I don't know what price makes Daggerdale worth a look (Metacritic score of 49, for what that's worth) but Steam has a 50% off sale if you are interested (42 hours to go as I type).

Joystiq reports Daggerdale developer Bedlam Games has been "effectively shut down":

Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale developer Bedlam Games is, for all intents and purposes, shut down, an anonymous source close to the developer tells Joystiq. We were first alerted to the situation by a tweet from the (also anonymous) "veracious_shit," which said that Bedlam has "laid off most of its staff and effectively shuttered last month." Last year, veracious_shit earned his/her reputation in early 2010 with tweets about troubles at LA Noire developer Team Bondi.

Following these Bedlam tweets, we spoke to a source, who told us that around 90 percent of Bedlam employees are officially on "temporary layoffs," and have received no severance pay. Many of the staffers, we were told, have already found other jobs.

It's been a few weeks since we had a Daggerdale review but StrategyInformer comes along to remedy that. Their score is a very specific 2.3/10 and here's a snip:

These are just the tip of a large, ugly iceberg. Suffice it to say we could spend a long time here talking about the substandard visuals, the ridiculous voiceovers that make that language the Sims speaks sound intelligible and the tediously repetitive combat, but we won't. You don't really need to know more than that, it's just that awful.

“There must be some good bits,” I hear you perhaps crying. Well, the cut-scenes are the best part of the game, which speaks volumes. They're done reasonably well, have actual spoken language telling you what's going on and why you need to defeat the evil bloke.

Struggling to think of anything else though. The throwing daggers my halfling wizard used were fun, to an extent, as was his warp move. Although that didn't work well on any kind of a slope, sadly. Oh, and there was a bit where a dwarf was running along a corridor and instead of climbing the step in front of him, he just ran through it, his feet merging with the floor. That was quite funny.

Additional reviews have been published for this game. I'll quote from one of them and list the rest. First we have Bit-Tech with a score of 20%.   A snip:

It’s tough to know where to begin with Daggerdale, not because there are some many varied and complex systems buried within it, but precisely because there aren’t. It’s so basic and bound by the conventions of its genre that it almost demands being summed up in two very simple words; Diablo clone.No, actually it should be three words; boring Diablo clone.

Then we have  Middle East Gamers 6/10

Finally, we have Game Rabies, no score, but negative tone.

Arti Gupta from Consumer Electronics talked to Bedlam Games Tim Ernst about Daggerdale. Here's an excerpt:

A.G.: What sets Daggerdale apart from other RPGs out there?

T.E.: Well, we needed to start with what didn’t set us apart. We didn’t want to remove any of the customization. We didn’t want to remove all the loot. We didn’t want to remove anything that was critical to RPG gamers. We really wanted to focus on the brawling mechanics -- the combos, the powers, the type of things that make it feel really good in your hand. We tried to focus on that moment-to-moment gameplay.

Reviews for this game has been published. I'll quote one of them and list the others.

First we have PC Gamer - 35/100

It’s got glitches. Glitches everywhere. Enemies regularly get stuck in the ground, armor graphics fail to load, and NPCs have a habit of disappearing without ever having the decency of offering to take me out of this hell with them. Which all brings us back to Daggerdale’s cowardly main character. He runs in terror from a fight with a giant rock monster, and that’s exactly what you should do if confronted by this game.

And then the others:

Gamers Daily News - 5.5/10

Game Forward - 2/5

Next Gen News - scoreless

Daggerdale has been released on PC through various digital vendors, such as Gamersgate, Impulse and Steam for $14.99. The press release:

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE NOW AVAILABLE

D&D Title Hacks and Slashes its way to Windows PC Download

Los Angeles, CA — June 24, 2011 — The original standard for fantasy roleplaying is taking another step in its storied pop culture history as the Dalelands of the Forgotten Realms is brought to life for gamers and fantasy enthusiasts across the world. Atari, one of the worlds’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment and Bedlam Games announced today the release of the highly anticipated Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale Windows PC Download.

Media have rallied around Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale’s console based hack and slash qualities in the RPG genre:

    “Daggerdale is a hack and slash loot fest…” – G4
    “At its heart, Daggerdale is all about dungeon crawling, baddie-bashing, and loot-scoring – and I don't mean that in a derogatory way...” – RPGFan
    “Upon the lofty pedestal, you discover an ancient artifact known as the controller…” – GamesRevolution
    “…the way Dungeons & Dragons was always meant to be played.” - GamePro

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, a hack and slash action role playing game set in the deep mythology of the Forgotten Realms, is the first Dungeons & Dragons video game for connected consoles. Players are summoned by a mysterious mage and given the duty of defending their homeland as Rezlus, an evil Zhentarim Cleric looks to bring the power of the Black Lord Bane to Daggerdale. Restore order to the Dalelands by unlocking the secrets of the Mines of Tethyamar, defeating the evil within the treacherous Tower of the Void, leading to the final confrontation with Rezlus himself.

Players can take on the role of the melee expert Human Fighter, the quick and nimble Elven Rogue, the master of the arcane arts Halfling Wizard, and the powerful divine Dwarven Cleric. Gamers use intuitive pick-up-and-play combat combined with a wide assortment of weapons, feats and powers to defeat a wide range of deadly enemies. Players can level their character, unlocking three tiers of powers, and an extensive list of feats to create a truly unique character. As the player levels, they can add additional attribute points to their ability scores, further enhancing the performance of the character. The action-packed RPG gameplay allows for solo and co-op play for up to four players.

