METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
Game
Game2021Published by indie.io
Dark Deity
Developer Sword & Axe LLC
Dark Deity is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Sword & Axe LLC and published by indie.io. It was funded by Kickstarter, and released on June 15, 2021, on the Steam platform for Microsoft Windows. It was later released for Nintendo Switch on March 17, 2022. It follows a group of military academy students in a fantasy universe who are suddenly conscripted into the army years prior to their normal… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
283 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
138 positive · 42 negative
95% range 70–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 138 | 42 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
103 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
2,256 of 3,123 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed but leaning positive; fans of GBA Fire Emblem will find enjoyment despite bugs.
Many players praise the game for scratching the Fire Emblem itch, with engaging combat and nostalgic pixel animations. However, the story and writing are widely criticized as boring or AI-generated, and the UI is often called bad. [1][3][13][22]
Technical issues are a major complaint, with bugs, crashes, and controller problems on Steam Deck. Some players also note balancing issues and a lack of permadeath that reduces stakes. [2][4][30][31]
Praised combat system · nostalgic Fire Emblem feel · pixel animations
Criticised story/writing · bugs and crashes · UI · controller issues
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method
Critics, per Wikipedia
Dark Deity received "generally favorable" reviews for PC according to review aggregator Metacritic, with critics citing its gameplay, art and story; the Nintendo Switch version received "mixed or average" reviews. OpenCritic assessed that the game was recommended by 50% of critics. Audra Bowling of RPGFan rated the game 91/100 and gave it the Editor's Choice award, comparing it to Fire Emblem but saying that it diverged in key ways, and calling it an enjoyable addition to the strategy RPG genre. She criticized the game's lack of a tutorial and minor technical issues, also calling the story "standard fantasy fare", but saying that it served its purpose and that she enjoyed the game's…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 283 · most liked firstDark Deity 2 is coming to Switch on September 4, 2025! The first game was a fantastic Fire Emblem inspired SRPG. This is the first console release of Dark Deity 2.
unlabelledView post →Game Night: Fight Monsters and Politicians in ‘Dark Deity 2’ (Minus World column by @stolisomancer.bsky.social ) hard-drive.net/news-games/g...
unlabelledView post →Dumped it and the franchise as soon as the lgbt ♥♥♥♥ started.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought Dark Deity because it says it's Steam Deck verified and seems like a great game to play on deck. Got through the opening dialogue, started the first battle, and the controls stopped working. Sticks, buttons, track pads, nothing registered, except the touch screen which I used to exit the game. OK, maybe it's a bug or glitch, something rare. I verified the files and tried again. Same results. I went to the game discussions and there are a few threads trying to get answers,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dark Deity w/ 2 more games is $2.99 on Fanatical Triple Pack Bundle buff.ly/4fC7Zgv Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga w/ 1 more game is $4.99 on Fanatical Very Positive Bundle buff.ly/4hoMPoq
unlabelledView post →Not Recommended (but not without merit) Dark Deity ended up being a perfect storm of design choices that, individually, might have been fine, but together created a frustrating experience. There is a solid strategy RPG underneath. The story and characters are decent, enemy AI is actually good, and the “Aspects” system adds interesting build variety beyond simple weapon upgrades. The anime-inspired presentation and classic SRPG structure clearly come from a place of love for the genre.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This week's #TurnBasedThursday host is the creator of a cult-favorite sRPG described as "the closest you’ll get to Fire Emblem on PC." They just announced the latest in the series! Come share your game's big (or small) news! Follow @DarkDeity.bsky.social for tomorrow's thread.
unlabelledView post →Most games nowadays have a pop-up warning you if you exit the game you'll lose any unsaved progress. Dark Deity does not 😅 Well I guess that's the end of that try on that map.
