The dragon combat is stellar and the melee gameplay is enjoyable, but the story and the presentation can be bothersome.
Some have accused Psygnosis the developer, of merely creating a Tomb Raider knock-off. The developers did create an attractive model with silky voice acting, but you won’t see any tigers leaping about in Drakan’s dungeons. The main character, Rynn, is a pleasant form with which to spend your game time. With Rynn’s changeable suits of apparel, diverse medieval weapons assortment, and trusty dragon sidekick, it would be difficult to mistake the two with more than just a passing glance.
Arokh, the dragon, makes the whole game. Being able to ride a dragon around impressive settings while scorching, electrocuting, and freezing enemies is the most compelling gameplay experience within Drakan’s campaign. You begin the game without the dragon’s companionship. After completing the first dungeon and solving a light puzzle, the two of you are bonded. In a nod (whether intentionally or not) to the Dennis Quaid movie Dragonheart, your lives are inseparably connected. The puzzle not only establishes a supernatural link betwixt you, but also ties the two characters’ life gauges. What hurts you hurts your companion, and vice versa. The addition doesn’t make the game any harder, or easier, and it really doesn’t even add to the story.
The story, by far, is the weakest link of the game’s chain of strengths. Rynn's younger brother Delon is captured during an enemy raid on your village. Though friends and community members are spirited away, you take on a personal crusade to save your sibling from the pig-people known as the Wartoks. The writing and voice acting are mediocre. After all of the long-winded speeches, narrated pictorial guides, and exposition on the heritage of the dragon riders, the story is merely a conveyance to string you along to an otherwise dark and disappointing end. You commune with spirits, mysterious mountain masters, and diabolical demons, but none of them really deliver any presence, or urgency to the story.
In many instances gameplay is an achievable blend of flying around scorching Wartoks and other foes until you reach an impasse. From there you go on foot to explore decimated settlements, sickly mines, and otherwise impregnable fortresses. Along the way you find new weapons, upgrade your armor and even overcome some stilted platforming sequences. One portion which was particularly difficult finds you having to make almost pixel-perfect jumps sideways, backwards, and forwards to navigate a tricky vertical shaft. The reward, though is worth it: impressive weapons.
The weapons heft as expected across the different classes: axes, swords, scimitars, clubs, etc. The weapons have different speeds, not merely between classes, but also within the class. Mythril weapons tend to be faster due to lighter materials, while stone and other heavy materials slow your strikes noticeably. Rods and other special weapons may be imbued with magic. These aftermarket additions allow you to release spheres of fire to burn your foes, shields of ice to circle you against damage, and electricity to zap your many opponents. With the right weapons in your arsenal you can be unstoppable.
In certain instances bow-and arrow use is essential. It is much easier to shoot harpies out of the sky with arrows than it is to wait for them to get within axe-striking distance. Bows are rather generic, but the arrows are as diverse as the rest of your arsenal. During your adventures you come across fire, frost, exploding, and other types of arrows to suit whatever your ranged pleasure may be. Keeping a variety of arrows, in addition to your melee weapons is definitely recommended.
Items are kept in a Diablo-style inventory. You have a finite holding capacity and the freedom to carry any assortment of weapons, armor, potions, and plot-specific items available. If you do not cycle weapons correctly you may find yourself dumping excellent weapons for more of the same. Also, in certain parts of the game, due to difficulty, it is imperative you keep a supply of potions to heal you from your wounds.
The dragon sequences are pretty well left open-ended. You may call Arokh to you when you are in the clear. He answers you with loyal voice acting, and even lets you know if the space to which you are calling him may not be accommodating. Arokh animates well. The wing flapping creates an expected perception of buoyancy. The streams of elemental breath weapons not only look convincing, but also have decent sound. The fire is, by far the best looking, and sounding weapon.
When creatures are damaged either by weapons or by breath attacks, they have satisfying death and damage results. Wartoks blasted by fire, naturally light up and continue to burn. Enemies cut by bladed weapons bleed. Upon death from massive damage enemies will even explode into chunks. If your sensibilities are not welcoming of such visceral results, options are available to tone it down or off. Regardless of visual results, the thunking and crackling sound effects remain. In fact the combat sound is delivered in a subtle, yet reinforcing way. When you miss with your scimitar, you hear the swoosh of your weapon cutting the air. When you hit with an axe, a satisfying chug as your blade buries itself in your opponent.
Once you finish with the single-player storyline, or if you lose interest, you can jump online or gather your friends over for a LAN party. You can compete in simple deathmatch sessions. These may be conducted either woman-against-woman or in mounted combat. The multiplayer in Drakan works, but the reliability leaves something to be desired. Frequently players may find themselves booted from a game, or systems may restart suddenly. These glitches seem to have been fixed with patches, but may discourage some from delving into some satisfying fantasy grudge matches.
In the end, the disparate parts of Drakan’s development come together nicely. It is a steep, if not impossible challenge for anyone to find a game blending 3rd-person action and impressive dragon-mounted combat. If it exists, and it preceded Drakan, you can call this game a knock-off. Until then, your only option for satisfying air and land fantasy combat on the PC is Drakan.