Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey
London, 1888. With Whitechapel’s citizens living in the shadow of Jack the Ripper, Arthurian legends take to the streets in a thrilling quest to stop the killer before he strikes again. Take on the roles of immortal hero Sir Lancelot Du Lac, and cursed sorceress Morgana Le Fey, as you hunt London’s most prolific serial killer. Join forces with Whitechapel local, Mary Jane Kelly, to explore the capital’s underbelly, meeting a diverse cast of characters who fill the streets of the Metropolis with noise and colour. Explore the sights, sounds, and locations of the Ripper’s London, and immerse yourself in all that the Victorian era had to offer. KEY FEATURES: A thrilling tale set at the turn of a century, just as London was gripped by the Autumn of Terror. Three playable characters. See London through a different lens as they wrangle their own personal, and physical, demons. Explore historically accurate crime scenes, each based on and including true-to-life reports from the era.
Steam User 46
Wow what a great story/game.
The voice acting and the nice visuals in the trailer got me to buy Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey.
I am glad i did.
I LOVE this game, could not stop playing.
Great voiceacting and nice music.
Very engaging and sad story with good looking visuals.
The story is about Sir Lancelot Du Lac and Morgana Le Fey trying to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper.
The story starts slow but pick up the pace further in. I really felt I got to know and like the characters in the game and I hope the devs. will make a sequel with them.
The choices you make in game has consequences like in real life, since the game saves for you, I like that, some people might not.
To get all the achievements you will need to play the game multiple time, this adds replay value.
Recommend for people who like point & click and story rich games.
Steam User 67
Review by The Adventure Library - all about point and click adventures
Is this game a masterpiece? It's close... but maybe a bit too indie.
It's a classic single-player point n' click mystery adventure with very beautiful graphics (including cut-sequences & close-ups), fantastic voice talent, and far above the average writing in old english (not difficult to understand, but I am glad it comes with subtitles).
Interesting setting - the adventure mixes stories from King Arthur with Jack the Ripper... demons in the 19th century. In the rather rich and layered story you play as Du Lac or Fey, you can switch between them anytime. Fey was transformed to a dog by Merlin and can now talk with all animals (which is quite funny). Of course the dialogue between this strange pair is also very interesting!
The game plays like a classic point n click adventure, but one speciality I noticed is that you cannot move the cursor all over the scenery to find all hotspots. You actually have to stand beside the hotspot to see it. More realistic, but a bit arduous. The game also includes some minigames which require (limited) skill.
Du Lac & Fey came out with serious bugs, but the team seems to be hard at work to fix them. Having played with version 1.2, I encountered no bugs so far. 3440x1440 is not supported :-(.
If you like the Sherlock Holmes adventures - take a look at this game, you will not regret it!
Steam User 38
I now arrived at about the middle of the game and I will certainly recommend it, but...
It is a game which enchants you by its really interesting and unusual setting and a great art style. I can think of no other game (point and click adventure - like ) where you play such a stylish hero or rather pair of heroes. The dynamics between the human character and his animal compagnion is original and fun. The dog Fey talks to animals and uses her nose while du Lac interacts with humans and you can change between them almost any time, this is cool. Although -at least until now- this dynmaics is not living up to its potential.
And this is a general problem: The game has several flaws in the controls and in the mechanics, so you really need to allow yourself being enchanted by its beaty and original story instead of focussing on annoying errors and linearity of gameplay to enjoy it. Unfortunately the game until now contains errors which seem to happen rather randomly (like interaction possibilities not being available) and which disappear when you simply quit and click continue in the main menu. Hopefully a patch can deal with this sort of problems! Is it a point and click? Not a classical one, definitely not, but it nevertheless is strongly story driven and the story is well narrated. There is no inventory and puzzles are not one of the game´s strengths. One needs to like the setting; in my case I fully do. The backrounds are beautifully drawn, the 3D characters are detailed and beautiful and although there is a combination of 2D and 3D characters on the streets, the atmosphere is lively with sense for details. I would recommend it to adventure players who like phantastic settings with unusual dynamics and characters which can surprise and which are interesting to observe. Players should bring with them a bit of patience!