unlabelledView post →Sometimes I wonder whether it was better to adopt a JRPG-style graphics for my game. The examples below include Dark Deity and Symphony of War, then it's my game. #gamedev #pixelart #indiedev #indiegame #runepact
unlabelledView post →Scratches the Fire Emblem itch but the difficulty is a mixed bag with characters constantly dying but no permadeath making it very easy to throw units into frays because you only need one left to finish the battle. Also, the near constant recruitments even late into the game makes leveling up certain units impractical because you'll probably pick up a level 20 somewhere down the line. The lack of side missions to level up your units also makes it not worth diversifying your team as the story…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Full Controller Support", "Steam Deck Verified". The very first gameplay scene doesn't progress in any way unless using the touchscreen, at which point controller controls immediately stop working even for the menus. Nope. Do better.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey y'all, figured it's time to make the jump! I'm a game developer making Dark Deity 2 - a strategy RPG with an expansive story and tons of replayability! No microtransations, no use of AI, just good old-fashioned single player RPG goodness. #indiegamedev #gamedev #rpg #gaming #srpg #pixelart
unlabelledView post →Dark Deity is a buggy and weird mess, but I can't help but love it. My review is after two playthroughs and 100% achievements. One playthrough was on normal, and the second was on hard mode. This game is basically a janky version of the GBA Fire Emblem games with a few unique twists that generally work out. While I recommend this game, there are some huge negatives that are going to completely ruin it for some people. Most of the issues come from the plethora of bugs and the absolutely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reluctantly clicking "Not Recommended" due to some irritating bugs. The game isn't unplayable, I'm probably still going to finish, I just have a hard time giving the full thumbs up. The combat forecast seems to lie about damage output for multi-hit weapons. The preview says I'm hitting for 14, I actually hit for 16 and I don't see what's causing the difference. There are text pop-ups when a skill trigger gives you extra damage, which is fine. But sometimes the forecast just lies even…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nonconsecutive day 7 of posting random pixel art animation stills until I can post videos/gifs. Have that one dragon boss from Dark Deity #Pixelart #ドット絵 #art
unlabelledView post →If you enjoy the classic fire emblem formula and want to try a slight variation n it, this might check all your boxes. If you're not already invested in the specific niche, this isn't a great strategy/tactics game. Almost every mission in the game can be solved by the same tactic since the AI doesn't act proactively in most scenarios, turning almost every mission into a cycle of "bait enemy with a strong counter and then punish". There are a few missions that change it up, but they are the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dark Deity: w/ battle animations it's totally a 9+/10 game. But everything else is hitting real 7/10 for me (and it's a bit buggy/lacking some polish). Some other issues too... I think I'ma give a mission or so more of a try, but it's on the chopping block. Really feeling like dropping it. 🫤
unlabelledView post →I love the old pixel era of Fire Emblem. I'm glad others do, too. Then again, the original GBA Fire Emblem games seemed a lot easier to get into. Sure the first part was a big ol' tutorial, but that's fine, and that actually is a good thing (except for when like me you've attempted so many playthroughs that just result in dropping out of playing it). I was a big Shining Force fan back in the day, and feel like Fire Emblem upped the ante. I just couldn't get enough of those battle animations.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Visually appealing, but I've found the characters and gameplay to be pretty shallow. The plot's pacing is strange, and one of the early major plot points just didn't receive the reaction from the characters that I'd have expected from loyal soldiers. They tried to do something interesting with the armor and damage types, but even on the highest difficulty it doesn't feel like it makes a notable difference. I've heard that the sequel improves on some, but not all, of the things that have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is unfinished, class development is 80% wrong decisions, and despite being great on a controller it is programmed to conjure inputs from the mouse
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Many of the other negative reviews touch on the individual aspects I didn't enjoy, so I'll just say this: It's not a bad game, but it's not gripping, either. The story is standard fare, so it didn't hold my attention. The gameplay is fine; it's your usual Fire Emblem set-up, but clunkier. It just didn't hold my attention. I'm sure the sequel is better. I'd say give that a try, instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Appleseed's Indie Game Of The Day! Day 26) Dark Deity by Sword & Axe LLC A Fire Emblem clone; great tactical gameplay, interesting characters and supports, and great class progression. There's even a sequel game now too!
unlabelledView post →I am twelve hours into Dark Deity II and I’m loving it. The first was a great game and so far the sequel has even more. For those who played the first there are some fun returning characters. This series deserves more attention. #darkdeityii #strategyrpg #indiegames @indiequestpod.com
unlabelledView post →If you can believe it, this is @elsielovelock.bsky.social's THIRD playable Dark Deity character voice. Actually pretty legendary considering we're only on game 2! Thrilled to have Elsie back to voice Laurai, a half-elven diplomat training under Irving. One more week of reveals to go!
unlabelledView post →Dark Deity 2's Demo dropped so I guess I'll give that a shot soon. The banner no longer looks like absolute dog shit with a NPC more central then the main woman of the game. Seems like maybe having a new writer on the game has improved it so I am willing to give it a shot after it looked bleak.
unlabelledView post →The combat system is fun, but the UI is bad and the story/conversations are absolutely horrid. Definitely skip this one if you are looking for immersion or a story to play through - it reads like an AI script.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#JustBeatIt @polykillpodcast.bsky.social No.40 Dark Deity (NSW). Someone should really bring this game to the @indiequestpod.com, as this indie tactics RPG is nothing short of amazing! Great gameplay, great graphics, great music and loads of character customization options. Highly recommended!
