Drakengard cover art

Drakengard

A grim hack-and-slash where a pact-bound soldier and his dragon mow down armies across a dark branching story.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION5 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    5/10

    Hack-and-slash combos and aerial dragon dogfights reward handling.

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    1/10

    Enemy mobs are fully scripted, no adaptive opposition.

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    1/10

    Almost everything is fixed; little hidden information.

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    6/10

    Weapon leveling, branch routes, and mission knowledge carry runs.

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2003
Developer
Cavia
Franchise
Drakengard
Platforms
PS2
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
70/100
IGDB users
68/100
Role-playing (RPG)Hack and slash/Beat 'em upActionFantasyHorror