms. You can see evidence of all I'm talking about in the screenshots and even the concept art, but a bait & switch was pulled by scrapping that. I wish they'd warned me so I could have requested a refund from my pre-purchase. If you were buying this game for the dragon... just don't. It's a con.

    I'd love to have received the game that Larian promised rather than what I got, because certain elements aren't terrible. The plot and the writing up until Act III, where it all goes to rot (demonic corruption a la WoW), and the characters are compelling even if your interactions with them are limited. I can see how Dragon Commander could be a good game, but the truth is is that it's an awful game.    … Expand
  25. Allions
    Aug 20, 2013
    4
    I can't understand people who gave 10 to this game. The game play is a normal RTS with some new ideas players can control the dragon in the battle..), however nothing very special. The graphics are average... for a 2013 PC only game i expect a lot better.
    The campaign is short, not well written and with strange events, for example: at the beginning of the game i had only 2 commanders,    I can't understand people who gave 10 to this game. The game play is a normal RTS with some new ideas players can control the dragon in the battle..), however nothing very special. The graphics are average... for a 2013 PC only game i expect a lot better.
    The campaign is short, not well written and with strange events, for example: at the beginning of the game i had only 2 commanders, they were "hating" my character... then in the first turn i got a neutral territory, i came back to the story menu... suddenly 2 new commanders in addition to the first two are arrived. The old ones now don't hate my character and they said "great battle commander, you're a true warrior"... what battle!?!? I just moved my troops in neutral territory!!!
    This is an unpolished, unfinished, under average game. Not worth 10$. Dunno how they sold it at 40$!    … Expand
  26. Afroman22
    Aug 17, 2013
    6
    A very unique game made for advanced RTS players. The dragon hero unit concept is truly unique adding genres together into the game that make for a unique experience. Characters in the single player campaign are a definite treat each brimming with personality.

    Story is garbage. Bad guys are attacking! Fly and save the day! Despite the Raven having multiple choices with policies and your    A very unique game made for advanced RTS players. The dragon hero unit concept is truly unique adding genres together into the game that make for a unique experience. Characters in the single player campaign are a definite treat each brimming with personality.

    Story is garbage. Bad guys are attacking! Fly and save the day! Despite the Raven having multiple choices with policies and your wife they don't change the game one bit except for in the difficulty department. The more favor you have with a race the more population is willing to draft in to the war so certain selected areas are going to benefit a tad more than others.

    Characters in the game were fantastic. I loved the voice actors and how each character had their own personalities. This really made up for where the game was lacking in some departments but it's only story campaign so after that then... yeah.

    Graphics and visuals aboard the Raven in the campaign are A+ Material. The in-game graphics are not something eye popping or amazing and the maps are frequently recycled making for boring gameplay as you go further.

    Controls were AWFUL. Holy crap I couldn't get use to the camera at all and trying to navigate your units is a chore too. You get use to it somewhat but switching back and forward between dragon and buildings and units makes this for a more advanced RTS player. Casuals and people new or not very good at RTS multitasking on a high scale are not going to be able to adapt to this. You have way too many skills to cycle through and you're trying to use your dragon and focus on the battle while tabbing through all your unit types that are in the battle to use their skills while using the skills of the other units and using your dragons skills and building units from the barracks all at once. If you stop building units you're gonna die. Period. I'm a Starcraft 2 frequent player and am very skilled and I couldn't get use to the controls no matter how long I played. It's hard. That's it.

    Difficulty in the game is hit or miss. I defiantly could not play on Normal or Hard against the Zerg rush AI. Easy was ok. Casual was way way way too easy. The AI will barrage you in non stop attacks making you rush around and with the poor controls as I said above makes this game overly frustrating and during the campaign the AI will be unrelentingly beating you into submission. Never did I ever catch a break because you're not vs 1 AI but 3. 3!!! So I constantly was defending my base and could hardly ever win any battles and... wow. Just wow. I had to stick it on Casual difficulty or I'd have gone mad.

