Dark Messiah Might and Magic - 16 Year Late Review

[@reallylatereviews]

31:52 well that aged well lol

[@Scout-Fanfiction]

Ha!

[@JackWse]

You can save Duncan on the harder difficulties, use the lightning daggers for starters. Then stagger the mage on the staircase, don't kill him though that way Duncan gets busy fighting him... Then go for the ghoul on the left of the spikes, kick him into them or power dagger him into them, before heading over to the right and doing the same with the ghoul who previously was cutscene locked taking out the guard. And then from there just be Johnny on the spot for all the crawling in reinforcements.. It's funny, I had a frapp's video at one point of me doing it back in '06, I was so proud of myself lol.. No one cared.

[@reallylatereviews]

@@JackWse I care dude. I'm glad you saved Duncan because besides Xana he was the only character I really saved about! The setup for this sounds amazing as well rofl holy shit. That's a lot of thought for Dunc but yeah nicely done. That mage on the staircase got me killed so many times cause I focused him lol I also wanna say thanks for watching and commenting on my video cause I care about that too yo! Thank you!

[@valvalere979]

Dark Messiah is one of those games that you can easily pick up for the first time in 2022 and have a great time.

[@reallylatereviews]

I agree completely. It's something that even though it's aged a bit, it could have come out yesterday. I worry recommending games but I have no concerns recommending DMM! And thank you for taking the time to comment and watch, thank you!

[@harendotesabydos4619]

True. I loved it. The marketing was also excellent.

[@morkgin2459]

​@@reallylatereviews it aged a bit on the melee part only

[@reallylatereviews]

@@morkgin2459 I would say 50/50 even on that, there are still games today that can't compete with DMMs melee.

[@morkgin2459]

@@reallylatereviews yeah but sometimes enemy can just oneshot you

[@niaz_isc]

I have 330 hours on this game and I remember saving Duncan by using charm and getting in the way every time a ghoul would try to hit him. When you do save him, he just circles the courtyard for eternity XD

[@banrey1704]

No one seems to mention that: if you use magic during the duel with the orc chief, the rest of the army will gang up on you. Found out the hard way during a spell only run.

[@reallylatereviews]

I never mentioned this because that would be dishonourable combat. We don't speak of such things. (For real I couldn't do that to him, that just felt wrong :D ) Holy smokes a spell only run sounds brutal! Thank you for watching my video and for commenting, thank you!

[@transaryan]

he does tell you before the fight to not use “wizard tricks or demon corruption”. they also attack if you enter demon form

[@heavenheathern]

You can still use weapons with magic damage, though

[@ClarkKentai]

They'll also wig out if you block with the Staff of Reflection, but if you hit him with an oil bottle and slap him once with a fire-enchanted weapon, they're cool with it.

[@diligencehumility6971]

Dark Messiah was an extraordinary game, way ahead of it's time when it came out.

[@Dharleth82]

What an underrated game. Still my favourite first person melee combat game all these years later. Crazy how it hasn't been surpassed to this day. I really wish they'd made a Dark Messiah 2. Anyway good review! Maybe one day if Ubisoft sees how much of a cult following this game has they'll commission a sequel.

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you! And I really hope so, that would honestly be a great day to bring back such a great style of game!

[@lizardemperorkorbac4281]

What developer should do the sequel at this point? Personally I think Arkane went to shit and is with Microsoft now anyways. I wish Ubi would just sell the Might&Magic licence, as they are doing nothing with it anyway and even if, their games all seem to be the same bland generic open world with pointless collectibles and climbing watchtowers. Personally I would like Paradox/Triumph to do another Heroes of Might and Magic but for another first person melee game I don't know, maybe Fatshark.

[@reallylatereviews]

@@lizardemperorkorbac4281 I really think any developer is capable of surprising releases, be they good or bad so I wouldn't even want to suggest anyone. But yeah, so long as it's not got Ubisoft's fingers in it. At this point a spiritual successor would be better. You're spot on though, Paradox would be a good choice though for the HoMM future, so long as the DLC scope is reigned in a bit.

[@wilhelmwassertheurer3552]

Mordhau:)

[@BreiiisBreiiis]

One of the fans will sooner make a spiritual successor before modern-day Ubisoft does anything worth a damn.

[@lessterrible8099]

There is kinda another choice between Xana and Leana. When Leana tries to murder you, you can just turn the crank to the next area and leave her to seethe without killing her. Doesn't change any of the cinematics but she doesn't come back to fight you again so she's theoretically still alive.

[@reallylatereviews]

I feel awful, I didn't even consider just walking past her haha! I assumed there'd be a soft-lock but I like that, sort of like those moments in Deus Ex when you can just leave someone alive. I never knew this after all that time so thank you! Thanks for watching as well and commenting, I love hearing stories about these games!

[@potatoesstarch2376]

@@reallylatereviews It's a bit challenging to do, as her attacks DO interrupt the crank turning.

[@chibifox7543]

Well, also u can turn her into a lich so that way u will not feel bad for killing her, but for letting her turn into an abomination, hehe... :'D

[@seanthomasmusic]

@@potatoesstarch2376 if you have sanctuary

[@agbrenv]

@@reallylatereviews I always killed her, because she caused so many mission fails when tagging along to "help" you

[@ZombPlayyz]

For the ones wanting Arantir's backstory (or a big part of it): Heroes of Might and Magic 5: Tribes of the East has a full campaign dedicated to what Arantir was up to before the whole "Demon Messiah" mess. The HOMM series is actually a prequel to Dark Messiah, with the events of Tribes of the East happening right before Dark Messiah. I recommend playing Heroes of Might and Magic 5 (with the extensions Hammers of Fate and ToTE) as it reveals more about the world of Dark Messiah, more on the Demon Sovereign (Sareth's father) and since it's an overall fun experience. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk!

[@reallylatereviews]

AYY I am glad his story is explored properly somewhere! That's what I'm talking about, thank you for sharing I had no idea! He is so good in the brief time he's on screen in DMM, I'm glad he gets more time in the spotlight. And thank you as well for commenting and watching, bless you!

