Conquest Dark – TrueScore Gaming Review
🔥 Verdict: ✅ Recommended
📅 Review Date: May 11th, 2025
🕒 Playtime Before Review: 20+ hours
🎮 Platform: PC (Steam – Early Access)
💰 Price: $9.99 (Standard Early Access)

⚔️ Gameplay Mechanics
Conquest: Dark is a top-tier entry in the auto-battler survivor roguelite genre. You control a single character and fight through endlessly escalating waves of enemies, dodging, upgrading, and outlasting them until either death or victory. But what sets this one apart isn’t just the combat—it’s the progression depth.
At its core, the gameplay is familiar: move, survive, collect XP orbs, pick randomized abilities, and repeat. But where many games in the genre stop there, Conquest: Dark layers in real build complexity and long-term player investment. Each run lets you test out Power Abilities, Passive Abilities, and Movement Abilities—each of which can be upgraded and permanently improved through a system called the Stygian Archive.
The action feels tight, impactful, and fast-paced. Even with hordes of enemies on-screen, performance stays strong, and the visual feedback is crisp. If you’re on a good run, you’re in the zone—upgrading weapons mid-match, triggering combo abilities, and pushing your character’s limits.
🔄 Progression & Replayability
This is where Conquest: Dark shines.
- 3 Races
- 9 Origins
- 5 Base Classes
- 28 Class Masteries
- 20 Weapon Sets
All of these are unlocked by progressing through different zones, defeating bosses, and experimenting with class synergies. The RNG-based loadouts mean no two runs are ever the same, and the mastery tree structure rewards exploration just as much as performance.
The Stygian Archive is the backbone of progression. It allows you to upgrade abilities and weapon sets account-wide, using in-game currency earned through gameplay. The Rune and Artifact systems add even more depth, with random in-run upgrade opportunities that keep every match dynamic. You can even upgrade Runes permanently for added synergy.
There’s also a Class Faction system where using a class gradually boosts your faction, providing permanent buffs across all characters. Then there’s are Altars, which further boost overall stats globally. And if you’re ready for more challenge and better loot, Obelisks let you raise zone difficulty in exchange for significantly more currency.
Bottom line: this is one of the most complete, satisfying, and layered progression systems in the genre.
🎉 Fun Factor
It’s fun. A lot of fun.
Each session pulled me in for hours. Runs can last 20 minutes or longer if you’re doing well, but there’s always a reward waiting—even on a failed run. Between the character variety, randomness of upgrades, and steady drip-feed of permanent progression, boredom is never an issue.
The difficulty scales well. It never felt unfair or punishing—just engaging. The game respects your time, rewards experimentation, and rarely feels repetitive thanks to its wide spread of classes and mechanics.
📖 Story & Narrative
There’s no formal narrative here, and that’s perfectly fine. The dark fantasy setting, visual design, and enemy types carry enough tone to make the world feel grim and brutal. Lore exists in fragments through class origins and environmental design, but this is a gameplay-first experience.
🎨 Graphics & Art Style
The visuals are sharp, thematic, and easy to read in the heat of battle. While you’ll spend most of your time focused on dodging mobs, it’s hard not to admire the creepy gothic vibe.
Animations are smooth, spell effects are vivid, and characters have clear silhouettes. The UI is readable and generally responsive, though some deeper systems (like Rune or Faction upgrades) could benefit from clearer in-game explanations.
⚙️ Technical Performance
Runs great. Even under heavy wave pressure, the game maintained stable performance throughout my sessions. I didn’t experience crashes or frame drops. Load times were quick, and menus responded well.
The only minor gripe is occasional clunkiness when viewing or comparing upgrade trees and stat boosts—likely to improve over time in Early Access.
🎵 Audio & Sound Design
The music leans dark and ambient, setting the mood without overpowering gameplay. Sound effects are sharp and impactful—projectiles, spell hits, and enemy death bursts are satisfying to hear.
There’s no voice acting, but it’s not missed. The atmosphere is handled effectively through the score and SFX.
💰 Monetization & Consumer Friendliness
No microtransactions. No cash grabs. Everything is earned in-game through actual playtime. Even better: the grind feels purposeful, not padded.
For the price, this is one of the most fair and robust packages in the genre. If additional content is added later as DLC or expansions, the current foundation sets a strong standard for fair monetization.
🔄 Comparison & Final Verdict
Think Soulstone Survivors with more build depth. Or Yet Another Zombie Survivors, but with stronger long-term reward systems. Fans of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor or Jotunnslayer will feel right at home—but likely more satisfied by the permanent progression.
With an already impressive roster of options and a steady content loop, Conquest: Dark stands out as one of the most promising auto-battler survivor games in early access. It doesn’t just copy the genre—it builds on it.
🏆 Final Verdict:
✅ Recommended
(Great core gameplay, excellent progression, and a strong launch for fans of the genre.)
✅ Pro/Con Summary
Pros:
- Deep progression system with tons of unlocks
- Snappy, satisfying combat with strong pacing
- No predatory monetization—everything earned in-game
- Strong replayability through races, classes, weapons, and upgrades
Cons:
- Some UI/tooltips could use more clarity
- No traditional campaign or lore depth (for those seeking it)
- Mid/late-game content will need to keep evolving to stay fresh long-term
📝 Raw Thoughts
Conquest: Dark isn’t just another copycat in the wave survival genre—it’s one of the most well-rounded and rewarding I’ve played. With clean gameplay, smart progression, and a clear respect for player time and skill, it’s already better than most of its competition in Early Access.
This is one of those games you install to kill 20 minutes and end up playing all weekend.
If you’re curious and patient, keep it on your radar. But if you’re paying now? Know what you’re getting: a promising but not yet finished experience. But for $9.99? You can’t beat it.
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