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale carries a suggested Windows PC Download price of $14.99.

Huh. It seems Daggerdale topped last week's XBLA charts, according to Microsoft's Major Nelson.

A site called GameDot has a review of Daggerdale and they aren't impressed at all, saying the game cannot "hold a torch to what the heritage deserves":

Core combat is fun and real time strategy is applied by the game engine. Damage and saving throws are calculated behind the scenes, so at its heart, and becoming more and more evident the longer you spend at Daggerdale, the game is really one of just hack and slash, especially if you are soloing as a Human Warrior. Tactical play comes into its own online if the party is made up of complimenting classes.

Other hindrances to the experience is a sense of bewilderment when completing objectives, as the next way point will be so far away and offscreen on the map (which is static) that it can be confusing where to go. Enemies will often refuse to come near you until you trip the invisible line (even though they may show excitement when spotting you). The only voice acting is in the sporadic cut scenes, otherwise it’s text based narration accompanied by, literally, grunting from the NPC”s.

From Atari:

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE
NOW AVAILABLE

D&D Title Hacks and Slashes its way to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360
 and Windows PC Retail

Los Angeles, CA — May 25, 2011 — The original standard for fantasy roleplaying is taking another step in its storied pop culture history as the Dalelands of the Forgotten Realms is brought to life for gamers and fantasy enthusiasts across the world. Atari, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment and Bedlam Games announced today the release of the highly anticipated Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

Media have rallied around Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale’s console based hack and slash qualities in the RPG genre:

•       “Daggerdale is a hack and slash loot fest…” – G4

•       “At its heart, Daggerdale is all about dungeon crawling, baddie-bashing, and loot-scoring – and I don't mean that in a derogatory way...” – RPGFan

•       “Upon the lofty pedestal, you discover an ancient artifact known as the controller…” – GamesRevolution

•       “…the way Dungeons & Dragons was always meant to be played.” - GamePro

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, a hack and slash action role playing game set in the deep mythology of the Forgotten Realms, is the first Dungeons & Dragons video game for connected consoles.  Players are summoned by a mysterious mage and given the duty of defending their homeland as Rezlus, an evil Zhentarim Cleric looks to bring the power of the Black Lord Bane to Daggerdale. Restore order to the Dalelands by unlocking the secrets of the Mines of Tethyamar, defeating the evil within the treacherous Tower of the Void, leading to the final confrontation with Rezlus himself.

Players can take on the role of the melee expert Human Fighter, the quick and nimble Elven Rogue, the master of the arcane arts Halfling Wizard, and the powerful divine Dwarven Cleric.  Gamers use intuitive pick-up-and-play combat combined with a wide assortment of weapons, feats and powers to defeat a wide range of deadly enemies. Players can level their character, unlocking three tiers of powers, and an extensive list of feats to create a truly unique character.  As the player levels, they can add additional attribute points to their ability scores, further enhancing the performance of the character. The action-packed RPG gameplay allows for solo and co-op play for up to four players.

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale carries a suggested Windows PC retail price of $14.99 and is available on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Link to Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-6ipE8W3G0

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale has gone Gold and will be available from the 25th on PC and X360 (31st for PS3):

Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale is set to invade...

Fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale has gone gold. Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale is set to invade Xbox Live® Arcade and retail stores for PC May 25, 2011. PSN is set for a release date of May, 31st, 2011.

Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale centers on the desperate struggle to defeat the evil Rezlus and his Zhentarim in their attempt to invade and conquer the Dalelands. Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale is an engaging multi-player experience that introduces a riveting narrative and treacherous new characters. Players are charged with the task of restoring order to Nentir Vale by unlocking the secrets of the Mines of Tethyamar, defeating the evil within the treacherous Tower of the Void, leading to the final confrontation with Rezlus himself.

Action-packed RPG gameplay allows for solo and co-op play for up to four players. Gamers use intuitive pick-up-and-play combat combined with a wide assortment of weapons, feats and powers to defeat a wide range of deadly enemies. Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale boasts an array of stunning levels and exploration opportunities set in the richly detailed environments.        

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a "Weapons and Abilities" trailer for Daggerdale, which launches next week, by the way.

A new Daggerdale trailer has been released, introducing the story and showing a tiny glimpse of gameplay. Atari sent us the video but I've linked to Blue's Youtube channel.

Atari let us know they've released a new D&D: Daggerdale trailer for the Fighter class. I'm going to link via Blue's Youtube channel and here's the blurb Atari sent over:

I wanted to share with you the second trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale: the first Dungeons & Dragons digital download game that brings episodic, “module” based adventure to console owners. 

This trailer highlights the fighter and some of the great hack and slash” gameplay offered in Daggerdale. 

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale offers engaging “hack and slash” gameplay, bringing an accessible version of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition to life. Action-packed RPG gameplay allows for solo and co-op play for up to four players.  Gamers use intuitive pick-up-and-play combat combined with a wide assortment of weapons, feats and powers to defeat a wide range of deadly enemies.  Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale boasts an array of stunning levels and exploration opportunities set in the richly detailed environments.