[@v_creator7514]

Dude, you googled him and never got a reference to HommV?

[@TheWatchersDance]

Looks like the algorithm has smiled upon you. I saw this in my recommended videos and had to click right away since I love this game despite its faults. The satisfaction of hurling barrels at enemies and kicking them off cliffs is an unmatched feeling. Excellent video. Subscribed.

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you so much for watching, commenting, subscribing, and your kind words. And yeah, it's absolutely unmatched in kicking some bloke off a cliff haha! Such a great game!

[@petermokran381]

well deserved

[@ashleykettle343]

Dark Messiah used to the game I go back play annually. You can really see how it laid the groundwork for Dishonoured, but I would love to see Arkane go medieval again.

[@reallylatereviews]

Definitely, on both fronts. I love Dishonoured but it never quite captured the magic (no pun) of this game. I loved the world but I dunno, there's something about extreme grimness that just puts me off replaying a game. It's pure preference but I'd love a new medieval/fantasy game as well. Thank you! For watching and for commenting, bless you!

[@marcusuno5205]

@@reallylatereviews I would argue that every Arkane game has this problem of "grimness." Doubly so since the closure of Arkane Austin. It's like the games are monuments of depression and a testament to all the best games having already come out.

[@oliwardcomics]

i also found this game years ago and loved it enough to play through all the different playstyles. it was such an underrated gem that it felt like a secret videogame so secret in fact that even when you tell your friends about it and how great it is they dont believe you and dont even bother to look into it.

[@reallylatereviews]

I know whacha mean! That's such a good description. A secret videogame, I like that! And yeah they don't believe but it's nice because it's cult following in every sense of the word, once you know you know :P Thank you as well for taking the time to watch and comment, bless you and thank you!

[@asdf-bm4df]

5:40 Yep. The swordplay especially deserves a spiritual successor. There's a glitch with the 'block' animation that I discovered very very late into consuming this masterpiece; Hold mouse2(block)just before you press to prepare power strikes and the arm animations snap into positions instantly. This allso lets you swap power strike stances instantly to seemlessly adapt to enemy positioning and so on. It has made the swordplay allmost twize as good. Much quicker and responsive. More in control. Here's a brief video partially showing this glitch in use and the excellent combat system overall; kzbin.info/www/bejne/bneTqml-g62Upsk Awesome review btw :) thanks for making it!

[@reallylatereviews]

First off I'm gonna pin this comment sometime in the future if it's okay? I plan to leave my reupload disclaimer up for a while, because I want to explain why my existing subscribers have seen this video go up again. But after some time has passed I'm gonna come back because I hope people will see your video and go watch it. If I spent half an hour waffling about the game, you show precisely why I spent that long in 2 minutes. It's a perfect demonstration of the mechanics. It's why I said there sometimes feels like there aren't enough enemies to flex on, the gameplay has the potential to let you take on a dozen enemies, but tends to only do that when you can't move your elbows for walls :D Also holy smokes I love that you're finding speed glitches this long after release haha that's awesome! Lastly, thank you for watching and taking the time to comment, it really means a lot to me, thank you!

[@asdf-bm4df]

@@reallylatereviews well I’d be honored to have my video pinned below your ”waffling” 😌 Its been frustrating to see how little acclaim this game has received through the years and your review certainly gives it justice. May your channel grow and prosper sir🖖🙏

[@reallylatereviews]

@@asdf-bm4df Aw it is such a crime that it's gone under the radar, love the game to bits! Bless you thank you! You as well!

[@ninjacouch9351]

I might have to reinstall just because you said this l ok l

[@JackWse]

That's very useful indeed.. I was going to mod the timing for it, just kind of a thing after playing sekiro.. that muscle memory is so ingrained at this point from that, which was not a problem when I first played this back in '06. I will say though, one of the most frustrating things about this game is how far away the enemies are from you when they can hit you and how the animation doesn't always sync up.. in fact rarely sinks up.. and you can hit them from a distance as well but it doesn't feel like it.. and you're having to do a mental translation which definitely takes away from what it could have been if it had something closer to chivalry's hit boxes.. But that's a masterpiece of hitbox and weapon strike game right there.. I always said the perfect game for melee would be dark Messiah, but with chivalry swordplay. I do wish there was a way to do archery that wasn't so stupid, I definitely tried earlier in my '06 playthroughs.. I don't know how to balance it though, and clearly they didn't either.. I'd have to be able to play with the values, and I might.. because the archery is surprisingly good in everything but how it actually plays out in the game, and what you have to sacrifice essentially in order to put points enough into it.

[@drillcore7768]

Best thing about daggers is that you can instakill with them by throwing them at enemies with low health. Simply take a few steps back while holding left mouse button. You can also exploit it by preparing the dagger for a throw on a weakened enemy but throw it at healthy one instead.

[@reallylatereviews]

I had no idea this was in the game since I just avoided daggers like the plague, but that does sound really slick actually. Thanks for sharing this holy moly and for watching as well, thank you!

[@JackWse]

Nice! First I thought it was an adrenaline only kill, But I noticed it coming up without adrenaline on occasion.. you can also backstab limping enemies, but that's just more of a satisfaction thing really... Although I guess so was the throwing knife part, that being said the way you framed it is actually useful :-)

[@constantinethegreat5907]

Excellent video, loved this game back in the day and still do today. A true classic, can't wait to see what you review next.

[@reallylatereviews]

It really is a classic, I am still sad nothing like this game ever came about again. And thank you holy moly, thank for taking the time to watch and comment!

[@thatguy4305]

this was the first game i ever activated on steam and i loved it. i still sometimes play it. this is where my 14 years of service in the steam community started.

[@Meusli]

Another great video, these really help steer me into playing games I missed at the time. I was all over Oblivion at the time so never saw this.

[@reallylatereviews]

Aw I don't blame you, you could get lost in Oblivion forever. Great game. I remember just running about Skingrad trying to make friends with the alchemist there for a discount while eating as many alchemy ingredients as I could find. (I also want to say thank you again for coming back to watch, it's lovely to know someone wants to watch more videos. Thank you!)

