Take one step into Darkstone and you find your way barely illuminated. You can look around, but there is nothing to see.
Though you may not be out to confront the evil one himself, your inventory, class directions, props, and NPC (non-player character) interactions are in line with the template Blizzard put down. The NPCs were flat, quest-providing people with modest deliveries. Opponents were creatures and people with health bars above their heads, just like games of this ilk.
I have a soft spot for carving my way through legions of enemies in the hopes of gaining levels in role-playing games. Unfortunately, after a while of doing that in Darkstone, I realized I could be doing that elsewhere with greater satisfaction.
The ability to pan around your avatar to see creatures buzzing about was a pleasant feat, but the character and creature details were disappointing. Models look like nothing more than a jagged collection of polygons. Other games from two years ago had better mapping and detail. When compared to the PlayStation version, the PC version is the better offering, despite clear differences in price.