Dark Deception
- September 26, 2018
- Glowstick Entertainment
- 11h median play time
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Get on Epic Games Store"Dark Deception" is a story-driven first-person horror action maze game, where you must navigate through a dark world filled with nightmarish mazes and monsters to find a way out. With fast-paced arcade-style gameplay, you'll need to run and dodge enemies instead of fighting them. As you progress, earn XP to unlock powers and even the odds against horrendous creatures in high-quality, AAA-designed environments. This is the first chapter in the game's story, with more to come.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- gameplay404 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dark Deception" is characterized by its unique blend of horror and arcade-style mechanics, reminiscent of Pac-Man, where players navigate mazes while avoiding relentless enemies. While many players appreciate the engaging and challenging gameplay, they also note issues such as repetitiveness, bugs, and performance problems that can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the game is praised for its atmospheric design, diverse enemy mechanics, and the thrill it provides, making it a compelling choice for fans of the horror genre.
“From its spine-tingling atmosphere to its pulse-pounding gameplay, Dark Deception delivers an adrenaline-fueled journey into the darkest corners of the mind.”
“The game's mechanics are simple yet effective, allowing for seamless immersion and intense gameplay.”
“With its atmospheric visuals, intense gameplay, and immersive storyline, it is a must-play for fans of the genre.”
“The gameplay is weird; it's basic enough so that you can understand it, but it gets really difficult to the point where it almost seems impossible.”
“This game has way too many things, but overall it has bad performance, bad story, and horrible gameplay for Steam Deck at least.”
“The overall gameplay is really tedious, and it gets boring and frustrating very easily.”
- story398 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Dark Deception" is generally praised for its intriguing and unique narrative, blending horror elements with a Pac-Man-like gameplay structure. While many players find the storyline engaging and well-developed, some critiques highlight issues with pacing, predictability, and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is seen as a compelling horror experience with a rich backstory, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its execution and gameplay challenges.
“The story is great and the idea of a Pac-Man-like horror game is cool and unique.”
“Dark Deception boasts a rich and intricate storyline that unfolds through cryptic clues and chilling encounters.”
“The story is immersive and fresh; it gives you an amazing representation of one's life and how it reflects poor choices into mental health and making up for past actions.”
“A thrilling horror-maze, Dark Deception excels in atmospheric tension, though it falls short when compared to genre titan Amnesia's storytelling prowess.”
“The story is very lackluster at best, where the character is being this witch's errand boy, a demon and the witch having their 'he said, she said' they don't touch on any of the characters' backstories and it makes it difficult to love or hate them at all.”
“This game has one of the most boring stories you will ever see in any game with a lot of plot holes you will notice easily, but the cutscenes look so good actually.”
- graphics311 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising their high quality, stunning visuals, and immersive atmosphere that enhance the horror experience. Players appreciate the detailed character designs and environments, noting that the graphics contribute significantly to the game's overall appeal, despite some concerns about performance on lower-end systems. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, elevating the gameplay and storytelling.
“Graphics are incredible and the game is visually stunning.”
“The graphics are amazing and the gameplay is pretty jam-packed.”
“The graphics are beautiful, the story is magnificent, but there is one issue that I recommend you hold your money for just a bit longer.”
“The graphics improvements, while making the game look better, also made it so a majority of people were locked out of being able to play the game due to the raised PC requirements.”
“Very laggy even with the lowest graphics settings and a decent computer.”
“The graphics are shiny, wet, plastic-like that don't do much to promote a creepy atmosphere.”
- stability185 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that hinder gameplay. Many have experienced game-breaking issues, such as soft locks and freezing upon losing all lives, particularly in later chapters. While the game is praised for its fun mechanics and engaging content, the overwhelming number of technical problems has led to widespread frustration among players, with calls for urgent fixes from the developers.
“The downside is that it's very buggy; for example, you can get softlocked and won't be able to restart the level after losing all lives, can't change the language, the nurse's model T-posed in a cutscene in chapter.”
“I cannot recommend this game with how hard and buggy it is.”
“This game is amazing although some levels can be buggy, frustrating, or just not scary. I highly recommend it.”
- music120 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives high praise for its quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many players noting its haunting and immersive qualities that heighten tension during gameplay. While some reviews mention issues with repetitive tracks and limited audio options, the majority celebrate the diverse and well-composed soundtracks that complement each level's unique design and challenges. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the standout features, contributing significantly to the game's appeal and replay value.
“The haunting soundtrack further amplifies the tension, ensuring that players are constantly on edge as they navigate the treacherous landscape.”
“The music is probably one of my favorite aspects of the game; I could listen to the OST all day.”
“The sound design is fantastic, with eerie ambient sounds and a haunting soundtrack that heightens the tension in every chase.”
“I've never played a game this bad: the music, the story, and the monkey model are all terrible.”
“Terrible game, you can't even change the audio; it's only music.”
“The soundtrack: this is more of a meh for me, but in my opinion, it takes way too many cues from other horror films and can also be a bit grating if you've heard it too many times.”
- humor66 mentions
- 97 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a standout feature, blending dark comedy with horror elements that elicit both laughter and fear. Players appreciate the quirky character animations, such as Agatha's running style and the amusing antics of various enemies, which contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere amidst the scares. Overall, the game successfully balances its creepy ambiance with a playful sense of humor, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate a mix of thrills and laughs.
