The Dink Network

Dink is looking forward to a vacation, when he gets word from the king that he must come to the king's castle immediately. The good news is that the king will be sending Dink to a tropical paradise, named Periculo Island, where the "little people" live in an almost magical wonderland of joy. All that King Daniel needs Dink to do is check up on is why the fruit shipments from that island have stopped and while he is there he can enjoy the sun, the sand and the local culture. The bad news is that it may have something to do with the spy that is secretly communicating with someone from King Daniel's court.

I have still yet to play so many DMODs released on The Dink Network. I was mostly active up until around 2007 and played most of the DMODs released by then, but this is one of the first modern DMODs I played and I love it.

I think it's a bit different from most DMODs. The first part of the story is focused on exploration and feels like an adventure game. It reminds me of games like King's Quest - there are certain items you must find and things you must do, and making the wrong step can lead to your untimely death! Not finding the right things you need can either make your life harder later on, or completely prevent you from finishing the DMOD.

When the combat starts it can vary from challenging to easy depending if you unlocked a mighty spell along the way. There is also a segment where you have to wade through a blizzard, and the nasty weather can chip away at your health. That and the bad visibility may make combat more difficult, but you can also recover health by warming yourself with fire...

I won't go into details about the story, but I think it is well written. Perhaps it's a bit too verbose at times, there are plenty of cutscenes and dialogue - I suppose it depends if this is your kind of thing or not. Some of the cutscenes have some really cool graphics, stuff I wouldn't have expected to see in a DMOD!

The map is more beautiful than what I'm used to from olden times! I especially like all the cool trees used here. The oversized clams and other debris seem weird and janky at first, but I find they add to the island's sense of mystery..

I never really know what to say about music in general. The thing that stood out to me the most, is a certain song during a certain sequence near the very end, which I shall not spoil You'll know it when you see it. I also really liked the use of various sound effects throughout the DMOD. I like that and I wish more DMODs did it, it adds to the atmosphere! But hey, maybe they have done that already and I just need to play them all to find out?

Speaking of atmosphere and sound, there's this part where you're in a dark cave with a lantern, and you find a pick which you can use to get some mineral. Most DMODs would just have you press space to interact with the thing, get the other thing, and call it a day (I really have a way with words, I know). But here you have to equip the pick, interact with the minerals, then Dink stands there for a bit picking at the thing while a mining sound plays. Only after Dink is done mining do you get the item. I appreciate the little details like these, and they really stuck with me!

Overall, I think it's a very crafted DMOD. It's quite different from what I was used to playing and it left a really good impression on me!