When comparing Daikatana vs Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, the Slant community recommends Daikatana for most people. In the question“What are the best PC arena shooters?” Daikatana is ranked 20th while Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose Daikatana is:
It is both challenging and versatile. The lore is simple, you're a time traveler and as such you will come across different sets of weapons from different eras. The story might be a little cringey at times (has a few tediously long cut scenes), but if you enjoyed Quake 2 then you will enjoy this for what it is as well.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Has a great single player campaign
It is both challenging and versatile. The lore is simple, you're a time traveler and as such you will come across different sets of weapons from different eras. The story might be a little cringey at times (has a few tediously long cut scenes), but if you enjoyed Quake 2 then you will enjoy this for what it is as well.
Cons
Con Companion AI is bugged
Sometimes they get stuck or lost, which will prevent you from leaving the level/area. This has been patched in the 1.3 update where you can disable companions altogether, although this needs to be manually updated.
Con Aim heavy gameplay
The game rewards accuracy a lot more than map control and item timing. Item timing isn't really a thing either, there's armor panels that charge up over time, where you have to stand for a while to get it. However, half of the weapons can take all of your armor away with a well landed shot. Some of them, like the gravgun (a spawn weapon) can deal a lot of damage in a quick succession using explosive props and other non-solid objects. This could be either a pro or con depending on which kind of game you're into, but if you're looking for a traditional arena shooter then it's a con.