Add: I now finished the game and I have to say it is a masterpiece, with serious technical flaws but one of the most beautiful point and click adventures I know. Grown-up story, genuine characters, great art. I had not expected it to become this good.
Steam User 18
An underrated game. Now the studio obviously had lofty ideals beyond their capability and budget, but the heart and the passion that went into this game is clear. There are a myriad of design and technical mistakes. The word 'janky' is being charitable - scenes clunk and churn into one another, the characters' pathfinding is atrocious, they have turning circles larger than most buses, and the game crashed right at the very end so I had to watch the ending on youtube.
But the characters are so wonderously rounded and realistically protrayed that I was far more bought in to the tale than a host of triple A games. The world is beautifully realised and authentic, even if there is really only a half dozen main scenes. And the game knows how to do pacing. It catches you with an intriguing premise right out of the gate, then lets the characters bloom as it slowburns its way through the first few acts, and then ramps and ramps throughout that later half and hits you with a well-earned twist. It's storywriting at its best. And though the game is fairly linear and you don't really have much more agency than choosing some dialogue and a few actions that ultimately don't impact the ending, it's a 7 hour yarn with many twists and turns which had me hooked right to the end and I implore everyone to look past the amateurish technical delivery to the excellent tale held within.
Steam User 20
Initially, I hesitated to purchase this game due to price and the interface issues that were first reported in the player reviews. I took advantage of the Steam summer sale and was hopeful, given Salix Games' updates to improve the player experience.
I'm glad that I played and would recommend Dance of Death with a couple of caveats. First, the game is drop-dead gorgeous. The character animations and dialogues are exceptional. And, I remain enchanted with Fey... a dog after my own heart who comes to life in an amazing way. The sound track and voice overs are a delight to listen to and I did not mind waiting for conversations to finish (instead of clicking through which is my usual style).
The story is well written, bringing threads of Jack the Ripper and the King Arthur legend together in an interesting way that keeps you guessing. It is a bit open ended which makes me wonder if we will see more of Du Lac & Fey somewhere in the future.
The interface is still a bit clunky, with exit points appearing only when the character approaches them. So, you will do some circling around each screen in search of the exit icon. This adds some extra clicking to simple navigation. Likewise, the conversation icons appear when you approach characters so you must circle around all characters in a screen to discover who is willing to talk with you. This is not a deal-breaker but becomes an bit of an irritant during game play.
There are a handful of "action" scenes that require a bit of hand-eye coordination. Once I figured out how the interface worked (clicking while "pendulum" is over a certain color), I was able to proceed without frustration.
The story is very guided which means that you are following a specific thread with "mini-objectives" for each action needed. Whether or not this will feel right depends on the type of gamer you are. I felt as if my hand was held throughout the entire story and I did not need to do any real thinking. The good news is that I did not have to wander aimlessly trying to figure out what to do next!
The save system worked well and I did not experience any loss of progress or need to replay segments.
Overall, I enjoyed this game and would recommend it to those who thrive on characters and story. In truth, I found the company of Fey so delightful that I was willing to overlook the interface inconveniences and being nudged down a linear path.
Steam User 25
More reviews on our Curator Page
Developed in cooperation between Salix Games and Tea Clipper Games, Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey is a crime mystery Point & Click game with great emphasis on storyline and narrative. The background? A unique mix between fantasy and horror, right under Jack the Ripper’s wave of murders in 1888.
Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey is not just a game, and I personally see it as real proof of love and dedication for art, that kept going, even when things seemed unprosperous. KickStarter campaign was canceled, and only half the goal was reached, putting the project in distress. Eventually, the developers ran out of time and money, as they so humbly stated to the community in a letter. It hurts, for me, in particular, since the story is Oscar-worthy, to say the least. Unfortunately, visuals and gameplay mechanics suffer, yet, the game delivers an outstanding experience.
The story focus on Lancelot Du Lac and Morgana Le Fey, and yes, both characters from the Arthurian works. Thousands of years have passed since their adventures in Camelot, and Du Lac is still very much the altruist and respectable Knight. As for Morgana Le Fey, she was cursed by Merlin, something she tries to remedy at all costs. With such vision in mind, they travel to London, believing to be the wizard’s location.