[@headbreakable]

23:14 to save this NPC all you need to do is kick him in that room at the start of the level, the dev didn't expect him survive so, no add dialog there.

[@Singularity-vp9xo]

I just played through this game for the first time and honestly I loved it. It's insane how well it's kept up with the times! Thank you so much for this awesome review :) I hope to get more awesome recommendations from you of games I never played!

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayy glad to hear it's not just me who enjoys it! You're right as well it's kept up so well. To be honest I'm still astonished other games haven't kept up with Dark Messiah after nearly 20 years rofl. And thank you! For watching and taking the time to leave kind words, I really do appreciate it. I just hope I can make more videos worth watching. Thank you!

[@PEEK-A-BOO101]

I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a game as much as I did with Dark Messiah when I was a kid. Multiplayer was fun as hell too ! Such a magical aventure

[@reallylatereviews]

It really is magical holy smokes. And thanks for watching and for commenting as well, thank you!

[@paulmememan508]

I put quite a few hours in both. The multiplayer, while unbalanced, was absolutely ridiculous fun. Funny thing.. I wondered how many hours I put into them and checked Steam, completely forgot it was from before they tracked play hours lol

[@PEEK-A-BOO101]

@@paulmememan508 Between getting stealth backstabbed by rogues and blasted to smitherins by a mage's fireball... Good old times

[@paulmememan508]

@@PEEK-A-BOO101 Choke points with lightning mages spamming their orbs through them 💀

[@julios999]

@@paulmememan508 you mean the white behemoth that went across the map? Absolutely! DMMP was good, unbalanced but fun

[@gabestepstone5762]

The relation between Xana and Serath is very interesting, back then I really hope there would be sequels about them. But the entire saga ended here. Bruh. Imagine a demon son and succubus ran away from their evil boss and try to be good and free, coexist with others instead of trying to destroy everything like Kha-Beleth....

[@reallylatereviews]

This is it exactly. The potential here for any sort of sequel, with a more fleshed out story, was immense. The gameplay was sorted. Vengeful father set up for the next game. And perhaps not everyone is very happy with Xana and Serath's new found power, so there's room for multiple antagonists working together. Massive shame we never got anything else. And thank you so much for commenting and taking the time to watch my video! I try to respond to as many comments as I can where someone's unpacked why they love this game but I'm really late in seeing yours I'm sorry! (But it is on brand that i'm late)

[@aqvamarek5316]

@@reallylatereviews There was Homm5, were you get mission and campaign with the main characters, the games were in story linked. But do not ask me, how, forgot everything.

[@reallylatereviews]

@@aqvamarek5316 I had heard some of the characters showed up but I had no real idea it kept going or was linked to DMM! I might have to take a look haha, thank you!

[@passingrando6457]

​@@reallylatereviews interesting backstory on Xana from HoMM5. She was human once, but summoned an imp in her fiance's robes when she caught him in bed with another woman. They burned her at the stake for demonology, and she woke up a succubus. Her character profile says the other succubi find her weird for being too honest and romantic to be a real succubus.

[@Finraen]

I literally spent hours setting up intricate kill scenarios using ice patches on the ground. At times it felt like Dark Messiah was just a minigame within an ice patch combat simulator.

[@morkgin2459]

I felt like it was a kicking simulator lol

[@mnk9073]

Imagine Skyrim with Dark Messiah's melee system. *Chef's kiss Also, Xana might have singlehandedly shaped my taste in women. Which I leave open for interpretation...

[@masterpwn3r]

i loled at the second part because it's true

[@eriksaari4430]

you like ambitious psychobitches?

[@JackWse]

I mean you can mod good combat into Skyrim, but you can't mod a good story, or characters,.. ore well maybe you can... But at that point it's not Skyrim it's just a game that was made with skyrim's engine, lol.. which is a thing Don't get me wrong lol.. look at fallout London lol..

[@potatoesstarch2376]

my fav part of the plot is that your demon dad... isn't even like, shitty to you. Now sure, you don't see much of him, and he wants something from you. BUT he's just like "hey there sport, great to see you." and if you betray him, he's like "SON WHAT THE HECK". He sounded so hurt lol. For a giant firey sauron lookin dude anyway. Kinda feel bad about it tbh. Anyway the spiders are horrifying.

[@reallylatereviews]

Ya know a dear friend hates spiders, so I left them all out of my review. And yeah I love that too haha! I feel guilty but aaah, what can you do? I think he wants to burn everything so you'd have to live in that shithole forever And thanks as well for taking the time to watch and to comment as well, bless you!

[@standhaftgarithos3832]

I haven't watched this yet, but as an avid fan of Dark Messiah I am so excited that regardless of what happens I will be disappointed. How could you have done this to me?!

[@Gameboon]

Great review. I always enjoy watching Dark Messiah reviews when I see them pop up in my recommended, as has happened a few times over the years. There's just something very special about the game that I haven't really encountered since. You summarize what I think of the game in a very entertaining manner. Oh, and that cliffside orc settlement is still one of the best scenery and level design I have ever seen in any game and holds a special place in my heart. And strangely enough, the spiders in this game freak me out. I don't have that with most spiders in games. Also, I just realized I never finished the game. I came close like three times but always get distracted by something else before I finish it. Perhaps it's time to change that.

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you! I'm glad someone else loves the cliffs as much as me! I never showed the spiders as a friend doesn't like them, they are pretty offputting not gonna lie :P And thank you for your kind words, and for taking the time to watch, thank you! If ya do finish it be sure to let me know what you thought!

[@jean-michelnadeau2833]

Had a blast playing through this game all over again a few years ago. I'm still waiting for someone to do a kick-only run.

[@reallylatereviews]

Aw a kick only run! Now that would be something else holy smokes I'd like that! Thank you for stopping by, for watching and for commenting. And I'm really glad to hear you had fun playing the game again, it really is timeless!

