App Army Assemble: Lionheart: Dark Moon - A worthwhile sequel?

Lionheart: Dark Moon is a sequel to the original strategy RPG Lionheart Tactics, which hit the App Store back in 2015.

This time around, rather than riffing on Final Fantasy Tactics, Lionheart: Dark Moon is a more traditional turn-based JRPG in which you collect monsters to bring into battle with you.

It's slick, gorgeous, and provides enough strategic depth to sink your teeth into over the weekend.

But don't take our word for it - we asked the App Army for their thoughts, and here's what they had to say.

Laura Egri

I have to say, these are some of the best graphics I've seen in a while. They're colourful, clean, and very detailed and I particularly love the character and pet designs.

It's a shame that the gameplay doesn't live up to them though. Really, it's just another turn based battler like Final Fantasy, Summoners War, Soul Hunters - the list can go on and on. If this is your first you'll definitely enjoy it, but if you're a veteran it just feels very derivative.

Lionheart: Dark Moon is a well designed game that was developed with care and attention, so it's worth trying if you're a fan of the genre. I recommend it for newcomers as well, as it's very friendly easy to learn.

Matt Renfer

Lionheart: Dark Moon has a fairly intuitive combat system, with enough depth to keep things interesting long term. Your character collects keys that allow them to summon various random monsters that can join your party and level the same way you do. This adds a collection element to the gameplay, increasing replay value and motivation - especially for completionists.

Each character and monster has an elemental type that affects the strength of attacks. Eventually pets are available that can be equipped to each character for combat related boosts.

It's not the best looking iOS game ever, but still very nice. The visuals match up nicely to basic attacks and specials alike. The music is decent, but kind of forgettable. It certainly doesn't detract from the game in any way, but so far has failed to add to it either.

Ed Davis

I've enjoyed my time with this game so far. It's nothing new, but graphically it’s fantastic. Battles don't take long so you can pick up the game for a quick 5 minute break.

The first few fights are simple, but there isn't really much to learn. The controls and general layout of the game is fairly intuitive and it's easy to find your way around.

Paul Francis

Lionheart: Dark Moon is an RPG boiled down to just the battles. The battle system includes an element wheel, so you may need to pick different characters as you play different levels.

Your characters have some skills to choose from so you aren't just clicking attack on every turn. Also, the enemies are pretty varied, which helps keep things fresh. The art, sound, animations, and user interface are all done really well with a high production value, and there’s even some story thrown in for good measure.

That being said, there are a lot of free to play aspects that slightly ruin the experience. In the few hours I played, I didn't hit a paywall though. I reckon you could probably play for a fair while without needing to pay.

However, the biggest issue I had was the energy bar. I could only able to play for about 30-40 minutes before I ran out of energy and had to stop, then it would take a few hours to get back to full energy. There is a quest system that you can use while you are away from the game, but I'd rather play than just wait for a quest to complete itself.

Overall, the game was fun, easy to play, and aesthetically pleasing. I just had to keep stopping because the energy bar ran out.

Steve Clarke

Cards on the table first, Lionheart: Dark Moon is not my kind of game at all. Having said that I appreciated its superb graphics and animation, intriguing story, and excellent voice acting.

Limiting the number of times you can play for free may be a deal breaker for some or a godsend for parents. For me it’s a no go, combined with the luck elements in unlocking heroes and the general feeling that this game will become a joyless grind-fest as time goes on.

I find it difficult to recommend, but then I did say this genre wasn’t for me. Lionheart hasn’t changed my opinion.

Jason Rosner

Lionheart: Dark Moon follows fantasy action RPGs like Soul Hunters, DragonSoul, and Dungeon Boss. But where it truly stands out, is in its excellent presentation. From its colourful, lush graphics, to its top notch character animation, everything here is extremely polished and done with great care.

There's a neat little story to keep you hooked, along with some rather excellent voice acting. However like those before, there is an energy system at play here. Though it's worth noting that it never seemed to get in the way of my enjoyment.

Chanandler

This one began well, until I ran out of energy. Yes, I could spend money and reduce the timers for a while but what's the point? I haven’t played long enough to figure out if this is a game I even want to stick at.

It's a shame as the combat and character development actually seem pretty good and the collecting of heroes Is a nice touch too.