Is Daikatana worth $6.99 on steam?

My pc is too crappy to play modern games, so I was wondering if this game is worth 7 bucks on steam. does it ever go on sale?

Yeah. Once you get past the swamp level and terrible NPCs it can be an OK game.

I get enjoyment from just the art style and music.

I've heard some people suggest the game is a lot better if you leave your AI teammates at the start of the level, go and kill everything yourself, and then come back and get them, so they don't die like morons while you're trying to take care of monsters. I wouldn't know for sure, since I've also been hesitant to buy it.

EDIT: By the way, it's $5.99 on GOG.

It's a decent game, but the quality varies greatly depending on what part you are on, and it can be frustrating and dull. The first episode is cool once you get past the first level (ugh)... it has great moments in episode 2 and especially episode 3. The last episode feels a little flat and uninspired in comparison with all the cool architecture plus story you encountered previously. The ending is absolutely abysmal. It is buggy (the AI is awful, really)... the art style is acceptable but can be very shoddy in parts... it has an excellent soundtrack though. Voice acting isn't that great, and the sound effects range from decent to downright annoying. The weapon selection is mundane in the first and last episodes, but the middle ones are interesting.

It's just a matter of taste but generally speaking what you've heard from other people is true, there's just no running around it - Daikatana is subpar.

That money would be infinitely (read: infinitely) better spent on Anachronox, though.

LOL steam sale will put it lower. Or a humble sale. Don't even bother buying games, they will just get bundled.

It's on Steam? Since when?

Since whenever, but it's definitely there. (And a dollar more expensive than on GOG, for some reason.)

Megamur said:

Since whenever, but it's definitely there. (And a dollar more expensive than on GOG, for some reason.)

you pay for the DRM ;]

Indeed, I always buy games off GOG if the option is there. No DRM--not even having to sign into anything beyond the initial download to get the install file--makes you really feel like you're owning the game, instead of "licensing" it as game companies are so fond of doing these days.

Maybe it's just a personal preference, but IMHO $6.99 is $27.00 too much to pay for Daikatana.

I bought it brand new in the box for $2.99 from Amazon a few years ago. I always wanted to play it, even knowing how bad the reputation was, and I say it wasn't worth the 2.99. I think I got to level three or four, not very far in, but it still wasn't worth the money I spent on it for a laugh. And that's why I bought it, I thought it would be funny. But it wasn't, just a poorly designed game. And maybe it gets a bit better, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out. So if you really need to have it, GOG apparently has it cheaper, and I do like my Daikatana box and disc, they make a nice decoration. But if you're asking if it's worth playing, I'd say no. However, if you really like green, the first few levels might be up your alley.

i got the game bundled from a Square Enix sale on GOG some year ago. haven't bothered playing it yet. its reputation doesn't exactly inspire me to spend time on it. (for the record, i bought the bundle for other stuff like Anachronox and Deus Ex. removing Dai from the bundle made it cost MORE money)

Why bother buying it when these two dudes made it through.

Daikatana is a more or less adequate game. I'm not very fond of its idea of cramming 4 small shooters into one, and it's badly realized at times, but it works as an adventure.

I really disliked the first episode. The lighting looks like Christmas, some weapons are unnecessarily gimmicky (an automatic shotgun that won't stop firing until its clip is depleted? is that supposed to be fun?), and everything that won't hitscan-rape you on sight will annoy you in some other way. Which makes it feel like the hardest episode of the bunch, ironically.

I started to like the game somewhere in the middle of the second episode. Overall level design is actually pretty good, with pleasant visuals and nice progression. Secrets are competent. You will even get a nonlinear hub or two.

It's probably a blasphemy, but AI somewhat works too. Your sidekicks will follow you, perform some dangerous jumps, pick up weapons and items (sometimes on their own, sometimes when you ask them), and occasionally shoot you in the back. :) It's funny that they won't grab the most destructive weapons, even if you order them to. The one obvious reason is that these weapons are rare, some of them even unique. The other obvious reason is that your sidekicks would probably obliterate you and/or themselves with some of the more powerful toys.

But it's not as bad as it sounds, they mostly behave.

The problems start when their pathfinding goes bonkers. At least one time I had to load a savegame, because the situation was hopeless. A few more times it was enough to push the confused NPC in the right direction until it was back on the rails. Though it wasn't always easy. And this is the most glaring flaw of Daikatana.

CorSair said:

Why bother buying it when these two dudes made it through.

Never get tired of that LP, funnily enough.

Or one guy grudgingly playing through it for his Bad Game Theater series

I think people should play it. The graphics and audio are pretty nice esp for the time. A lot of the combat is kinda unbalanced which mess up flow but if you enjoy a challenge it can be done.

I'd recommend playing the campaign in multiplayer mode for the most fun bc the bots aren't there to trip you up.

And yeah get it from GoG, steam is great when it is doing what I want it to do, but I hate being made to use it and the ridiculous restrictions put on how I can enjoy what I buy.

I'd listen to the entire internet and not buy it. Get xcom Apocalyse instead, an under-appreciated gem of sci-fi weirdness which didn't destroy anyone's reputation.

Technician said:

Yeah. Once you get past the swamp level and terrible NPCs it can be an OK game.

I get enjoyment from just the art style and music.

No, it doesn't get any better as you progress. If anything it gets worse.

meh, it's not as bad as everyone says. Could have used another two years in development to iron out the kinks.

kristus said:

No, it doesn't get any better as you progress. If anything it gets worse.

The second and third episodes are indeed improvements.

Go get it if you want but there is project that's attempting to make it better whose name is OpenKatana i think.
Still if don't want to wait until it's released then go ahead and buy it although i suggest you buy it from GOG as it dosen't have that DRM which can be more expensive for you.

Also it's a dollar cheaper, so there's that.