[@ForemostCrab7]

I have one itty bitty gripe with this game. The whole Leandra finding out you have a Demon inside your head? Yea, that only happens IF you use your demonic form in her presence, if you never do, she will never bring it up. However...the part that happens if you chose to Not cleans her, it will happen automatically (also pretty sure she shows up as an Undead, even if you saved her from the spider, which makes even less sense) as if it was brought up before, saying you refused to cleans her, you betrayed her and yadda yadda. It is a Scripted event, they should've cut that out until the Final part of the game, imagine you never using the demonic powers at all, and then comes the end and she finds out you had a demon inside your head all this time and just...it would've been great, but they flopped Hard on that part.

[@reallylatereviews]

I completely agree, it's so jarring to have it pop up randomly. They really didn't do the character justice in my opinion with their storytelling. Nobody is that much of a puritan that they'd kill the only person who can save the world, because they disapprove of their powers. Thank you as well for commenting and for watching my video, I really appreciate it.

[@mercster]

I'm a demon. :-)

[@Crazozourus]

I completed this game 32 times, 20 times on hardest difficulty. This is hands down gameplay wise the best fps rpg combat.

[@reallylatereviews]

Holy smokes that's a lot of Dark Messiah runs! If anyone can say this is the best fps rpg combat it's someone with that much playtime. And I agree with you, it just is amazing combat for an RPG. Also I never thought to shrink Leanna haha! Aw, this game. Thank you as well for watching! And taking the time out of your day to comment, I appreciate it! Thank you!

[@Crazozourus]

@@reallylatereviews Every encounter can be different if you wish so. Later I played with console commands maxing everything up, hardest difficulty and katana with crit. Awesome time. I hope Todd will pull his head out of his ass and give us proper combat in TES VI.

[@standhaftgarithos3832]

Now that I've watched the video, I can wholeheartedly agree. Dark Messiah is great and everyone who disagrees is stupid. Also, yes, saving Duncan is the true objective of the game, and it's very very hard.

[@reallylatereviews]

poor duncan Thank you as well for taking the time to watch and comment as well, I'm just glad the video gets approved by DMM fans that's enough for me haha!

[@Crazozourus]

You can shrink Leanna during final confrontation, and it brings some interesting results. :))

[@miorioff]

I did not expect myself enjoying this review as much as I did :) Thank you!

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayyy well I am really glad you gave it a watch haha! And thank you! For watching and for leaving kind words. I appreciate that, so thank you!

[@Eralen00]

there's an assassination mechanic which it didn't seem like you used in the video. If you sneak up behind someone with a dagger, your character lifts up his arm to indicate the backstab move. Its an insta-deletion if you haven't been detected. (I'm not sure if its a core mechanic or an unlockable skill, haven't played the game in a long time)

[@reallylatereviews]

After looking into this I found it isn't a base skill it's a tier 2 stealth skill. If that backstab had been a base skill, I woulda used it every time. It's that damn talent tree Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, and for watching as well, thank you!

[@wudan0]

that's the bread and butter for an assasin, one hitting the blood knight end game is pretty op

[@Krash954]

@@wudan0 And that throwing knife power attack never gets old

[@kampp322]

@@Krash954 If you dmg an enemy enough you can perform the throwing knife move without power attack

[@wirasaksana5897]

Except for ghouls IIRC and this game (probably) have the most broken ghoul in gaming industry.

[@jk3jk35]

the tail + claw gameplay reminded me of playing as an Alien in AvP

[@Brenoce]

This was a seriously good video, enough to make me comment for once. I watched the whole thing surprisingly and didn't pause once.

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you so much holy smokes, I really appreciate you taking the time to watch, and to comment because it's always lovely to hear, and it's nice to know someone can stomach my voice for that long haha! But in all seriousness, thank you!

[@Brenoce]

@@reallylatereviews You're welcome; it's a great video. These videos are perfect for me since I recently started Witcher 3 Wild Hunt for the first time. Not only that, you should try to get Asmongold to watch your Bayonetta video because he and chat would like the paladin/warrior joke!

[@reallylatereviews]

@@Brenoce Haha aw maaaaan thank you! But I don't think I could handle an Asmongold viewer raid. I also must admit I don't really watch twitch so I would feel bad benefitting off all the hard work he does. And ayy! I hope ya like The Witcher 3 - it's sacrilege to say it but I never finished it, maybe one day :P

[@Larsausen]

Haven't played this for a VERY long time, fun to see a review about it after all this time, sweet sweet nostalgia

[@moralesjourneyman]

Not really the Arx Fatalis sequel I wanted, but I'll take it.

[@TorSkywalker]

Just watched this video on the side when I was wrapping my christmas gifts. Nice well structured video, entertaining editing and overall a cool channel idea. Keep it up!

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you very much for taking the time to comment, and for watching, I really appreciate it! Bless you!

[@dranyth]

But, Arkane wasn't a powerhouse developer at this point. It was literally their second game, and their first game, Arx Fatalis, was criminally overlooked.

[@Stars2p]

Thank you so much for this video ! So happy that it popped ito my suggestions ! I loved this game at the time, gotta find where i put the box to do it once again. Can't wait to hear again the warm sound of the sand. I had forgotten about the cliffs, amazing level (as they often do at Arkane Lyon).

[@reallylatereviews]

Haha that crunchy biscuit breaking sand oh yes! Fond memories. And yeah the levels are just great, they do churn out lovely environments :P Thank you so much for watching and commenting, I'm really fortunate it popped in your suggestions! So thank you!

[@Raszcal]

Thank you for doing this review on an old childhood memory. Enjoying this immensely!

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you for taking the time to watch! And to comment, I really appreciate it! I'm just glad to hear you're enjoying it, I think that's wonderful so thank you!

[@NunSuperior]

What a great game, even though I barely remember playing it. Loved the video too. YT recommended it to me which is a good sign for growing the channel.

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayyy thank you! It's great to hear ya know so thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! It is such a great game!

[@ScofaUK]

The multiplayer was really fun, it had a talent point system where you could get special attack that made youre class unique

[@mercster]

Every time I see gameplay/reviews of this it looks really awesome.

