DOLMEN

Another souls-like that doesn’t surprise beyond its setting, but that manages to offer an interesting adventure for the fans of the genre.

Dolmen is a solid yet at times flawed Science-Fiction- Soulslike, that lacks the polish and the pure impact of Elden Ring, Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. While it brings interesting gameplay-ideas to the tables, the overall experience is harmed by either bugs or strange design-decisions.

Passably charming Dark Souls copy, with which a small team has risen. Seen as an ode to the great role model and at a relatively low price, the Elden Blues has disappeared for at least a few hours.

Dolmen is a Soulslike in a Dead Space setting: a dark, alien-infested space-environment filled with gore. The gameplay is what you'd expect from a Soulsgame, but has very little to add to the genre. The energy-management is a nice addition, as is the possibility to relive previous boss battles for extra nanites, the game's version of Souls. In the end, the game is too firmly stuck in the classic gameplay of Souls games, while the genre has progressed with the likes of Elden Ring.

Dolmen emerges as a good entry in the world of soulslike and has its value, mainly due to the risks taken by its developer. Even so, the title has positives and negatives points in almost the same proportion, with AI, visuals and interface falling short of what they could be.

Dolmen bites far more than it can chew, trying to merge the melee combat of any From Software game with the gunplay of Remnant from The Ashes: the result is an average game that tries to accomplish too many things at once.

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

Weak lore and slow combat in this game can only be deterrants for most veterans of the souls genre. Better spend your time with more quality games that have substance and a meaningful story.

You probably could have guessed this by now, but Dolmen should have released before Elden Ring. All Soulslike games from here on out will constantly be in that game’s gigantic shadow. It’s not that there’s not enough room in this genre for more entries, especially ones that are in such a wildly different setting. It’s just that whatever games release in this space must now meet such incredibly high standards or face intense criticism and likely faltering sales. Dolmen will surely appeal to those who want a Soulslike adventure in a sci-fi setting, and perhaps were disappointed by 2020’s Hellpoint release. Just go in with lowered expectations owing to a smaller dev team, and perhaps you’ll have some fun smashing enemies to bits.

In a post Elden Ring world, Dolmen feels dated and too formulaic. It also lacks the personality, character and soul of the genre’s luminaries. If you’re looking for a new Soulslike game to scratch the itch however, Dolmen will certainly do that, despite its lack of mechanical innovation and uneven difficulty.

As far as sci-fi Souls-likes go, Dolmen sits somewhere between Hellpoint and The Surge in terms of quality. It can offer a rewarding experience to Souls-like fans, but it falls short of the bar set by the creators of the genre. Still, for those who have patience and persistence, and like the idea of exploring a new, futuristic setting while engaging in challenging combat, it’s worth checking out.

Dolmen displays good intentions but does not always check them out. With each interesting idea, a new balancing issue arises along the way.

Dolmen is an irremediably mediocre and dated soulslike, extremely generic and uninspired, with just a couple of good ideas when it comes to gameplay and weapons.

Coming from Massive Work Studio, Dolmen is a horror soulslike with good storytelling and game design, but also some major flaws on gameplay and visuals. It feels outdated at times and has a lot of technical difficulties, which is sad because the game shows some potential.

Dolmen innovates the Soulslike genre with how it handles Energy and ranged combat but lacks a clear vision of what makes these games enjoyable beyond just some interesting mechanics.

We don't question the passion and goodwill of the developers, but perhaps, being Dolmen their first game, it would have been better for them to slow down and lay lower, aiming for a less ambitious project.