    Would I recommend this game? Are you a masochist? Do you enjoy challenge because of faulty controls and way too much to control all in one go? The game is unique I'll give them credit for that but... yeah. So if you don't mind the things I said above go for it. If not yeah no.    … Expand
  27. AcidCasualty
    Aug 16, 2013
    8
    I love this unusual game. Not one to be pigeonholed into an easy-to-swallow genre fit for a soundbite, Divinity: Dragon Commander is a turn based strategy like RISK, a steampunk RTS, a dragon piloting action game, and dash of adventure and RPG, and more. What's so surprising is that the parts blend seamlessly, with almost poetic grace; I haven't seen a genre mashup this well constructedI love this unusual game. Not one to be pigeonholed into an easy-to-swallow genre fit for a soundbite, Divinity: Dragon Commander is a turn based strategy like RISK, a steampunk RTS, a dragon piloting action game, and dash of adventure and RPG, and more. What's so surprising is that the parts blend seamlessly, with almost poetic grace; I haven't seen a genre mashup this well constructed since Battlezone combined RTS stylings with sci-fi vehicle combat with stunning results.

    You play a half-dragon/half-human who has to unite a medieval, steampunk-laced land split into factions by race (the usual dwarfs, elves, and such), and at the beginning of the game not even your generals want anything to do with you; one calls you a bastard right to your face. (I'd have his head removed, or transform into a dragon and eat him right then and there, but those weren't options.)

    I wouldn't put D:DC on a pedestal quite as high as, say, Skyrim or the aforementioned Battlezone, but but it's definitely higher and more creative entertainment than the typical COD/Battlefield/whatever copycat garbage that trickles out of developers run by profit-driven corporations. Take a chance on this creative game and we just might see more development risks in the future. Otherwise, it's a future of indistinguishable military FPS clones.    … Expand
  28. Ameno
    Aug 16, 2013
    10
    Really awesome innovative game! Fresh in the gaming genre! Mix RPG, RTS, board game element and Third Person Action game wow! Have your ship where you interact with story characters, political decision that influence the game and mores (purchase troops, skills and mores...). Go to the world map, and build yours troops/buildings on the map like the board game "Risk". When a battle occur, goReally awesome innovative game! Fresh in the gaming genre! Mix RPG, RTS, board game element and Third Person Action game wow! Have your ship where you interact with story characters, political decision that influence the game and mores (purchase troops, skills and mores...). Go to the world map, and build yours troops/buildings on the map like the board game "Risk". When a battle occur, go fight yourself with your dragon in RTS mode and call your dragon in-game and do some third person action with your dragon and skills or let your generals do the fight for you. Love the game!… Expand
  29. ArminW
    Aug 14, 2013
    8
    A word of advance warning: I might be slightly biased, as the value for money ratio for this game was ridiculously good. I got it as a gift for backing Divinity: Original Sin on Kickstarter, so... :-)
    For a free gimme, this game is excellent fun. And I can honestly say that, even though I'm not a big fan of RTS games. I'm an old fart, and I prefer my strategy games turn-based, not the    A word of advance warning: I might be slightly biased, as the value for money ratio for this game was ridiculously good. I got it as a gift for backing Divinity: Original Sin on Kickstarter, so... :-)
    For a free gimme, this game is excellent fun. And I can honestly say that, even though I'm not a big fan of RTS games. I'm an old fart, and I prefer my strategy games turn-based, not the hectical click-fests of today :-P
    The overall presentation, Story and campaign mission are hilarious and fun. The whole political intigue thing is wonderfully over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek. If not taken too seriously, it's really a blast. Moving units on the strategy map is great, with many options, lots of ways to skin a cat and clever enemies. I love that part of the game, and wish I could skip ALL of the battles by handing them to my generals :-)
    The RTS battles are too hectic for my taste, especially when trying to simultaneouly control the dragon. No way to get THIS to work, I'm afraid. While the computer enemy keeps building, issuing orders that make (sometimes) sense and moving troops in a sensible way, you are down aome veray basic ordes, while dodging missiles. Not my piece of cake. The Opponents' AI in these batlles is very bad however, counterbalanced by blatant cheating. Also, a way to have my own units use their special abilities (Shaman's protective cloak, Warlock's turn enemy to bugs, trooper's self-destruct etc.) on their own is sorely missed. Enemies constantly do that by the dozen, and I'm simply in no way as good at micromanaging 30 clicks a second like the AI. Not my favourite part of the game. Still, the battles can be fun, and in most cases a good strategy will win a battle. Lightnig fast mouseclicking wins more easily, though ;-)
    Still, all in all, it's a good, fun game that kept me entertained for quite some time. I give it a solid 7, with a bonus point for the good price...    … Expand
  30. Nobonaga22
    Aug 14, 2013
    5
    Divinity: Dragon Commander, while more than the sum of its parts, falls flat thanks to three core failures. First, the game is riddled with bugs. I found myself confronted with occasional walls of unreadable gibberish when I opened up the kingdom status screen. This alone hardly made the game unplayable, but it certainly cheapened the experience. This did not feel like a completed game.Divinity: Dragon Commander, while more than the sum of its parts, falls flat thanks to three core failures. First, the game is riddled with bugs. I found myself confronted with occasional walls of unreadable gibberish when I opened up the kingdom status screen. This alone hardly made the game unplayable, but it certainly cheapened the experience. This did not feel like a completed game. Second, the actual gameplay, the RTS segments, were absolutely horrendous. Divinity: Dragon Commander seemingly offers players a wide variety of strategic maneuvers. However, in my experience, battles generally boiled down to wave tactics. Whoever could put the most troops out in the largest waves in the shortest period to time would, almost without fail, win. In an RTS, battles should not be number games. Having played my fair share of Total War games, I was thoroughly unimpressed by the mindless battles. In all fairness, the turn-based strategy elements work quite nicely. The card system was a nice touch, and the variety of buildings, units, cards, and territory bonuses that corresponded to the player's political choices felt fairly well designed. However, for a game that marketed itself as an RTS/third-person-shooter hybrid, the flawed RTS battles cannot be easily overlooked. Lastly, and this is truly the nail in this game's coffin, the actual core story is abysmal. There, I said it. Yes, it's an interesting premise, but the actual narrative has no real depth beyond the secret of the Raven (sorry, no spoilers for you). I expected the protagonist's siblings to actually have some relevance to the story. Instead, their sillouettes each get about thirty seconds of cut-scene time, and are then erased from the game when their capitals are captured. No epic confrontations, no dialogue, and no attention is paid to the unique attributes of these emperor-hopefuls. What a waste. Once the game is completed (this takes far too little time), there is no real sense of accomplishment. You captured a province, defeated the usurpers, and then defeated them again. You are now emperor, and your choices that you agonized over throughout the story no longer matter. Congratulations, you won an empty victory.