[@Upsedriss]

loved this review as well as tw dragon's dogma one, which got reccomended to me. very glad to have found your channel. looking forward to watching your other two videos and hoping for more in the future, you got some quality stuff here imo.

[@satnav1980]

Looks fantastic. I'd definitely play this. The fact that enemies can be pushed into each other and make each other stumble is cool. The swordplay looks amazing for the year that this game came out.

[@matteozorzetto4883]

One of my favourite game ever. The combat despite the years is still amazing,the magic is very nice and the ice is bloody funny and the kick, OH BOY that damn kick. flawless masterpiece.

[@NamelessVoice]

Ahhh saving Duncan. The part of the game that always takes me the longest!

[@reallylatereviews]

duncan raised the shelf life of this game by about 20 years too bad nothing could raise his shelf life oof

[@chrispyvg408]

Very lovely game indeed. I played it again last year and found a few fun things. You can kick your uncle in the starting cutscene if he comes close because your character is basically there and he will be within kicking reach (doing this will make him stumble backwards and speak to you from a distance). You can use telekinesis on any ragdoll (which includes an alive enemy that has been kicked and is still in the ragdoll mode) A finishing move for the dagger is to throw it, however you can quickly swap to another target during the throw animation to throw endless amounts of daggers against healthy enemies. Using the Jump power attack for a sword when the enemy is near a platform will make them ragdoll and go FLYING!! You can use the backstab skill against the end boss without him noticing you, skipping the whole boss fight. Amazing video and review, what a wonderful time watching!

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you so much for watching! And for stopping to comment as well, I really appreciate it! I am sure uncle Phenrig appreciated being kicked about haha, he does deserve it though. I had no idea about the dagger bug, that's crazy! I really should give the dagger/stealth builds another chance but I dislike how the backstab is locked behind skills. But I do love telekinesis, it's such fun to throw people at each other haha!

[@marcdzik]

I was playing this game as a archer slowly exploring the map without fighting and then choosing a good position to attack (on each map there are places from which you can shoot enemies losing 0 hp) - so you don't have to play aggressively. You can choose what is your playstyle and roleplaying.

[@Dabedidabe]

Such a good game. People always complain about the kick being overpowered, which is probably true, but just tweak that a bit and you have the best first-person combat system ever. Still waiting for elder scrolls to make combat more playful like this.

[@reallylatereviews]

If Elder Scrolls 6 has combat half as good as Dark Messiah, it'll be worth 4 anniversary editions :P But for real it is a solid game, you are right about the kick, I think that's why I'd love larger enemy pools to offset that large advantage. Hey and thank you for taking the time to comment and watch my video, I really appreciate it so bless you!

[@Dabedidabe]

@@reallylatereviews Thank you for reviewing this old obscure underrated gem of a game! ^^

[@sk1p3r]

I was thinking about this game just yesterday! Perfect timing :D Thank you for this video!

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayyy no worries! I hope it turns out as good as I claim it is rofl! If it gives you any grief getting running lemme know, there's a couple of steam posts that can help. If you're thinking about getting it for Xbox I've heard it is an entirely different game and may be awful, I honestly can't say! Thank you for commenting and for watching as well!

[@sacredxgeometry]

I immediately subscribed to this channel on account of how frickin hilarious the channel name is, it's exactly what I'd love to see

[@reallylatereviews]

Haha thank you! I'm gonna try and make good stuff to followup on the channel name!

[@sacredxgeometry]

@@reallylatereviews Awesome! I was a little disappointed only 2-minutes in though when you said Oblivion's combat was lackluster, and that you preferred Skyrim, a game whose gameplay is almost entirely lackluster even by Oblivion's standards. You actually have to time attacks in Oblivion, Skyrim is truly a hack and slash game that is very light on RPG elements, because it favours realism and dark aesthetics. Oblivion by contrast is a game that dials fantasy up to 11, but keeps such a tight line between self-seriousness and whimsical, colourful adventure- which defies the status of the genre. With that said, cool video.

[@reallylatereviews]

@@sacredxgeometry For what it's worth, I completely agree with your criticisms about Skyrim and I hated the dumbing down. For me I prefer Skyrim because it's potential for modding, it's smoother running and the snowy pine forests. Although I did still find Oblivion's melee combat floaty you're dead on about the timing being a lot more important - I think I was spoiled by DMM haha! I shoulda elaborated on it more in retrospect. Thank you for coming back to share this, I really love seeing the different viewpoints on games and it's a big part of the reason I'm doing this, so thank you!

[@sacredxgeometry]

@@reallylatereviews i will say that I completely love the Source engine and the gaminess is far less than in Oblivion which is still _relatively_ hack and slash, but still more RPG than its successor. I can totally appreciate where you were coming from

[@reallylatereviews]

@@sacredxgeometry Thank you honestly, it's good to hear. The last thing I meant to do with that statement was alienate oblivion or morrowind fans!

[@Longtimer49]

game is fantastic i beat it like 6 times back in the day. thought it was a hidden gem then learned it was one of total biscuits favorite games. may he RIP.

[@reallylatereviews]

Totalbiscuit is such an inspiration, I think I'd forgotten this was one of his favourites. Bless that man. "Helps to have a map." And DMM really is a secret wonder. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment, I really appreciate it ya know, thank you!

[@iconoclast888]

Such a masterful game. That melee combat is what Skyrim should have had. Wonder why no one made anything like that after this game showed how it's done.

[@reallylatereviews]

I can't wrap my head around it either. When they first showed the Skyrim trailer I just thought "where's the swordplay? DMM came out a few months after Oblivion what happened?" such a letdown. I've heard Deliverance did something similar to DMM but I haven't played it myself. Thank you though for watching my video! And for stopping to comment, it really is a masterful game couldn't have put it better!

[@iconoclast888]

@@reallylatereviews Maybe the Source engine has some serious advantages in making such good combat and it just wasn't used by those who were making games that could use such a combat. But that would be just a lazy excuse. Or maybe it's just REALLY harder to do and simply requires a lot more time and effort. And we all see how most companies started to less and less bother in putting that time and effort into their products. Why cook a good dinner if you can just warm up some leftovers of yesterdays cheap supermarket pizza which will stuff the crowd anyway. I haven't played Deliverance yet too, but combat looks promising for sure . . . We'll see . . .