unlabelledView post →The skeleton of a good game is here, but there is too little to make it interesting. You have what looks to be a very faithful version of fire emblem with balancing that tips too far over in some directions, which makes combat repetitive and boring since there is functionally very little enemy variety. The dialogue in-between combat is dense and not terribly interesting, and the item/storage system is unintuitive and unnecessarily frustrating. I played this game knowing it's considered to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Petition to remove the phrase "X is a love letter to Y" from video game reviews unless you really know what you're talking about. "Dark Deity is a love letter to GBA-era Fire Emblem" Yes "Metaphor ReFantazio is a love letter to modern JRPGs" what? stop. no
unlabelledView post →@polykillpodcast.bsky.social #JustBeatIt Dark Deity (PC, 2021) is a classic Fire Emblem-like that eschews the standard weapons triangle in favor of unit-based armor types, and each unit has 4 promotion options instead of 2-3. @gohobogo.bsky.social is right, this game is pretty dang good! 4/5
unlabelledView post →2025 Finished Game 23 - Dark Deity II (Steam) Tight combat, colorful sprites, & an emotionally told story. The voice acting was impressive. Characters were diverse & relatable. Not perfect, but much improved. It will be up there for my GOTY for 2025. 4.75/5⭐️ #justbeatit @polykillpodcast.bsky.social
unlabelledView post →March pick ups so far. Suikoden I & II Remaster(PS5) Split Fiction(PS5) AC Shadows(PS5) Xenoblade X DE(Switch) Dark Deity II(PC) This is the first month in a long time. I've bought at least one game for all my current platforms. An that's with me skipping some games & the release are not over yet.
unlabelledView post →𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝔼𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖? ℕ𝕠𝕡𝕖... This would be your wildest dream if you've ever imagined the GBA Fire Emblem games from the 2000s, remade in Steam. However, and while most of those dreams would have not a drop of bad in them, Dark Deity does have a LOT of bugs and glitches to contend with. Enter... Eliwood, I mean, Irving... Ouff, anyways! Irving is the main character, and while recruitement such as in the Fire Emblem games is out of the question, you do…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I keep trying to play this game as I really like Fire Emblem. But it just doesn't have the personality of a Fire Emblem game. The plot and characters are very boring. The minute to minute gameplay is also quite dull. The levels just seem to drag on forever. There aren't any interesting events that happen during them. The menus are very cumbersome. There's almost nothing to do between missions. I do like the animations in battle though, especially the health bar being drained animation.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →29. Dark Deity I just couldn't get into it sadly. Felt like a weak fan game of FE without a lil bit of sauce to spice it up. Maybe the nicest thing I can say is I like some of the character designs at least. 2/5
unlabelledView post →I had an awful time trying to enjoy this. Any time one of your units gains a level, you can pick from Red, Blue, Green, or Yellow with no clear indication of what you need to build and why. My experience with "managing character relationships" was checking off conversations between characters from a list of the roster. I got tired of this one pretty quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I interviewed @darkdeity.bsky.social about game development, sharing their unique philosophy on making games and the titles that inspired them. If you love SRPGs and passionate indie creators, you don’t want to miss. Full interview: youtu.be/SRQofI5bU4U #DarkDeity #StrategyRPG #IndieGameDev
unlabelledView post →This is a great tactics game, and I recommend it, with some caveats. I didn't realize until 20 hours in that there was a battlesave, so note the battlesave is on the loading screen in the bottom right. I did have quite a few crashes, and almost never got past the fight on the bridge because of a crash, but it turns out if you never move your Eastern troops past the barriers, the game won't crash and your Western troops can win the battle. But despite all that, I enjoyed the game so much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#JustBeatIt @polykillpodcast.bsky.social No.102 Dark Deity 2 (NSW). Can an already fantastic game be improved upon? Why, yes it can! This sequel is phenomenal. Rock solid gameplay, a ton of customization options and a much improved story. Great for beginners and veterans alike. Highly recommended!
