Dark and Darker harshly criticized for the limitations of the free version, the developers take action

After a long wait, Dark and Darker is back on Steam but so far it hasn’t been welcomed with open arms. It’s the new one’s fault free-to-play versionwhich has become a bone of contention among gamers, as it is a profoundly neutered version of the title and missing many key elements. Basically a demo.

More specifically, players of the free version can create a single character and play only in Normal mode. There are also strong restrictions on the loot obtained, so much so that it is possible equip only common-level armor and weapons. The exception is loot found during a game, which can be equipped immediately, but is removed at the end of the expedition. A series of limitations that have earned the game an overall rating of “Average” on Steam, with only 52% ratings.

To access the full experience it is therefore necessary to unlock the full version via 15 Redstone Shards (purchasable for 30 dollars), so you don’t have any restrictions on loot, 9 slots for characters with a shared inventory and access to the High-Roller mode where there are even more difficult dungeons.

The developers’ response

In response to the controversy, which accused the team of advertising Dark and Darker as a free-to-play game where this version is practically just a demo, the developers of Ironmace published a statement on Steam, where they explained the reasons behind this decision.

Reportedly, the free-to-play version it wasn’t made with the main goal of attracting new players, but rather as a means of access for those who had purchased the title outside of Steam and Epic Games Store via the official website. The alternative would have been to provide keys for these two stores to buyers, but this “was neither feasible nor fair towards the partners of the two platforms”.

That said, the developers have stated that they have received the criticisms made by players loud and clear and have already started planning a series of changes to make the free-to-play version more viable by Dark and Darker.

“We are currently working on solutions that take into account the needs of existing and new players. Our goal is to give new players the opportunity to enjoy a complete loot extraction experience and risk their loot, while respecting the loyalty of existing players,” reads the studio’s post.

“We are still working on the details of this plan which will cover access to High-Roller dungeons, the ability to unlock character slots and will make an announcement very soon as the details are finalized. Our goal is to be fair and fair to our players and we will do our best to show our appreciation.”