Retrofiction Games developer presents us a 2D survival horror game that will soon be first presented on PC. The team is located in Germany, and their goal is to make narrative games in which they will be able to combine retro with a contemporary style of play and an emphasis on horror and adventure elements. The game they present to us is their first commercial project.
Dead of Darkness is, as mentioned, a 2D survival horror game with elements of action and adventure in a recognizable pixel style. It is a gameplay in which you will invest at least 12 hours of gameplay through action, puzzles and intriguing dialogues between the characters. The player will have the opportunity to choose between several difficulties at which they want to pass the game, from a very easy level to a difficult level. With the release of the game, you will have the opportunity to unlock additional difficulties, as well as the new game+ option. Steam will also not be left out in providing achievements. The game visually combines pixel art with characters that sometimes resemble an anime style when you have dialogues with them. It should be noted that the developers took great care of the atmosphere in the game, so they paid special attention to the light and sound design itself, as well as the involvement of the actors who lent their voices to the characters.
The basis of the story is that you find yourself on a mysterious island where there is a disturbing secret, and it is up to you to discover it. On the way to the truth, the player will face monsters, deadly traps, but sometimes also difficult puzzles.
Action zabegins 1985. in Engleskoj. Privatni istražitelj Miles Windham follows trag koji navodno vodi do istine oko misterioznog ubojstva njegove kćeri, a trag ga odvede na Velvet Island. Čim nogom kroči na otok, he uoči da se njegovi stanovnici ponašaju very čudno. IN jednom trenutku postanu i neprijateljski raspoloženi prema njemu, a atmosfera u igri postaje sve napetija. WITHituacija vrlo brzo eskalira i Miles onđe u situaciji where mora boriti za vlastiti opstanak...Priču obogaćuje bogata galerija from 15 likova, gdje svaki od njih there is svoj razlog zbog kojeg onlazi upravo here na Velvet Iceland. Resources u igri su vam ograničeni, as well as inventory kojim raspolažete. Neprijatelji vam se newhen nepredvidljivo pojave i zato morate paziti kojim ćete through poći i kojim se rutama kretati in order toste preživjeli. Valja napomenuti jedan zanimljivi aspekt, a to je da neprijatelji u igri ostavljaju posljedice na vas when is riječ o mentalnom zdravlju. Što vam je mental health niže, imat ćete više halucinacija tako da morate i o tome voditi računa. 13 tipova neprijatelja će vas proganjati, and on vama is on koji način ćete ih se riješiti. Možete im pobjeći, boriti se s njthere is or ih nadmudriti.
Ako ćemo opisati sami gameplay, he je dobar, but nije beige određenih problema. IN par navwara se zna dogoditi da vaš lik jednostavno „zapne” prorkom pretraživanja nekog ormarića i jedini način na koji se možete odmaknuti je da držite tipku za trčanje. To je barem u mojem slučaju riješilo problem, but vjerujem da će se i riješiti bug fixom after izlaska games. When it comes to samim kontrolama, hee su pomalo komplicirane prorkom korištenja oružja. Jedna tipka je za ciljanje, druga za okidanje. Treća tipka je za napuniti oružje streljivom, but to funkcionira samo dok u isto vrijeme držite i tipku za ciljanje. This čitavi proces zna stvoriti konfuziju u glavi dok vas napada više neprijatelja odjednom i morate brzo razmouseljati what i how poduzeti. Valja spomenuti i jedan bitan aspekt - snthere isnje progresa u igri nije automatsko, na what vas game i upozori. Baš as well as kod Camp Sunshine games koju smo there isli prorke isprobati last year, progres možete sačuvati samo na određenim lokacijama and that ako klikneand on objekt kojand represents „Save”. S time u vidu ne bi bilo na odmet ponekad prvo obaviti „save” progresa ago nego what odlučimo otključati neka vwara za who je trebao neki poseban ključ. Nikad se ne zna what nas očekuis andza tih vwara i zbog toga je vrlo lako poginuti te izgube procewith from pola sata or čak sat vremena. WITHamo UI sučelje je dosta pregledno i jednostavno te ne predstavlja problem snalaženja po inventoryu. Neke objekte u njemu možete međusobno kombiniwari, neke direktno koristiti, and in njemu možete čitati i bilješke na kois onilazite during games.
[modula id="3330"]It should be noted that the use of an item is not automatic, and if you want to open a chest or door, you must select it "on foot" from the inventory and then confirm the execution of the action with a button. What was a particular problem for me was that I didn't know when to press ESC and when to press the ENTER key to exit some descriptive text, which can be tiring when there is sometimes one key for that function, and sometimes another. And the tutorial also gave me problems, because it persistently showed me the buttons for the controller, even though I chose the keyboard. Because of this, I had to figure out how to achieve something myself, such as the quick reload of the weapon. In the settings, the instructions for the keyboard are still sketchy and inaccurate. In the end, I tried myself which key it could be and in the end discovered that the reload key is actually B, although in the settings it says that it is V on the keyboard, etc. Therefore, it could be said that the keyboard commands are a little neglected in the instructions, which could frustrate some players. Let's hope that this will also improve with a future update.
If we talk about the characters, each of them is well designed and in the pixel art style and you will be able to distinguish them from each other (including the enemies), so there is no problem in that area. The doors on the side walls are solved so that light comes from under them, and by this the player can understand that there is something here that can be opened even before he gets the map at his disposal. What is extremely good about the map is the fact that it shows you by color which doors cannot be opened and which can only be opened with special keys. In addition, rooms where you have to do something remain red, while those where you have done everything become green. All in all, a solid release of this type of game that will surely find its audience, and it's up to you whether you want to avoid slower enemies and thus save ammunition, sneak around or risk limited ammunition and take a breather by shooting. It is up to the player to find out the truth and discover what happened to the investigator's daughter, but also to the inhabitants of the strange island.
Dead of Darkness is available from January 23, 2025 on Steam for Windows, with a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S version planned for later. If you are attracted to titles in retro pixel art style with elements of horror, give this indie developer a chance and try the game. The game definitely, despite minor problems (which can be solved at a later stage with an update) has an intriguing story to offer with elements of the supernatural and grotesque, and the development of brain circuits when solving puzzles is guaranteed.
A copy of the game was provided by the development studio Retrofiction Game for review purposes.