unlabelledView post →Dark Deity is similar to Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade and Sacred Stones from the early 2000 GBA Era. I loved those games and since I don't own a Switch or Switch 2 this will be the closest thing I ever get to play resembling those games on Steam.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At its core, Dark Deity is a good game, but it's myriad of issues make the whole package feel subpar. Combat is definitely the best part of Dark Deity, I like the enemies having different weapon and armor types so you have to plan your units around that. It really gets you to strategize every move (until you start one-shotting everyone lategame), death also gives your unit a permanent debuff so that's another reason not to play carelessly. Many have said it's basically Fire Emblem but I've not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →@getselious.bsky.social from The Outerhaven sat down with Dark Deity developer Charles “Chip” Moore to talk about the Dark Deity games, what went into making the games and more. If you enjoyed either game, check this out. Full interview: youtu.be/SRQofI5bU4U #DarkDeity #StrategyRPG #IndieGameDev
unlabelledView post →While there are some promising aspects to this game in terms of gameplay options there are enough negatives with UI, design, & QoL that I find it hard to recommend unless you really like Fire Emblem style SRPGs. I recommend jumping straight to the sequel Dark Deity 2 as its a more polished experience that makes this game feel/look like an early prototype
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GBA Fire Emblem but not exactly GBA Fire Emblem. Pretty solid game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →theres no open world aspect, you just go from mission to mission in a linear story, no choices, or way to buy gear or npcs to talk to litteraly just instance to instance.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nothing is more frustrating in a tactical based game than melee units not having a zone of control. Enemies will just walk away from you and dogpile their favorite target as if they weren't engaged in melee.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I was reading some of the reviews about horrendous this game is in terms of writing, UI and balancing, I genuinely braced for the worst. But what I found was that most of the issues with the game are greatly exaggerated. The game has shoddy writing, yes. It's predictable, boring, and there's no real bite to anything. The lack of perma-death doesn't help that it feels like there's no consequences, you're just a happy dandy little gang of misfits that are completely abandoning their former…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dark Deity is such an odd game. I've hardly seen a game that is better described by the word "mid" ever, in my life.
unlabelledView post →one of those games i wish i could give a mixed review lots of aspects were extremely lacking but i also played it for 2 days straight was it fire emblem: shadow of valentia pure peak no. but it wasn't too bad either
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's been a long time since I tried this out, figured I'd jump back into it before trying the second game. As a Fire Emblem fan I was interested in the game because it looked like it might capture the essence of the SNES titles I grew up playing. It doesn't quite come up to that. Combat is alright for the most part, but sometimes it just feels off. When I quit playing last time I'd run into a crash that happened in a castle. Had to replay the whole thing to get through it. And,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →@getselious.bsky.social from The Outerhaven sat down with Dark Deity developer Charles “Chip” Moore to talk about the Dark Deity games, what went into making the games and more. If you enjoyed either game, check this out. Full interview: youtu.be/SRQofI5bU4U #DarkDeity #StrategyRPG #IndieGameDev
unlabelledView post →Scratches that Fire Emblem itch
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another good night of Pokemon~ 40 hours in and I still have no idea where this game is taking me lmao having a great time though! We flew on over to @kickingupfire.bsky.social afterwards to watch him play some Dark Deity 🦉 twitch.tv/kickingupfire
unlabelledView post →Did you enjoy the GBA Fire Emblems? This is basically just more of that with a better class system and longer maps.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not a "bad" game, and there is a bunch of promise (enough that I plan on getting Dark Deity 2, with the expectation of improvements), but there's a lot of things that just aren't hitting for me. The Main reason I can't recommend it boils down to the bugs and crashes, and if it weren't for that last straw I would probably be on the side of "Thumbs up, but..." instead of "Thumbs down, but..." My favorite things that Dark Deity brought to the genre were the class-based abilities…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dark Deity II is a great improvement for the series. I don't know what happened, but the first game ran worse on my potato PC. Beyond that, everything feels better this time around. It's more solid and more aware of what didn't work in the previous one #indiegame #indiedev
unlabelledView post →Oh okay this game is basically a love letter to GBA Fire Emblem, and it rules (Dark Deity II)
unlabelledView post →The world's on fire but video games are still neat. This weekend I: - Played more of last year's WWE. The Women's CAW story is wild! - Picked away at Dark Deity 2. Great Fire Emblem like gameplay. - Started up Metroid Prime 2, which immediately became a co-op game with my kiddo.
unlabelledView post →First patch for the Dark Deity 2 demo is out! Preview of updates: -2 new story scenes -Option to start a campaign without turn limits -Option to remove RNG from levelups -Codex explaining stats and effects Full notes here: store.steampowered.com/news/app/244...
unlabelledView post →The World of Verroa is a incredible map project I created for Dark Deity 2, an upcoming sequel to Sword & Axe’s turn based #RPG. While these close-ups don’t entirely reflect the final look of the in-game map, it definitely hints at a rich and exciting world! #fantasymaps #mapmaking #commission #noai
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