DOLMEN

Dolmen is a solid sci-fi spin on the Soulslike formula, even if there are some places where it falls short. Not being able to jump is a simple but detrimental design flaw, and the mediocre cinematics bog down what could have been a very cinematic experience. Despite that, Dolmen still features challenging combat, as well as a variety of ways to play to your own unique style. I look forward to seeing if and how Massive Work Studio will build upon this foundation in the future.

Despite its sci-fi setting, Dolmen is less a Soulslike than a Dark Souls clone, with very few original ideas. The biggest issue, beyond the overall familiarity of just about everything, is that it brings back annoying mechanics that games like Elden Ring have evolved away from. While there is some fun to be had in Dolmen’s weapons and combat, at some point you’ll just wish you were playing a FromSoft game instead.

Dolmen surely has its flaws and is nowhere the quality displayed by From Software in its Souls series, but if you enjoy that formula you can still have some fun hacking and slashing through hordes of enemies.

While Dolmen offers fun, challenging, and rewarding gameplay and a rich crafting system, its other features are a bit of a hit-and-miss.

The game may be based on a rather clichéd story, which doesn't impress anyone nowadays, but it doesn't throw completely bad ideas into the mix. However, these are only developed halfway through, and thus arouse bitterness and boredom in the player rather than provide a nourishing gaming experience. [Issue#320]

Dolmen’s saving grace comes from its well-crafted gameplay, with some interesting ideas, that provides a decent combat experience. Be that as it may the utterly generic sci-fi design in all its aspects ultimately drags down the experience.

Despite all the sympathy that we can feel for Dolmen, the perfectible experience leaves us with a cost of incompleteness.

Dolmen relies too much on the Soulslike playbook to be much of anything other than a middling iteration of the formula.

It’s just disappointing that a lack of polish and modern sensibilities hinder the product at all turns, leaving what could have been a chunky and ambitious slice of indie action horror down a path forgotten and overshadowed.

Dolmen gives you an average experience that invites you into a mysterious world but is plagued with hitbox issues, linear hallways, and bland design choices that bog it down. It does have some redeeming RPG qualities, but you will often find yourself fighting with the game more than with the enemy in front of you.

Although it might look like a Dead Space’s relative, Dolmen is more of a low-budget mix of Returnal and The Surge. Everything it does decently, it borrowed from other games with very little original input. Dolmen is simply late to the party and with competition so strong and numerous, seems unnecessary. I can recommend it only to the most famished soulslike fans if they can get it at a significantly reduced price.

If this game cooked for another six months to a year, the devs could take it beyond just having the basics to being something truly special. But as it stands right now, this game does not really offer enough satisfaction and enjoyment to be worth its asking price.

Dolmen, in its current state, is a game that seldomly works. Not very consistent and with poorly conceived mechanics. Frankly, what was published looks more like an early build that still needs months of optimization and polish.

Clunky combat, boring progression, threadbare plot, unrewarding exploration, and a laughably bad healing mechanic. All of these lead to a soulless Souls-like that is Dolmen.

The game tries to include many of the hallmarks of the genre, but muddles it all up with poor systems and execution. For a fan that has grown used to the genre’s often challenging requirements, recommending Dolmen is something that will only happen in an alternate dimension.