Inspired by classic survival horror roots, Dead of Darkness succeeds in crafting a memorable horror-fueled journey through various environments, with a Lovecraftian spin.
A Classic Survival Horror Journey
Set in 1985, Dead of Darkness kicks things off with a lengthy prologue sequence filling players in on the plot. You control Miles, a tired private investigator still haunted by the death of his daughter several years ago.
After receiving a letter from an old acquaintance, Miles is invited to Velvet Island where he is promised to find some answers about his daughter’s death. Of course, what could possibly go wrong on a mysterious island home to a mental asylum?
And so begins a classic survival horror journey developed by solo dev Retrofiction Games. Clear inspiration has been taken from the original Resident Evil titles here as it’s all about exploring different areas, figuring out puzzles and unlocking new doors.
This is essentially 2D Resident Evil in all the good ways you might imagine. The pixel art is fantastic and fully draws the player into the game’s immersive setting.
It’s not long after Miles’ arrival on the island that all hell breaks loose, and you’ll immediately find yourself fending off hordes of zombie-like creatures with limited ammo and supplies. Sound familiar?
Interesting Areas and Environments
Dead of Darkness is split into various sections. As mentioned, players have to find various keys and items in order to progress and fully open each area, often through solving puzzles. Some of the puzzles in this game are pretty intuitive and interesting. Others perhaps less so.
One that stands out to me in particular is fairly early on in the game where players will have to click buttons below paintings in a certain order. It’s one that took me a fair while to solve but proved a satisfying experience once I’d done so.
Less innovative puzzles include large segments of avoiding rising spikes, and running to areas between them. While the game does iterate on this mechanic and increases the difficulty in the latter half of the game, most of these spike puzzles proved more irritating than anything else.
That being said, the overall level designs are fantastic and the setting is memorably special. From the first glimpse of the guesthouse, to the mansion, sewers and outside areas, Dead of Darkness features one of the most memorable survival horror locations in a long time. I’d put Velvet Island up there with the mansion from the first Resident Evil, RCPD from Resident Evil 2 and maybe even Silent Hill in terms of the settings!
You never know what to expect from each room you enter, with danger lurking round every corner. And there’s a satisfying search for items, notes and clues throughout each stage.
Characters and Narrative
I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the narrative in Dead of Darkness. Some metroidvania-style survival horrors can be pretty thin on story threads, but that’s not the case here.
There are a host of characters you’ll meet in the prologue and each one is built upon as the game progresses, featuring multiple encounters. It’s a memorable cast with some decent character writing.
The only thing holding these characters back is the questionable voice acting. Each dialogue line is fully voiced, which is surprising considering its 2D nature. Whilst I appreciate this feature, unfortunately some of the voices completely take you out of the immersion.
The main character, Miles, often sounds so forced it can become irritating. Meanwhile, there’s the antagonist, William, who puts on an unbearably clichèd British snob accent. Pair this with some rushed deliveries and amateur acting and it delivers the opposite effect to what the dev was probably intending. There’s also a strange reverberation effect to the dialogue that gives it a strange feeling. Maybe an interior echo effect was trying to be mimicked, but it just comes off as offputting.
That being said, the overall narrative is great. Without diving too much into spoiler territory, players can expect lots of twists and turns with some cosmic horror elements sprinkled throughout. It’s gleefully gripping, and a fantastic experience to play through!
Enticing Art Style
Dead of Darkness’ pixel art 2D environments look fantastic, and players will be fully immersed in the world. Character animations are fluid and combat feels good. There can be some tense moments when you run out of ammo midway through a boss fight and have to carefully reload at the most opportune times, often making for some challenging gameplay.
Atmosphere oozes from every room you enter. Lights flicker with a dull buzz and rain splashes down outside. It’s a perfectly crafted horror environment and manages to capture a perfectly creepy feeling.
Trails of blood linger in some corridors, and the sound of some creatures will deter you from venturing forwards on multiple occasions. Enemy designs are suitably grotesque and the bosses in particular are quite memorable.
The only negative I have to mention here is that the default brightness settings are just too dark to see anything. I understand what the dev was going for here by essentially masking half the levels in shadows, but ultimately I had to go into the settings and manually adjust the brightness levels to be able to see the world properly.
Dead of Darkness places great emphasis on its art when it comes to creating atmosphere and excels in almost every step of the way.
Difficulty and Gameplay
Dead of Darkness can be as challenging an experience as you want. There are multiple difficulty levels, the hardest of which are unlocked upon completion.
Harder difficulty levels are extremely punishing so I’d recommend sticking with Normal! However, if challenging games are your thing then Dead of Darkness will prove an enticingly fun experience, albeit extremely difficult!
The gameplay overall is very good. From fending off unknown creatures to scouting each zone for items, consumables and files – Dead of Darkness successfully captures everything a survival horror title should be. It’s a resounding success and can genuinely stand alongside some of the genre’s greats.
A Terrific Tangle of Classic Survival Horror
For those looking for a classic survival horror experience, Dead of Darkness has everything you’ll be looking for. Featuring a great variety of difficulties, engaging enemies and interesting level designs, I found myself captivated from start to finish.
Sure, it can be a little rough around the edges in some regards, but consider that all part of the charm and you’ll have a terrific experience in this solo-developed, horror-fueled adventure!
Important Links
Dead of Darkness Unleashes Grotesque Survival Horror on Xbox, Switch and PlayStation – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dead-of-darkness-unleashes-grotesque-survival-horror-on-xbox-switch-and-playstation/
Buy Dead of Darkness on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/dead-of-darkness/9NLPJCT0HGB1/0010