[@reallylatereviews]

That dinner analogy is so good haha! I worry about Starfield because of the scenario you described. I've heard Deliverance pop up and honestly yeah it looks interesting, like all of these games it's the sort of thing you just can't get an idea of gameplay from a trailer.

[@MrLiveforlove]

Just discovered your channel and after watching the video I can already see the passion you put into making this review. Instant subscription. Will check this game out just because of how cool you make it look in your review (and the sexy charismatic succubus lady too). Will also be looking forward to watching more great content from you. Keep it up!

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayyy thank you so much, and for your kind words as well! I hope I can put out more good videos for ya! Thank you! And it really is a great game. If you play it on PC and have trouble running it there's stuff to fix it. But fair warning someone already told me they just couldn't get it to run on their system, so there is a steam demo to test that if it helps!

[@orpheusx]

Completely agree. Loved this game to death. And I'm American. ;-)

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayyyyy!! First of all thanks for watching and commenting, it's lovely to read everyone's comments! And bless you! I'm glad because it really is such a good game! I think it was just the reviewers at the time who didn't enjoy it but you didn't hear that from me ;)

[@Scout-Fanfiction]

Great video! Glad to see this gem is still on Steam (I'm going to snatch it up b4 Steam delists it sometime in the future). Thanks for giving us insight into the earlier games Arkane Studios developed (always love seeing "the roots" of a dev team's design philosophy in retrospect).

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you! I'm glad as well, it's a genuine classic and oh I hate delisting games, such a shame. I tell ya I am tackling Arkane's previous game Arx next, and I can really feel where so much in Dark Messiah came from. I think it's harder to track roots these days with so many devs already being in big machine publishers. Thank you again for your kind words!

[@FPoP1911]

the fact that rope bow mechanicss hasn't been used again in games a lot since then is just criminal.

[@reallylatereviews]

This annoys me so much that I notice it whenever there's stealth and bows put together. Such a loss. No love for rope bow enjoyers. Thank you for watching and commenting! I appreciate it I really do!

[@Norbert_Sattler]

Ah I still have fond memories of this game. It had a nice campaign, that gave a lot of freedom in how you do things and the multiplayer was a blast.

[@Kindlesmith70]

I love this game to death. Nothing like it back then from my limited experience back then, and I've not encountered a game that kept that gameplay along with the story. I really love the combat in this game. I enjoyed the 3 different approaches you go through the game (assassin, warrior, and mage) and you can mix, and mash them. I still recall the epic opening of reaching a castle that gets sieged just before you manage to it inside it. I saw someone was making a Lone Wolf game with a similar combat system, but that game died during development.

[@DarthDevorin]

The first time I played this game was in 2013. I bumbled my way through it and forgot about it for nine years. Then I found a video review detailing the mechanics of the game and the emphasis of using the environment. Armed with this knowledge, I replayed the game and enjoyed it so much I did 5 more playthroughs. Despite all its issues, this is an immensely fun game.

[@JackWse]

It's funny, that's how I felt when the demo came out way back in the day.. fortunately, I can't remember what pushed me over the edge, might have been how garbage oblivion was, or something.. But eventually I got it, and it took a while but eventually once things clicked, it was just there was just nothing like it.. and sadly probably never will be again, as it was a proper PC game, made for a mouse and keyboard.. they don't make those anymore.

[@pokenerd2107]

I was looking for some good older games some time ago. and I stumbled upon this gem. It was hard at first, but it was so extremely fun

[@reallylatereviews]

Aw you really made a solid choice here. I know I'm biased but DMM is a classic missed gem. Actual good old game haha! Thank you as well for watching my video, stopping to leave a comment and honestly just for giving the game a shot!

[@RedHotChiliBumz]

ok, you've convinced me i got this on my Wishlist. it really does look fun

[@reallylatereviews]

psst there is a demo on steam to try it before you spend a penny and you can usually figure out if you love/hate it from that! Thank you as well for stopping to comment and for watching as well!

Truly one of the best games ever made and one of the few I ever completed. So many little secrets you can find if you explore the levels...

[@sgtbeercanyt]

Got the demo for this from a pc gamer magazine back in the day and it forced me to buy it. One of my first ever first person medieval fantasy games

[@wesmaximus7728]

Still one of my all time favorite. I must play again soon as I never took advantage of all the magic (traps etc) you could set. Never went the evil way either, except to see all the endings. Most underrated game.

[@nonamenoname1942]

It's so criminal that there wasnt any mods-making tools for so long! Imagine what people could create!

[@gabestepstone5762]

"use environment to your advantage" bet Jackie Chan would love this game lol this brings up the memory

[@Lukemasonmedia]

The ice on the ground is hilarious. I definitely want to try this game out , I grew up on oblivion but totally missed that this game existed

[@reallylatereviews]

It's worth a try it really is, I think it (ice) slipped under so many radars because of other games at the time. And to be fair, yeah even I was playing Oblivion haha! I also want to say thank you! For watching and commenting on my video, I really appreciate it! So thank you!

[@atspats112]

This was in 2006. In that time this game was the best. Even multiplayer was loads of fun: warrior arena, trying to chase that assassin near your base and getting blown off the map by a random fireball. This game made magic feel live, you could use lightning bolt on water to shock enemies on it, freeze, telekinesis, all that was so heartwarming to see. It felt alive. The story, while mediocre, had the best narrating in my opinion. You are infused with a demon. that guides you. Felt like Black and White, but only with the devil, which was loads fun.

[@CaptainHillyan]

One of my all-time favorites and proof that a game can run on gameplay alone IMHO. Would've been great if there was a sandbox mode to just fight hordes of beasts and decorating the spiked walls with layers of goblins.

