Dark Summoner
Dark Summoner is a social, card-collecting mobile RPG with light MMO elements, set in the gloomy fantasy realm of Triaterra. You play as a Summoner who builds a roster of monsters and assembles them into teams, then relies on smart lineup choices, type synergies, and steady upgrades to progress. With hundreds of creatures to acquire and improve through sacrifice, enhancement, and evolution, the long-term hook is less about twitch combat and more about collecting, optimizing, and keeping up with events.
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Publisher: ATeam Playerbase: Medium Type: Mobile RPG Release Date: February 1, 2012 Pros: +Striking monster art and presentation. +A huge roster that encourages collecting and team-building. Cons: -Noticeable pay-to-win pressure in competitive play. -Menus can feel busy and awkward. -Core loop can become repetitive over time. |
Dark Summoner Overview
Dark Summoner is a card-based monster collector for iOS and Android that blends bite-sized mobile progression with social features and competitive ladders. Instead of asking for constant manual input, it leans on preparation: building a party from your monster pool, selecting a leader, and arranging a formation that triggers useful bonuses when you combine compatible types. That emphasis on composition is where most of the strategy lives, especially once you begin juggling multiple viable lineups for different encounters.
If you have played popular mobile collectors like Puzzle & Dragons, the broad structure will feel familiar. You acquire monsters through play, then feed weaker pulls into stronger ones to raise levels, and eventually evolve select units into new forms. Progression is designed to be quick to manage in short sessions, with a Mission system that lets you advance simply by selecting a task and tapping “Go to”, then immediately receiving experience and rewards. That convenience also shapes the pacing: regular content is mostly about planning and upgrading, while battles tend to be reserved for boss encounters or the PvP Arena.
Combat itself is largely automated, which makes Dark Summoner easy to check in on throughout the day but also means the moment-to-moment action is not the main attraction. Players who enjoy tinkering with rosters, chasing drops, and refining a team to squeeze out better results will likely get more out of it than those looking for hands-on battles.
Dark Summoner Key Features:
- Over 500 Monsters to Collect – Push through Missions and Raid Battles to expand your roster, strengthen your party, and compete for better Arena placement.
- Raid Bosses – Work alongside friends to take down powerful raid enemies and earn a chance to recruit them.
- High-Quality Artwork – Monsters across the power curve are illustrated with detailed, characterful art from well-known Japanese artists.
- Join a Clan – Team up with other players to coordinate raids, share advice, and participate in Clan League content such as creating Sentinels by combining monsters.
- Fight in the Arena – Challenge other players to see how your formation holds up, with worthwhile rewards for consistent wins.
Dark Summoner Screenshots
Dark Summoner Featured Video
Dark Summoner Review
Dark Summoner is built around a simple promise: keep collecting monsters, keep improving them, and let your roster do the work. It succeeds at being approachable, with fast progression early on and a structure that fits naturally into short mobile play sessions. The downside is that, because many encounters resolve automatically, the gameplay loop can start to feel like routine management unless you enjoy the collector side enough to stay engaged.
The game’s strongest point is its monster lineup and presentation. The artwork is consistently appealing and gives even low-rarity creatures a distinct identity, which helps the collecting loop feel rewarding. Building a party is more than just slotting in your highest numbers, because type-based bonuses and leader effects encourage experimenting with different combinations. When you are trying to squeeze efficiency out of a limited roster, those synergies matter, and they add a layer of planning that automated battles alone would not provide.
Progression is driven by familiar mobile systems: acquire monsters, feed extras into your favorites to level them, then evolve key units as your resources allow. This creates a steady sense of growth, especially if you like optimizing over time. The Mission feature also pushes the pace forward by letting you claim experience and loot quickly, which is convenient for players who want advancement without long sessions.
Where Dark Summoner can frustrate is in its interface and long-term repetition. Menus can feel crowded, and the constant checking, upgrading, and sorting can become more work than fun if you are not invested in roster management. Competitive modes also introduce the usual concerns for the genre, including pay-to-win pressure, particularly for players aiming to climb and stay near the top.
Ultimately, Dark Summoner is best suited to players who enjoy monster collecting, team-building, and gradual account progression, and who do not mind that combat is mostly hands-off. If you prefer active, skill-driven battles, it may feel too passive, but as a roster-driven mobile RPG, it delivers a solid collector experience with strong art and plenty to chase.
Dark Summoner Online Links
Dark Summoner Official Site
Dark Summoner Google Play
Dark Summoner iOS
Dark Summoner Wikia (Database / Guides)
Dark Summoner System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Android 2.2 and later, iOS 5.1.1 or later
Dark Summoner Music & Soundtrack
More details will be added here as we expand coverage of the game’s audio, including notable tracks and overall sound direction.
Dark Summoner Additional Information
Developer: Ateam Inc.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Dark Summoner is developed and published worldwide by Ateam Inc., a mobile game company based in Nagoya, Japan. The title has surpassed 7.5 million downloads globally and has been available worldwide since 2012. Ateam Inc. was founded in 2000, initially working on mobile phone websites before moving into games, releasing Eternal Zone in 2006. Since then, the company has launched several smartphone titles, including War of Legions and Dark Rebirth.
Among their releases, Dark Summoner stands out as their best-known game, supported with ongoing events and new content intended to keep the community active and give collectors new goals to pursue.