A Walk in the Dark

About

A Walk in the Dark is a single-player platformer game with excellent mechanics, impressive graphics, and a memorable soundtrack. As Bast the cat, players navigate a dark fantasy world, using smooth controls to run, jump, and slide to avoid menacing creatures and cunning traps. The game excels in creating a distinctive, eerie atmosphere that adds to the challenge and enjoyment of the journey.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews

music53 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a soothing soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
It offers a challenging platforming experience with a variety of levels that keep the gameplay engaging.
The controls, while precise, allow for a rewarding sense of accomplishment when mastering difficult sections.

The controls can feel overly sensitive and imprecise, leading to frustrating moments where players die due to minor miscalculations.
Collision detection issues can result in unfair deaths, making it feel like the game punishes players for mistakes that aren't their fault.
The lack of checkpoints in certain levels can lead to repetitive gameplay, as players must restart from the beginning after dying.

music
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
44%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful, atmospheric quality, often featuring soothing piano arrangements that enhance the overall aesthetic. However, some players find the soundtrack repetitive, leading to frustration during extended gameplay sessions. Overall, while the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, its repetitiveness can detract from the experience for some players.
- “The soundtrack is so beautiful too, I could listen to it all day, really lovely.”
- “The music is atmospheric and piano-y and excellently done in my opinion.”
- “The music is beautiful, the gameplay is amazing, and you get to be a cat!”
- “This game has a boring soundtrack that is highly repetitive, awkward and floaty controls, uninspired mechanics, and boring level design.”
- “The music gets annoying every once in a while and the absence of checkpoints makes the levels kind of frustrating.”
- “Yes, that is the end of the music; they didn't bother to put a loop on it, that is why I wanted to turn off the music.”
gameplay
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
55%
12%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its lack of originality and poor mechanics, often comparing it unfavorably to titles like Super Meat Boy and VVVVVV. While some appreciate the charming aesthetics and smooth controls, others find the level design frustrating due to awkward hitboxes and a lack of checkpoints, leading to repetitive trial-and-error gameplay. Overall, the game offers a blend of familiar mechanics that can be enjoyable but may not provide the depth or challenge expected from a platformer.
- “The gameplay is smooth; there are almost no moments when you become frustrated because you think it's impossible to beat the level, or because the game gives you any buggy experience.”
- “The music is beautiful, the gameplay is amazing, and you get to be a cat!”
- “It's a beautiful yet increasingly challenging platformer that immerses me with its progressive mechanics, unique aesthetics, and short, concise levels.”
- “With a good platformer, your deaths feel like your own fault, but here most of mine have felt like the result of the poor game mechanics.”
- “This isn't something I say often, but this game could have done with more of a tutorial, or at least level design that properly introduces the game's chosen mechanics and how they're supposed to work within the context of the game.”
- “It's just - well, here are your mechanics and here are your levels, and if you want to try getting around in any but one way, too bad, even though the movement and environment are not nearly as fun as those of the cat, so accomplishing that getting around in that one way is just not something I want to spend my time doing.”
graphics
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
44%
6%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their creative art style and atmospheric presentation, often drawing comparisons to titles like "Limbo" and "Super Meat Boy." While many players appreciate the dark silhouette aesthetic and soothing color schemes, some note that the blending of different visual elements can feel disjointed. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some minor inconsistencies.
- “This game caught my eye with its creative art style and stunning looks.”
- “The stunning simplicity of the graphics mixed with the music instantly puts you into a dream-like world.”
- “The art style is so good, almost boasting a limbo-esque feel with some wonderfully scrolling backgrounds, coupled with an ambient vibe soundtrack with lashings of deep piano.”
- “Smb's buzzsaws and spikes have been imported wholesale, but where they fit well with smb's aesthetic, they feel out of place here.”
- “It confuses me as to how some parts of a game's design (music and graphics) can be so top-notch, and other parts (such as engine and physics) can be disastrous.”
- “The simple graphics and haunting melodies differentiate this title from the endless other indie platformers on the marketplace, but does not necessarily make it better.”
story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
74%
11%
The game's story is minimal and often described as nearly nonexistent, primarily serving as a backdrop for the platforming gameplay. Players note a simple premise where a cat seeks to reunite with its owner after she is taken by a shadowy creature, but the narrative lacks depth and development. While some appreciate the aesthetic and music, many agree that the story does not significantly enhance the overall experience.
- “Fairly interesting story, a truly beautiful soundtrack, and it's easily one of the prettiest of the silhouette-style games out there.”
- “The story of this game is your owner gets taken away by a shadowy creature and you (the cat) are going after her to find and save her.”
- “The plot goes well with an indie game style even though you are a cat trying to rescue your master from an evil lich; finally, the gameplay is just amazing with the easy start off to a slight difficult middle point and then to a quite difficult finish off to rescue your owner in the end.”
- “Oh, and there's zero story.”
- “As far as story goes, there isn't one.”
- “There is no story to speak of - it appears that the cat and girl are separated and are trying to get back to each other, which is all the motive they really need.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
15%
10%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful music and art direction, creating a captivating and immersive experience. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature that enhances the overall ambiance, contributing to a unique and atmospheric environment. However, some players feel that the atmospheric qualities presented in trailers do not fully translate into the gameplay experience.
- “The music and atmosphere of this game are beautiful.”
- “The background music and artwork make a fitting atmosphere for this dark game.”
- “Aside from the gameplay, this is in part due to the incredible atmosphere created by the graphics and music.”
- “The atmosphere from the trailer did not transfer into the gameplay (at least for me).”
- “This is my puzzle game of the year 2013, and not only because of its gruesome atmosphere and exquisite soundtrack.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with smooth gameplay and minimal glitches. However, players have reported occasional issues, such as buggy platform edges and freezing during jumps, which can disrupt the experience. While these defects are not game-breaking, they indicate some programming flaws that affect overall stability.
- “There are few defects relating to the death range of the spikes and bugs (like when the cat freezes in the jumping pose and you have to start over).”
- “The edges of platforms are buggy, and you will sometimes freeze for no reason or be unable to jump.”
- “I mean, the game's not broken because of glitches (I barely encountered any); the game's broken because it was programmed that way.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a deeply emotional experience while engaging with the game, often leading to tears due to its poignant storytelling and the strong bond depicted between the cat and the girl. The game's portrayal of loss and companionship resonates strongly, particularly with animal lovers, making the emotional impact feel genuine and well-executed.
- “I cried.”
- “I genuinely felt for the cat and girl in the game, and the way they turn into dust when meeting their demise seems to trigger a saddened emotional response, in me anyway.”
- “It's actually kind of heart-wrenching to me personally as a lover of animals, and the bond between what could ultimately be your best friend is understood by both the game and the player. It shows, and it's executed very well.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers strong replayability, with users highlighting the appeal of achievements and the ability to improve personal and leaderboard times as key factors that encourage repeated play. Overall, players find it to be a highly replayable experience.
- “The achievements add a great replay value, too.”
- “This game has quite a bit of replayability because you can always try to beat your best times or the best times on the leaderboard.”
- “Definitely a replayable game.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly during jumping puzzles, which can detract from the overall enjoyment. While achievements are achievable, they necessitate a significant amount of grinding, especially as levels progress.
- “The levels start to get tedious to the point of not being fun about halfway through.”
- “The achievements are not too difficult but will require some grinding.”
- “At least, it does until you get to the tedious jumping puzzles.”