[@reallylatereviews]

I'd have loved that honestly, needed some sort of level-editor. I think cause it's source that would have been hammer? I don't know anything about it but I know I don't remember a bit modding scene for this game. Which sucks cause more levels/environments would have been great. And you're absolutely right, the most important thing is absolutely nailed here; the gameplay. Thank you so much for watching and for commenting, thank you!

[@Moosenthusiast]

Damn the Duncan PTSD is too real

[@reallylatereviews]

he was quite the survivor

[@JackWse]

So I posted up top, stagger the mage on the staircase... That way he gets locked into a fight with him, he can tank the mage for a bit, but he can't tank any of the ghouls.. then lightning dagger, go to the left first as the one on the right is stuck in an animation, they both go into the spikes fairly easy, and with a lightning dagger, you can stun lock them and then kick them or sometimes just the daggers themselves will launch them into the spikes.. It's going to take a few reloads, But getting Duncan tied up with that mage was The most important part, then knowing to go left instead of right on account of the janky hitbox, even jankier when in the animation, so basically a waste of time. I know I recorded a video back in like 2006 of me doing it, and I'm pretty sure I did it straight.. although I'm not sure what I did other than I know I used the lightning daggers.. wish I could find stuff like that lol.

[@Kragsword]

Oh, so THAT's how you suppose to solve the falling house. I just spider-manned (or rather tarzanned) my way to the chest via rope bow.

[@JackWse]

That really is the beauty of a game like this, give me tools and let me do things.. and it really shows in place of valve, where if they want an NPC to be dead, they're either going to death trigger them, or create an elaborate redundant series of Rube Goldberg machines to make sure that gosh darn it that NPC is going to die! Or that set piece is going to happen lol.. I remember being able to save the civilian in the tunnels just by being a good shot over his shoulder.. come back to the game a few years later, and they basically went in and created infinite spawning enemies that can all one hit the guy.. and the only stop spawning when you've reached the end of the tunnel.. and if that didn't work lol, somebody comes up from behind from outside the tunnels and one hits him, and if that didn't work.. He's forced to run out, where he would be shot at the machine gun.. except if you took out the machine gun already.. he hits a death trigger. So much work went into that after the game had released lol. Another example, there's a bridge in the later game, someone throws a grenade which explodes two barrels that starts the bridge explosion, the idea being that you have to run into a barnacle to escape the explosion.. But this is a game where you can throw grenades back right? Well... You can't pick the grenade up once it reaches the bridge.. you also can't get rid of the barrels, as they have an invisible clipping that holds them in place lol. Like There's nothing I hate more than a game that breaks its own rules to force a set piece, especially a game that tries to or implies that it's rewarding you for thinking when in reality, at least with valves design, it's basically creating a situation that makes it seem like you've been rewarded for thinking when they spent years of focus testing in order to make sure that everybody would do it.. I just can't fathom why they went back in to the game and created a convoluted system to kill off an NPC that actually doesn't matter to anything that you're never going to see again other than maybe the mild pat on your back that you at least help somebody lol.. or maybe use the systems the game was teaching you in order to thwart something as simple as a grenade or environmental hazard... Upon which you mistakenly might have threatened the viability of a set piece! How dare you! And dark Messiah lol.. that house doesn't even fall off if you don't go into it and touch the bottom floor lol.. It just sits there.. set piece completely avoided! It respects you that way for the most part.. not always but it's in the spirit of it.. Rather than being contradictory about things.

[@profhenrique]

This game felt like playable action scenes in the middle of cutscenes. Almost no roleplay, it was almost like watching a movie.

[@MrBuTaforos]

Xanas introduction and 17 yo me. Ohh my

[@reallylatereviews]

This is why I respect DMM. Puts ultra seductive and powerful brain succubus in game. Slaps chad orc on the case. Thanks as well for taking the time to watch, and to comment my dude I appreciate it!

[@NapoleonBonaparde]

The combat is miles better than Oblivion

[@hennexdayz8959]

i loved the pvp multiplayer when i was smol

[@someonebritish6326]

Fantastic video, keep em coming!

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you! I'm gonna try to make em all good haha! Thanks for stopping by to comment and of course for watching too!

[@kailenmitchell8571]

I loved that game. Played through multiple times.

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayy I do not blame you haha! It's basically a solid gold game :D Bless you as well for watching and for commenting, thank you!

[@malcolm4737]

Patrician taste in games, patrician taste in waifus, funny and straight to the point narration as well as objective view. You sir earned yourself a subscriber.

[@reallylatereviews]

Maaaaaan thank you haha! I hope I can keep making videos worth your time! I'm gonna do my best to stay objective (even if I love the games!) that's why I tend to ramble a bit to give honest context. Thank you for watching, subscribing and for taking the time to leave kind words. Thank you!

[@jucalebre7540]

Amazing review, now I want to play this game

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you! Holy smokes it's lovely to hear so I really appreciate you commenting! And I do recommend it but someone has already had trouble getting it to run on their more modern system so be careful though!

[@rdvil]

Them lightning daggers tho' I remember when I first found them and just never unequipped them again This game deserved sequels! "You'll learn to enjoy the pain"

[@MikeDeBleser]

This is one of my all time favorite games!! It had different versions of storytelling on pc and xbox 360. Amazing game!

[@duskinexile]

I literally started playing this again last week. I love it, great combat system

[@D.Danko_thall]

Since release I've been coming back to this masterpiece of a game every single year and to this day it's still one of the best games ever made! If only they'd come back and hit us with a sequel 🙏🏼

[@masterpwn3r]

Dark Messiah, one of the many gems that came out in the golden era from 2002 to 2009. It's still up there in my all time favourites. DarkM, Spellforce, Freelancer...the list goes on. I can't put them in specific order because they all tick a different aspect of gaming that I love. Aspects that seem to be forgotten nowadays. Just think about it; Dark Messiah from 2006 is the last game to feature really awesome first person combat. I loved your review. PS: The Multiplayer of Dark Messiah was really great! PSS: Duncan :( PSSS: When I first saw the announcement trailer of Avowed, my mind instantly jumped to Dark Messiah :)

[@masterpwn3r]

Remember the MP Mode with different classes, experience points to level up during a match and skilling your character during the game with different talents to chose from? I believe there were siege maps as well. Just an excellent concept. Unfortunately the game has died down but I salute the 30-50 daily players that still start up this gem.