After arriving, news of a bizarre murder takes everyone by surprise, and doesn’t take long for the second one to happen. Without any plans, Du Lac and Fey become immediately involved, in a series of visceral murders that will conduct them to meet new characters, many whom, come from a different place in time.
Directed by Jessica Saunders, Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey is a work of art when it comes to its writing, and it’s no surprise. Rebecca Haigh is a young and promising writer in ascension, that perfectly nailed the dialogue’s setting and the era. The narrative director, Philip Huxley (Batman: Arkham Knight & Killzone: Shadow Fall) make the world come to life with an astonishing story development.
The writing and dialogues are accurate, with that very specific English, one you only hear in the movies. Class, debauchery and poverty, it all comes together, in a gruesome equation. Life is far from easy, and players can realize that and more. The characters deal with strong issues such as prostitution, discrimination, health issues and even hunger. There’s clearly a lot of thought behind the script, and in a way, the characters come to life, through their words that are spoken with the most sincere emotions.
Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey offers choices to the narrative, that may please or leave characters sad, sometimes furious even. Yet, the result is always the same. There are no multiple endings and the quests remain the same. Choices may change characters' reactions, but pretty much lead to the same result.
In the perfect world, we would have the most amazing gameplay for this sweet game, but we don’t. It’s still very much playable, and I haven’t encountered any bug, crash or anything that stop me from enjoying this adventure. Players move the protagonist across different areas to reach a specific location. The most interesting feature is the ability to switch characters and gather different clues. Le Fey for instances, can reach unique areas and communicate with animals. A couple of mini-games are also included, such as a potion creating mechanic that was significantly improved in the latest update, and a fight mechanic that is simple but pretty cool.
It’s a classic, but slow paced Point & Click game, that may be slightly too slow for the likes of you. Characters feel heavy to move, and although the idea is to simulate reality, such as walking, unfortunately the controls are not fluid. It’s possible to fasten up the pace by double clicking with the mouse, and thankfully, half way through the end, the game becomes aware of it, and fast-travel players to the next scene.
Originally, and based on some footage through the KickStarter page, we can see there were bigger plans for the game, with a much wider campaign and location setting. Unfortunately costs had to be reduced, but we still have amazing interaction with objects, despising the short amount. Players have a journal and diary, which adds further consistent to the world.
The art direction plays an important role, one depicting the times lived in the 19th century, with poverty and difficulties hunting at every corner. The visuals are split into two categories, the 3D and 2D. The main characters are rendered entirely in 3D, as well as important locations and interiors. Secondary characters and backgrounds are 2D, with a very beautiful hand drawn style that totally fits in its universe.
Characters expressions look well done, kind of basic, but very accepted. One can see they were manually done, without using any motion-capture equipment. Lip sync is accurate which is really good, and flow perfectly with the voices. Their design is not pretentious and aim at a specific style, that ends up being quite charming. Of course, this is not a Triple-A, but they really tried their best.
With superb voice-acting, music also plays a delicate matter in the game. Violins, and cellos echoes through the grey skies and flutes unveil the player’s steps on the dark corners of London. Music is subliminal but very beautiful, with dedicated musicians and orchestrated events. The OST is available for free, which is remarkably now a days.
A thrilling tale of fantasy that entwines real-life events, in an atmospheric view over the Thames, a river that may wash tears, but does not forget the lives of the women's murder during that particular era. Even with all the struggles, Dance of Death is one of my favorite games of 2019, and one I’ll cherish endlessly.
A game dedicated to Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. May no other generation witness such gruesome reality.
Steam User 8
The good:
- Story (though sad)
- Voiced Dialogues
- Choice Impacts
- Visuals
The bad:
- Quirky inputs. Characters quite often are going not where you expect them to
- Lack of saves (It would benefit this game, maybe)
- Laggy animations of 3D models sometimes
- UI is somewhat not very intuitive and lacks impact
Overall:
I liked the game and story. A well mix between 3d and 2d characters makes a fresh breath into the game.
Unusual development of folklore story is a nice addition. In spite the game lacks some polish in certain areas it is still a nice view on adventure genre. Begs for a second chapter.