“Dragon Marked for Death” Nintendo Switch Review: A Highly Enjoyable Multiplayer Fantasy RPG

I have been waiting to play Dragon Marked for Death, and I have to say it offered an amazing dark fantasy multiplayer RPG on the Nintendo Switch. I wouldn’t mind seeing this game series continue.

I was provided a free copy of Dragon Marked for Death for review. The opinions are my own. I also bought two more copies to write about the multiplayer feature.

If you have played previous games by Inti Creates, you can get an idea of what Dragon Marked for Death has in store for you. It will bring forth nostalgia for players who have experienced certain Mega Man titles and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.

Dragon Marked for Death is a very pretty game to look at. From the character designs to how their unique powers appear on screen, the colorfully rich world is sure to keep you engrossed for hours.

Basically, the story is about four heroes from the Dragonblood Clan who have to fight Divine Knights who don’t like your kind. Having dragon blood in their heritage is what makes the heroes display their powers. It is also why the Divine Knights don’t like the clan.

There are four types of characters for you to play as. With a magical dragon place attached to left her arm, the Empress is quite powerful and feels the most balanced of the four. You can do short and long-range attacks with her. Attacking enemies fills her magical attack bar. The magical attacks include fireballs and a flamethrower. She can also use her dragon arm like a grappling hook. The Empress can’t double-jump though.

With the Warrior, you play as a tank. His attacks are powerful, but I’m not a fan of tank characters. As for the Shinobi, you can attack enemies with devastating combos. However, he doesn’t have the most vitality and will go down after a few enemy hits. The Witch is, in my opinion, the most difficult to play as, even though I love playing as characters that are all about magic. You will need to remember specific button sequences for the Witch to perform the spells you want.

With the Empress getting an entire paragraph about her, you can tell which character I preferred playing as.

Some of you might have already seen Dragon Marked for Death being sold in two different versions. The ‘Frontline Fighters’ edition gives you the Empress and the Warrior. The ‘Advanced Attackers’ version gives you the Shinobi and Witch. If you have a friend who is also interested in playing this game, I recommend you both decide to buy the versions featuring the characters you like and then co-op play through the game.

The retail release has all the characters, the DLC, and bonus weapons. You should go for the physical release if you want the entire package.

Dragon Marked for Death is available now at North American and European retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop and Target for $49.99, with equivalent pricing for Europe.

Coming to the co-op, each player will need to have a Nintendo Switch device as well as a copy of this game. There is no split-screen mode here. I understand how such an exclusion might not be for every player. You can enjoy multiplayer by connecting with other players online.

I do recommend playing this game with another player (the reason I bought the extra copies). I say this because the missions have a time limit and it can be tough to go through certain stages and Boss Battles on your own even if you are playing as the Empress.

While the same character can be selected by more than one player, it is more fun (in my opinion) when the team is made of different characters. Seeing everyone use their unique abilities together is a visual treat.

I would have liked to have an option to play missions without a countdown timer because it doesn’t allow you to explore a lot. But oh well, if you have another player for support, the timer isn’t much of an issue.

Dragon Marked for Death seems to be designed to encourage multiplay. That is why I can see certain solo-preferring players not enjoying it much. You can try and play this game on your own, but then again, it won’t be easy.

All in all, Dragon Marked for Death offers some beautiful visuals and fast-paced gameplay. However, if you don’t play it with others, you can find yourself growing frustrated with the overall difficulty and the countdown timer.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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