[@reallylatereviews]

You're gonna hate me but I never tried the multiplayer! AW I wish I had been around to try it back then but I just missed that whole thing. From what you've said it sounds really cool though, I like the idea of talent trees in a first person game! Shakes things up a bit. Spellforce MAAAAAAN there's a name I haven't heard in a while, or Freelancer :P Thank you for stopping by to watch and comment, and not gonna lie you brought me some real nostalgia just name dropping those games, thank you haha!

[@k1ngN0rk]

31:57 Boy entering that castle takes me back... I played this game for the first time when I bought my new GeForce 8800 GT I never forgot those moments and how immersed I was on that game.

[@reallylatereviews]

That is such a great moment I swear. It felt so surreal to be playing a first person fantasy game as slick as this, even with Oblivion out. That horse ride in just felt so good. And to reply to your other comment, I wish there was a sequel too haha! It is such an underrated game. Let me also say thank you for! For watching and commenting, I do appreciate it! Thank you!

[@yazeedgaming1413]

loved your review of the game and definitely subscribed.

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you so much, for real! And thank you for taking the time to comment as well! I'm gonna do my best to put out videos worth watching :D

[@DrBrothBaist]

God damn this game looks way ahead of it's time, modern games should take note, i love the physics.

[@JackWse]

There's a timeline split, between when we had PC games that were PC games.. and then where gaming went... You saw this with Deus ex, initially anyways, when it went to invisible war.. system shock when it went to BioShock, Ghost recon when it went to Ghost recon 2, although that one is a little bit complicated as Ubisoft is the fountain of both some of the best and worst ideas lol.. crisis to crisis 2, fear to fear 2... They don't make PC games anymore..

[@rumatadestora]

Recently played it through and I dare say very few modern games gave me the same pleasure from combat

[@reallylatereviews]

I completely agree! I don't think it's ever really been re-captured. It's got a lot of lightning in the bottle going on, and I don't know if we'll see anything like it again. But I do know that I'm grateful for you watching and taking the time to comment, thank you!

[@karstenprut9867]

I too played this game to death and it was just a random purchase , liked the cover of the game and thought this might be awesome Can still remember how amazed i was by all the interactions between objects and npc's , the graphics at the time was also very very good.

[@ChemicaaLz]

Had my eyes on it for a good 5 years, played last year and had a great time with it from start to finish

[@MAGGOTKnees]

Oblivion would be so much better if the Melee was that of dark messiah

[@reallylatereviews]

If Oblivion had DMM's melee that would have been fantastic. I honestly can't believe that Bethesda just carried the same floaty combat into Skyrim, Fallout, and probably into Starfield. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment, thank you!

[@Michigan1B22]

I also had the demo and loved it! Being able to kick enemies off things blew my mind as a kid! However when I eventually got the whole game it kept crashing on my pc and I could never get it to work. Twas not meant to be. Great video!

[@reallylatereviews]

Thank you for watching! And for taking the time to comment, bless you! But ahh I am sorry to hear about that, that game does have problems on modern systems sadly. If you ever try again, pcgaming wiki as well as some steam guides might be able to help you!

[@KaiGaming84]

Back then, this game was so fun, so enjoyable and I had no idea why. I just knew it was just fun, and that's all that I wanted.

[@reallylatereviews]

This is the best description of this game honestly. Just pure fun. Thank you for leaving this comment, it's really lovely to read because it just is that way sometimes, you just really like something. Thank you for watching too!

[@davidepannone6021]

I remember the graphics (especially the lightning) being fantastic in this game. Gameplay was fun as hell too.

[@lizardemperorkorbac4281]

Only thing I disagree with, is that I think the music is awesome. Btw. there is a bonus mini campaign in the Heroes of Might and Magic 5 gold edition, where you play as Sareth. Don't quite remember if thats a prequel or sequel story. Unfortunately Arkane graduately got woke and shit, so I wouldn't expect too much from Redfall.

[@JaneXemylixa]

It's literally Dark Messiah as a scripted HoMM5 scenario

[@Bonkikavo]

Less memes, more attention to voice recording and audio in general. Subscribed.

[@reallylatereviews]

Ayy first of all thank you for subscribing! I always try to reply to as many comments as I can especially if someone takes the time to tell me they've subbed. And I take on all feedback - I'm glad to say voiceovers are improved in later videos and I work even now on getting rid of my real life echo space! But I have to tell you the memes and jokes are here to stay, it's part of why I enjoy doing this, without them I'm another machine making reviews. And I want to say this purely so you know you haven't been ignored, thank you for watching, I just hope videos I can make in future are enjoyable!

[@BreiiisBreiiis]

Probably the most underdog game that I do still consider among my top picks. No matter all the faults, it's simply great. This was peak Arkane to me. Also, I heavily agree on the cliffside/orc island level. That level design is godlike and the highlight of the game. I just wish it had more like that instead of all the damp dark corridors at the end.

[@reallylatereviews]

I'm with you 100%, aw I'm all for the dark dungeons but this was a game that you wanted to see the spectacle and what was happening. There are very few memorable action movies with poor lighting. Definitely needed to spend more time in the sun! "Peak Arkane" is probably the best description, wish I'd have thought of that honestly haha! Thank you for taking the time to watch my video, and for commenting as well, thank you!

[@costanzafaust]

The Shadow Warrior reboot from about 10 years ago is another one with really fun swordplay and a wisecracking companion in your head.

[@reallylatereviews]

Ya know what I tried that a little after it came out and this is such a good suggestion, I enjoyed Shadow Warrior a lot although I stopped near the end for real life and lost momentum in going back. Really nice game though, I heard the sequel became more of a looter shooter. Such a shame. Thank you! For watching my video and stopping by to comment as well, I appreciate it!

[@JackWse]

It's definitely not on this level, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.. shame about the sequel, it had the bones of a very good game, it just.. Man.. we just can't have nice things can we?