The End of Dyeus

[JarlFrank]

This is cool. I picked it up during the last winter sale for a ridiculously low price (5 bucks or so), and I didn't expect it to be as good as it is. But damn... it's really good.

You play as some dude who has to find Dyeus. You have no idea who or what that is. Everyone in the world except merchants are hostile to you. There are no quest markers, no hints, and not even an automap. The only maps you can find are in enemy camps and they mark the location of boss fights... but that's it. You can't even pick the maps up lol. Better learn the layout and navigate by landmarks!

It's an action adventure with a heavy exploration focus and RPG elements. Some chests contain permanent boosts to your HP, but other than that your stats are only influenced by equipment: weapons, shields, armor. There are different types of weapons, both melee and ranged. I'm using a spear because while it has lower damage than swords, it has higher reach. Bows do great ranged damage but you can't use a shield with them and they are slow, crossbows fire instantly and are one-handed but do lower damage and are harder to aim.

Enemy types are varied and have different behaviors. The most common enemies are humans who have access to the same diversity of weapons as you. Monsters are usually pretty annoying to fight due to their special ways of attacking: ants in the desert charge you head-on and attack in swarms; swamp frogs leap at you; birds swoop down from above and peck you. There's even flying robot drones that shoot energy bolts at you, and they do loads of damage! Nice dose of sci-fi in that fantasy game, very cool.

I defeated two bosses already but still don't know that much about the story beyond having to open some gate to get to Dyeus? And that there's one faction that wants to destroy him/her/it and one that wants to protect it. The story is slowly pieced together by finding notes and books around the world, which can easily be missed. I love how the game has absolutely zero handholding.

Very enjoyable game if you're an explorefag.

 

[toughasnails]

I see that David Szymanski of DUSK fame endorsed this game, he tends to be p reliable guide for hidden indie gems. I'm still busy with Elden Ring but I'll certainly be checking this out at some point, it might as well turn out to be another Northern Journey.

 

[Hag]

JarlFrank As an avid explorefag I was thinking in picking up this game. Have you finished it ? Does it hold well to the end ?

 

[JarlFrank]

JarlFrank As an avid explorefag I was thinking in picking up this game. Have you finished it ? Does it hold well to the end ?

I finished it a while ago. Actually had to abandon my first playthrough and restart because I ran out of red keys, didn't know where to find more, and needed to get a specific chest. But the game is so fun to explore I didn't mind starting anew. It isn't overly long either, it's actually pretty small and pretty dense. No filler.

Steam tells me my total playtime was 12 hours.

When you think you've reached the end, the game throws a massive surprise at you and turns into a

Spoiler

post-apocalyptic wasteland where you wake up without weapons

and keeps going for another hour or two.

I had loads of fun with it and will likely replay it some day when I'm in the mood again. Excellent game, very tight.
Quite difficult on your first playthrough though, and it's likely that you'll have to restart at some point and plan your approach based on what you found out on your first exploration trips. It's not an easy game, and there is absolutely ZERO handholding which is what makes it so great.

 

[Hag]

Thanks man, I was hoping the game would be longer, but whatever. I haven't touched a video game in two months, looks like the End of Dyeus will be a good way to open the winter playing season.

 

[Shadowfang]

This thread sold this game to me.
Now I just get through some of my playlist before I get to it.

 

[grimace]

Is there a crafting system in The End of Dyeus?

 

[Borelli]

I enjoyed the game's open world, no handholding and soundtrack, basically the OP is right, but boy that flying boss was irritating.

Enemies respawning when you die, dark souls-like, add unnecessary time wasted because combat is not deep and varied enough and unlike DS there is not leveling system.
Equipment progression is too linear, i feel that at the end if you don't have plasma cannon it is an exercise in frustration.
I would have preferred if they respawned more "naturally", if you are away from a certain area for some time.

Overall a from me, definitely a game that in this day and age can only come from indies but has some cracks in it.

End game twist was weird do you

Spoiler

play as the same character in the wasteland?

 

[JarlFrank]

Is there a crafting system in The End of Dyeus?

No!

And that's a good thing in my book.

 

[Hag]

Finished the game, what a ride. Took me over 12 hours, I got stuck a couple times and the third boss took me several tries, and I had to restock on cells and gold so I lose some momentum there.
Overall good fun, maybe a bit too busy to my taste. When you get the gun and the guardian shield you can move freely across the land but before that there were a bit too many encounters. I would have preferred the same content spread across a bigger map, but it is ok. The combat is well made and fair, I liked the fact that there is no leveling or crafting. On the other hand less than half of weapons are useful.

Feels good to play such a lovingly made game. Concerning the ending :

Spoiler

I don't get it. Not a big fan of post-apo worlds but it was well made. The giant tapeworms were a nice touch.

What does it means ? Did Dyeus sent you inside of it ? Is the desolated Earth inside the machine behind the gate ?

 

[JarlFrank]

Feels good to play such a lovingly made game. Concerning the ending :

Spoiler

I don't get it. Not a big fan of post-apo worlds but it was well made. The giant tapeworms were a nice touch.

What does it means ? Did Dyeus sent you inside of it ? Is the desolated Earth inside the machine behind the gate ?

idk lol

I didn't read the lore books too closely so I have no idea what happened there :mystery:

It was a fun little section tho. And the final boss was pure assrape.

 

[Hag]

It was a fun little section tho. And the final boss was pure assrape.

Had more trouble with the bird tbh. For the last one I kept strafing, with the booster I could dodge most of its attacks.
But yeah, brutal one. Good to see bosses that don't fuck around.

 

[Jaedar]

Bought this game in the winter sale. Having a good time with it. The game world is pretty tiny, but the limited view distance and crazy content density still makes it feel decently sized.

Steam says I've played about 5 hours, and I feel I'm getting close to the end (I have all 3 golden keys).
But at the same time I also haven't figured out what the hell the "beasts's lair" secret note refers to, and I found a treasure map somewhere that references a lone tree and some directions, but I forgot where it was...
I also think I'm missing something with at least one of the lore/hint books.

So all in all feels like a good exploration game so far, although some of enemies are pretty cancerous. There's an achievement for beating the game without using a ranged weapon, and I don't see how anyone could pull that off...

 

[PrK]

Just wanted to quickly thank JarlFrank for his recommendation, very fun game with enjoyable Dark Souls-like exploration free from handholding bullshit.

 

[talan]

Beat the game -- 7 hours all up.

Overall, it's pretty neat.

When you get the gun and the guardian shield

I got the gun towards the end, and I never got the guardian shield. I'm guessing with that shield you can block fire projectiles?

 

[Spukrian]

I played this a while back. It's pretty good. Sadly it's a bit too difficult for me. I didn't explore everywhere and probably missed a lot. On one hand, I want to go back and explore more. On the other hand, I know that doing so would just be frustrating. Oh well.

My theory on the ending is that your soul/consciousness is sent back in time to ensure that the future plays out like it should, i.e. a closed loop.

Anyone tried the developer's other game, Worlds?

Steam

I played for a bit, gonna get back to it sometime later.

 

[Hag]

I got the gun towards the end, and I never got the guardian shield. I'm guessing with that shield you can block fire projectiles?

Indeed. Very useful when I needed to farm some cells.