Disciples: Domination Review

I love the Disciples series, but the latest instalment, Disciples: Domination, doesn’t feel as “Disciples”-like as I’d have wanted. Although I enjoyed the dark story, the management elements, and the combat, it didn’t quite hit me like its predecessor. However, if you love the genre and you are new to the franchise, you’ll enjoy this as a standalone RPG experience.

Developed by Artefacts Studio, this single-player game is filled with fighting, factions, and geopolitical madness. Moreover, there is a tale of power, war, and sacrifice. Therefore, this has a deep, captivating, and interesting plot that’ll appeal to lovers of fantasy RPG endeavours.

Disciples: Domination has a suspensefully dark plot.

It has been 15 years since the liberation of Nevendaar, and things have not settled down. Avyanna must unite the factions or risk losing it all. This is easier said than done, as every decision has major ramifications. With her reputation on the line and a world that is ready to break, she must choose wisely to prevent anarchy from spreading.

The plot is beautifully interwoven throughout the combat, the missions, and the sprawling overworld. Each of the 5 factions plays its part as your focus is split between power and the correct path to take. This brilliantly balanced design makes it impossible to rush through core moments, as every decision counts. Consequently, players are forced into making tough choices throughout.

Reputation is key!

A major element of Disciples: Domination is your reputation. The bond you build with the factions helps your throne management to flow. This decision-making adds a grand strategic layer that creates a deep and meaningful person management mechanic. Crisis, exploration, and core quest moments drive the protagonist’s relationship and help to build the world you explore.

Talking of exploration, there is a combination of real-time overworld adventures and refined turn-based combat to tackle. The latter is good, although it became a little repetitive across the course of the campaign. Although the new “push and pull” mechanic to use traps and increase tactical moments was fun, it doesn’t break the turn-based mould.

There are environmental elements, spells, team strength and weaknesses, and other layers to understand. They all work well together, but they form a familiar meshed experience that can be found in many other similar games. This isn’t a complaint, but I was hoping for something fresh. This wasn’t helped by the rinse-and-repeat enemies. Sadly, there wasn’t enough variety, and this caused a sense of Deja vu to set in.

The good.

I may seem a little negative about my time with Disciples: Domination, but I don’t mean to be. The game was enjoyable, but a little too familiar. Where this excels is its branching storylines, the sense of consequences, both positive and negative, and the protagonist’s influence. Moreover, your companions offer overworld skills that influence your day-to-day approach.

These core mechanics make a huge difference to the flow of the game and add depth to the combat, story, and exploration moments. Furthermore, it creates a sense of longevity as the protagonist and faction drive the plot and interactions in an array of different directions.

Disciples: Domination looks great.

I’m a huge fan of RPGs, and I particularly love an isometric viewpoint. This freedom and wide scope of vision complements the large open world. Alongside this, the grid-based system is familiar and makes each combat situation easy to follow. The use of lighting and earthy colours creates a sinister and dark atmosphere. The audio supports this with a blend of moody, minor-toned songs and energetic and dramatic tunes. However, it is the voice acting that truly shines. I was impressed by the quality and how well it delivers the story. Additionally, the sound effects have a nice fantasy edge, and the ambient sounds reflect the journey you are enduring.

There is plenty to learn and loads of elements to understand, but Disciples: Domination takes things slowly. The learning curve enables both hardcore fans and newcomers to grasp the fundamentals. Moreover, you never feel out of control of any situation. Subsequently, this has a nice feeling of inclusivity despite the layers of ideas working away in the background. The branching storylines generate huge replay value. If you want to mix things up, you could tackle the 30 to 40-hour playtime repeatedly.

Disciples: Domination is a great fantasy experience.

I love the genre and the franchise, and despite my small complaints, Disciples: Domination is a great fantasy experience. I love the story and the different protagonists. Moreover, the overworld is interesting, and the relationship between the factions was fascinating. However, it has a repetitive edge that cannot be ignored. Moreover, the slightly un-Disciples moments could annoy hardcore fans. Despite this, it is good fun, and I recommend getting a copy from the Xbox store!