[PREVIEW] Diviner – Dark Fantasy RPG Worth Digging Into

If you enjoy independent indie game coverage, consider supporting Indie-Games.eu on Patreon. It helps keep the site independent.

In today’s crowded game market, it’s really hard to discover new games, and many great indie titles sadly get lost along the way. That’s why I was genuinely happy when I stumbled upon Diviner. It’s a dark fantasy RPG that mixes turn-based tactical combat with exploration, dungeon crawling and deep gear and build customization.

What really caught me off guard is how unique it feels, one moment you’re exploring the world in an isometric view, and the next you’re thrown into close-up, first-person, retro-style turn-based battles where every choice matters and enemies are right in your face. The game also nails its atmosphere, with a strong fantasy setting, great character models, and a huge amount of content to dig into.

All of this comes together in a grim world where you play as a mysterious character known as a Tethered, a being bound to powerful weapons and ancient magic. Your main goal is unsettling right from the start: collecting scattered organs to rebuild the body of a dead lord. Instead of explaining everything directly, the game lets you learn about its world through exploration and mood, using the environment itself to tell the story, which makes the experience feel even more dark and immersive.

Unique inventory system with deep combat

One of the most surprising features is the Resident Evil-esque inventory system, which grants an immense amount of freedom. You aren’t locked into a single gear set, instead, you carry multiple weapons that can be swapped mid-combat to adapt to any threat. This flexibility is the core of the game’s depth, allowing you to cycle through specific elemental effects like poison, fire, or lifesteal on the fly.

The customization goes far deeper than simple swaps. You can physically dismantle and reconstruct your gear by connecting different handles and gems to alter a weapon’s base behavior. Because weapons come with unique passives and modifiers, managing these components effectively is essential.

To keep your build viable, the game encourages a constant cycle of scavenge and craft:

• Salvage: Collect parts from defeated enemies to upgrade your core components.
• Refine: Use salvaged materials to craft stronger builds that align with your specific playstyle.
• Synergy: Connect elemental affinities with specific handles to maximize your custom skill set.

Combat is very easy to understand at first. As soon as enemies spot you, they rush in and the game smoothly switches from the isometric top-down view to a first-person battle. From there, you choose between four actions, although not all of them are available right away. You also need to manage your action points, since every move costs a certain amount. As you keep playing, you slowly build up your skills, starting with basic attacks, then adding effects like mark or wound, and later unlocking much stronger abilities with bigger impact. It’s a simple system overall, but it does take a bit of time to fully understand as you play more.

Diviner keeps evolving the more you play

Exploration is thankfully more than just walking around. You can crouch to reach places you normally wouldn’t, climb ladders to get to higher areas and search for hidden chests and secrets scattered throughout the world. The game clearly wants you to explore and it often rewards you for doing so. That said, I really wish there was a proper stealth system or at least a way to gain an advantage before combat starts. While you can technically hide, it doesn’t feel very useful and most encounters boil down to enemies seeing you and attacking right away, which can get a bit boring.

Visually, Diviner has a very unique style. The characters you talk to are detailed, and there’s a surprising variety of enemies. However, the game really needs more polish when it comes to animations. Right now, they feel very basic, with simple slashes and stiff movement.

The grainy, slightly pixelated look gives the game a strong identity, though it might not work for everyone, it feels a bit like an old VHS filter without fully committing to it. One detail I really liked is how you can inspect cracks in the ground to find hidden items. You use your hands or tools to dig through the dirt, but if you fail, you lose your chance, since your actions are limited.

Finally, there’s also a merchant where you can spend the gold you collect while exploring. The world feels hand-crafted, with clear paths forward and some areas blocked off. There aren’t many puzzles, and the game is mostly linear and straightforward. Still, Diviner stands out as a bold indie RPG that mixes turn-based combat with a dark, immersive world and deep gear systems.