| Year | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Platform | Windows |
| Released in | Germany (1998) United States (1999) |
| Genre | Action |
| Theme | Fantasy |
| Publisher | GT Interactive Software Corp. |
| Developer | Reality Bytes, Inc. |
| Perspective | 3rd-Person |
Description of Dark Vengeance
Dark Vengeance is a decent action/adventure that tries to breath new life into the hybrid genre invented by Tomb Raider, but ultimately falls short of its ambitious goal due to awkward controls and some illogical puzzles.
The plot is standard fantasy fare: an evil empire has arisen from the dead, and it's up to you to single-handedly save the world. However, Dark Vengeance sets itself apart by offering you the choice to play as one of three characters, each of whom has personal motivations for taking on the Dark Elves. The motivations differ as radically as the combat styles for each character, and the 18 levels are divided so that each character runs the game at a different pace, with a few levels being specific to each character.
Similar to Sierra's Quest for Glory series, you can play as Nanoc the Gladiator, Jetrel the Warlock, or Kite the Trickster. Unlike Tomb Raider, combat in Dark Vengeance is more complicated: your character can perform a wide variety of moves. Your character can have up to 9 different weapons, each with its own special damage and unique abilities, which require rune stones to activate. For each weapon your character has, there are three different types of attack.
Unfortunately, the controls are far from intuitive: many moves require you to hold down one key, and then press another at the same time. Fortunately, you can assign single keys to these keyboard combos, although that does not solve the problem of jerky movements and your character sometimes getting 'stuck' in invisible walls.
Similar to Ecstatica, the game's automatic camera angle and third-person perspective make combat frustrating sometimes, especially when your character blocks your view of the enemies. But to alleviate this problem, you can hold down the attack key to activate the targeting icon, and also move the camera farther away from the action.
Despite the game's good graphics and diverse playing styles, there are many little nitpicks that keep Dark Vengeance away from being addictive. Since your melee attacks take such a long time to coordinate, if you press an attack key several times, your character can be stuck attacking long after there are no enemies present. The most peculiar thing happens when you die, restart your game, and your character is still swinging from the combat sequence you started before you died. Also, your characters oddly cannot swim in this game. There are also numerous quirks, such as the fact that sometimes I can jump on top of an enemy and having them stand on top of me! I also often find myself stuck in a wall, a statue, or even a barrel. Last but not least, there are often too few clues about what you are supposed to be doing. Like Tomb Raider, most of the game's "puzzles" involve finding the right key or lever to open the right door, but I sometimes manage to do that without knowing exactly how.
All in all, I really wanted to give Dark Vengeance a Top Dog award. It is an ambitious and diverse game that boasts good replay value. Unfortunately, there are too many little bugs and quirks. If you are looking for a more sophisticated game than Tomb Raider but in the same vein, check out Interplay's superb Die by the Sword instead.
Review By HOTUD
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
PCGAMER 2025-12-30 8 points Windows version
I remember playing this game's demo for the first time on my pc when I was a child, and then I bought the CD version, The game is fantastic with a dark atmosphere and a world full of elves and demons that you'll face, Also The sound and music are so epic and nice
Make sure you update the game to version 1.2 using the included patch, There are also pre-installed versions that run smoothly on all modern platforms and systems without any technical difficulties, Therefore, I recommend it; it's worth playing.
RETROARCH 2025-12-30 12 points
This game deserves a revival I really love this type of games which is mysterious, dark and sometimes gloomy
You have three characters: Jetrel, Kite, and Nanoc, Each character has a story and a motive for revenge as well as a different playstyle and weapon, In Addition each weapon represents one of the four elements: water, air, fire, and earth, There are approximately thirty weapons in total and sixteen different levels including unique character specific storyline level
The enemies differ at each level and increase in difficulty as you progress but you can adjust the enemy difficulty in the settings
Also the game is very similar to Heretic II and Deathtrap Dungeon, but what distinguishes it is its advanced graphics compared to other games of its time, the visual effects and lighting, the variety of characters and weapons, and the surreal world design, which makes you feel like you're embarking on a deep existential journey through starry worlds and different dimensions, The music adds a beautiful charm during your journey, reminiscent of Unreal Music
In this world, you fight against dark elves and demonic entities after the Eclipse Spell incident, You need to solve puzzles such as finding room keys and searching for missing pieces
The controls feel good and balanced you press and hold the control button and the movement buttons simultaneously to perform three different actions attack with each weapon and use the shield for protection; the same concept applies when using a support item
The camera is acceptable and suitable for viewing traps, enemies, and the surrounding environment, For a game released in 1998, I can say that this game overall is very good, It's a mix of Castlevania and Zelda in 3D Edition for those who like action dark fantasy with a touch of classic retro games ✨
GAMELOVER 2025-12-21 16 points
This game is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable games I played in my childhood
It was ahead of its time in terms of graphics and diverse gameplay, in addition to its deep philosophical story, world, level designs and enchanting music composed by the brilliant Alexander Brandon I felt it was inspired by Berserk, so I can't believe that critics were comparing it to Tomb Raider back then and criticizing the controls and camera, issues that were later resolved
Therefore, this game is a hidden gem that deserves to be revived on all digital stores like GOG and other platforms, Thank you so much for preserving this game ❤️
VanceKraven 2024-09-09 20 points
The game can also be downloaded with DGVoodoo set up already here:
https://collectionchamber.blogspot.com/p/dark-vengeance.html
LRGPNS 2021-04-07 18 points
Fun game, cool music. Make sure you use the version that's patched to v1.2, it improved the controls over how bad they were originally.
Answer4Micheal 2018-12-30 25 points Windows version
Use DGVoodoo2.
Word of advice: for that tool to work, you have to put it's custom Direct3D or Glide DLL files (the one that's actually for the renderer the game uses) on the game's root folder for it to be used when the game runs.
Due to the DLL nature and the program emulating a graphics card that's compatible for the game, it's obvious that you're gonna get alerts on your antivirus software, but rest assured, it's 100% safe, to the point GOG uses this tool too for creating custom DLLs to get Glide games running smoothly. Don't forget to add DGVoodoo2 to the exclusions list in case your AV is too delete-friendly
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Download Dark Vengeance
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Windows Version
73 MB
DownloadAlternative ISO Version 100 MB
DownloadISO Version 233 MB
Manual 2 MB
Game Extras
Various files to help you run Dark Vengeance, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
Mac Version
- Year: 1998
- Publisher: MacSoft
- Developer: Reality Bytes, Inc.
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