    With such a scathing review, you may be wondering why I haven't rated this game lower. For all its flaws, and even despite the fact that it's basically just a Bioware-esque Total War game that fails to deliver on actual gameplay, the politics and turn-based strategy elements, not to mention the characters, somehow manage to keep this game interesting. It's heavily flawed, I cannot deny that, but it's entertaining while it lasts. If you're a gamer more interested in characters than story, and intrigued by choices rather than gameplay, then Divinity: Dragon Commander might by the game for you. Those gamers who want a fulfilling gameplay experience as well as a compelling narrative might want to wait until the price drops. A $40 pricetag for this game is absurd, considering that Total War: Shogun 2 is $10 cheaper and that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is also $40. Divinity: Dragon Commander would be appealing if found in a bargain bin, but not for so much more than it's truly worth.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

100
#100 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 37
  3. Negative: 1 out of 37
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Sep 25, 2013
    80
    Inventive, funny and a whole lot of fun. An excellent way to break up the over-serious grind of most strategy titles. [Oct 2013, p.82]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 9, 2013
    100
    Complicated, difficult, different. A true strategy game for the gamers with classical tastes, who have time and will. It's also a pleasant blast from the past, when a genre template was not an option. [Issue#233]
  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Sep 5, 2013
    70
    A weird but interesting hybrid that mixes RTS, RPG, board game and trading card game mechanics in one delightful experience. Unfortunately, even if the mix works, the singular gameplay components aren’t deep enough and the game itself is mined by many minor issues.
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