Developer: Retrofiction Games
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Advenure, Action, Horror
Publisher: Retrofiction Games
Dead of Darkness is a 2D survival-horror action-adventure. The game features a 12-hour campaign with a rich narrative, foreboding atmosphere, deep lore and devious puzzles. Dead of Darkness was developed and published by Retrofiction Games. The game is currently available for Windows, but it will later be published for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles.
Dead of Darkness is a single-player game where you play as a Private Investigator named Miles Windham. He receives a mysterious message on a cassette which invites him to Velvet Island in the Celtic Sea. The unknown messenger claims to have information about the fire that had taken the lives of Mile’s family. Upon reaching the island, he meets a nurse who has been hired to work at the Manor. All seems well until Miles and the nurse come upon a dead body, which leads to a growing curiosity that continues to get terrifying. Â
Dead of Darkness is recommended to play with a controller, and I believe this to be true mainly because the controls work much more easily with a controller than mapped on the keyboard. Controls are quite simple to get used to, and you are gradually introduced to them as you play through the game. The game also explains the mechanics. One of my favourite controls is the ability to scan a room where it will highlight interacting items so the player does not miss out on anything. Dead of Darkness also features six difficulty modes to either challenge players or make their playthrough comfortable. As for myself, I played the game in the moderate difficulty setting, which gave a classic survival horror vibe. The difficulty can be changed easily at any time.
The art style for Dead of Darkness has a top-down pixel aesthetic. The game takes much inspiration from nostalgic horror games and almost makes the game seem like it belongs on the PlayStation 1. The pixel style of this game adds a retro vibe, and the dulled-down colours make the game even more atmospheric. The retro vibe with a lack of clear detail gives a much more eerie atmosphere than one would have expected. The game has a darker tone and ambience with the gore element of blood and horrifying enemy designs. Even with minimalistic details engraved in the environment, the game has a compelling look to it. The portraits for each character with the accompanying dialogue were drawn in really nice detail, which gives great emphasis to the tone of the speaker. Even the UI of the game gives a nostalgic old horror game feel, where there are retro and minimalistic designs for the inventory space. In addition to the visuals, the soundtrack makes the game even more alluring, which makes it more haunting and horrific. The game features quite menacing music mixed in with orchestral piano. In moments you are casually exploring, the music is on a slightly lower tone, which is still quite menacing, but as monsters approach, it becomes dreadful, which is perfect. Besides the soundtrack, the voice acting in this game is by far one of my favourite things. The voice actors match perfectly with the designed characters, and each tone depicts the dialogue extremely well. I was especially surprised by the screeching and screams of the characters, which made the terrifying atmosphere encapsulated by the game even more realistic. It almost seemed like I was watching a show.
The main premise of the game is for you to explore this isolated Velvet Island to figure out the truth behind this nightmarish hell. You begin by exploring the Graham Manor, where you collect clues and items. Clues and items can be used or combined, or you can ponder them to further gather more information. There are several ways that you can use the items/clues you collect. As you explore through various locations, you will collect items that will unlock different doors or open puzzles. The game features puzzles, which gives a good variety to the gameplay and makes reading through notes and exploring every room worthwhile. I really liked the map, which is nice and simple and highlights the rooms that have been completed or are still in progress so players can explore/navigate to their liking. Unexpectedly, there are a lot more rooms than you would think.Â
Now, the combat in this game was quite decent. The game puts emphasis on survival horror, where you do not have unlimited ammo, pills, or items at your disposal. The game requires you to play smart against the monsters rather than use your gun infinitely against them. The game prepares you quite well for upcoming boss fights. At first, I thought the shooting control on the keyboard was odd as aiming is done through the straight plane of sight, but after a few attacks, you get used to the combat. The combat itself did not seem super difficult, as you had plenty of time to evade and adjust your aim accordingly (though obviously, the combat difficulty changes depending on the difficulty setting). Besides the gun, you also can find a knife, or the best thing to do is just avoid the enemies. Initially, the ghouls that you first encounter can easily outrun, and it works perfectly in stocking supplies for more dire situations.
Overall, I found the game to be quite enjoyable. The story that follows through grips you from the beginning and explores the endless rooms/locations that do not entirely get boring because of how captivating and compelling the narrative is. Besides the casual fights and running away from enemies, you get to encounter boss fights, which are very simple to take on as long as you have the supplies needed. When I initially started playing this game, it reminded me of Resident Evil, and to some extent, it seems as if inspiration was taken from the game. What I enjoyed about the game is that you find yourself lost in time and do not realise that several hours in real life have passed as you get yourself entrapped in finding clues, unlocking doors, defeating enemies and unravelling the lore. I found Dead of Darkness to be exhilarating and much fun as I became engrossed in the animated cutscenes and thrilling voice acting.
Dead of Darkness is quite a thrilling game inspired by the classic survival horror games where you get to delve into an enchanting narrative with bewildering voice acting that sets the game on par. Accompanied by a top-down pixel aesthetic, a horrifying atmosphere pulls the player into an endless loop of discovering clues, fighting enemies and meeting unique personalities. Be sure to check out Dead of Darkness!Â
Overall: 9/10
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