Game: Darkness Rises by Nexon
Genre: Action RPG
Platforms: Android, iOS 

The App Store is filled with Japanese RPG games - some with a good story, some with good graphics and some with good gameplay. However, you seldom find a game that does well in all the three areas. Darkness Rises is one such rare game. It is of such great quality that it is difficult to believe it is made for mobile.

The premise is simple but engaging. You are introduced to a far-away land of knights, magic and demons. Circumstances put you in the middle of a kingdom in conflict. You decide to help the King and his daughter while you try to figure out who is attacking and why. The story has strong moments filled with great dialogues, cut-scenes and twists.

One of the main attractions is the graphics. The quality of the 3D graphics wows you right from the start when you are asked to choose your character. Pick from among the fearless Knight, the strong Berserker, the talented Wizard and the crafty Assassin. Each of these characters have their own powers and playstyles. The coolest part is that you can customise these characters from hairstyles to body structure.

Playing the game is pretty straightforward. Like any RPG, there are levels to complete and each level has a number of enemies that you have to beat. One of the most fun things is that you can take control of strong enemies and use them to defeat others. You can use the basic attack or any of the special attacks. The more your character levels up, the more special attacks you unlock. Special attacks are much more powerful but whenever you use them, you have to wait a couple of seconds before you can attack again. This keeps the gameplay exciting as in the absence of special attacks you are more vulnerable to enemy attacks, especially in the Boss Battles.

As you level up, you can upgrade the skills as well as the equipment of your character. You can also use different costumes to upgrade the character. The main monetisation of the game revolves around speeding up this upgrading process.

There are multiple modes within the game. The most exciting is the story mode where you can decide the fate of the kingdom. There is also the adventure mode and dungeon mode where you can gather resources. The Co-Op mode lets you team up with other players to collect resources. You can also play in the PvP mode. There is something for everyone.

VERDICT: Darkness Rises is a game of huge scope and because of that it takes a lot of space on your mobile and eats away a lot of data. It is also difficult to understand for someone new to action RPGs. However, if you want to try a good-looking game with awesome graphics and controls and an engaging story, look no further. I'd rate it nine out of 10.