“The horror is mild and the comedy is top-notch with their dark humor.”
“I really like this game because the levels are unique and it's really funny when they chase you.”
“Bierce is an amazing character whose snarky commentary adds a nice humorous edge to the intense gameplay.”
“The one-liners your lovely hotel concierge is spewing out every time you die are unfunny and stupefying.”
“Crashed two times after I got all the orbs; not funny :(”
- atmosphere63 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Dark Deception" is widely praised for its chilling and immersive qualities, enhanced by dark visuals and effective sound design that create a tense horror experience. While the game excels in delivering adrenaline-fueled gameplay and a haunting ambiance, some players note that the repetitive nature of the levels can diminish the initial atmospheric impact over time. Overall, it stands out as a unique blend of horror and fast-paced gameplay, appealing to fans of the genre.
“Like Pac-Man on a horror-fueled adrenaline rush, Dark Deception outshines its peers with its eerie atmosphere, albeit with a dash more nightmares.”
“From its spine-tingling atmosphere to its pulse-pounding gameplay, Dark Deception delivers an adrenaline-fueled journey into the darkest corners of the mind.”
“The game's dark and foreboding atmosphere sets the stage for heart-stopping encounters at every turn.”
“After a few replays, it starts to lose its atmosphere and overall ambiance, and it's replaced by frustration and constant boredom.”
“Since then, the devs added a 'boss fight', which not only completely destroys any kind of atmosphere or horror, but just feels incredibly forced and poorly made.”
- grinding33 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 55 % negative mentions
The reviews overwhelmingly criticize the grinding aspect of the game, describing it as tedious and frustrating, often requiring excessive retries due to a restrictive lives system. Players express that the gameplay becomes monotonous and annoying, particularly when faced with bugs and unbalanced challenges, leading to a lack of enjoyment and motivation to continue. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant detractor from the game's potential enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The first level seems impossible with only 3 lives. I don't care if after the first level it's the best game in the world because I ain't grinding it out.”
“Why then, did they give it a tedious 'lives' system, which forces you to restart the level if you die thrice?”
“The overall gameplay is really tedious and it gets boring and frustrating very easily.”
- replayability28 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is generally praised, with many players highlighting the high value derived from pursuing S ranks, collecting secrets, and unlocking new abilities, which significantly enhances the experience. However, some reviews note a lack of variety in gameplay, leading to only moderate replay value for certain players. Overall, it is considered highly replayable, especially for those who enjoy mastering levels and exploring all content.
“The replay value is very high because you can try to get S rank, every achievement, and find the lore, soundtrack, and posters in the secret room.”
“There are many secrets to collect that get you nifty rewards, and going for the best ranking you can and perfecting each stage adds to the replayability a ton.”
“Second, the game adds tons of replayability with every new level you play rewarding your character with a new ability to use such as speed boost, teleportation, or even invisibility.”
“There's not really much in terms of replayability.”
“There is a small degree of replayability.”
“The largest problem with the boss fights is that they remove the element of replayability that was so heavily advertised through the first three levels and force the player to learn a goofy story that all of a sudden started taking itself seriously.”
- optimization19 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with many players reporting significant performance issues, bugs, and frame rate drops, particularly in later chapters and on lower-end devices. While some users noted improvements in graphics and charm, the overall consensus is that the game remains unoptimized, making it challenging to enjoy due to frequent glitches and poor performance. Despite the developers' efforts, many players feel that the game is not adequately optimized, hindering their experience.
“Totally recommended, the story and horror of it is good, and the graphics are nice and performance-wise it runs nicely.”
“When the game is fully optimized, and some of the game-breaking bugs are fixed, this will be the best game ever.”
“It's pretty well optimized and it looks great!”
“The optimization isn't there, no quality of life options and the level design is just becoming more asinine with every update.”
“Optimization is awful now, you have been making the game for 2 years, why didn't you check the game after development?”
“Dark Deception wasn’t a perfect game at all and had its share of bugs and problems, but the enhanced version completely destroyed the game. In the enhanced version, you will find the finest bugs that ruin your game completely, bad optimization (especially in chapter 4), big updates that don’t solve anything at all (for example: when you die, you should close the game and reopen it again) and this problem is still there even after some huge updates. The bugs in chapter 4 are on a whole other level that made it unplayable at all.”
- character development13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its unique and diverse character designs, which contribute to an engaging and immersive experience. Players appreciate the depth of the protagonist, who deviates from typical archetypes, and the overall quality of graphics and voice acting enhances the storytelling. However, some critiques mention inconsistencies in character design between in-game models and cutscenes, as well as a few designs that may not resonate with all players.
“The thrill is on point, the character design is fantastic, the music is beautifully haunting, the levels are challenging and fun and allow me to try and strategize with the powers, and I love that the protagonist isn't a typical Mr. Perfect.”
“Character design - great, no two characters feel the same, the developer clearly found a way to put all the characters he's come up with over the years even with little similarity, model quality is also great.”
“I like the game, the graphics are really good, jumpscares did throw me off my chair, cool story, good character development.”
“That's another thing, the animation: chapter 4 really likes its cutscenes, and for as much as the animation is passable, the character designs that worked in-game don't work in cutscenes.”
“Overall it was a fun little level, but probably my least favorite on character design.”
“Some of the character designs aren't that scary; however, something about Dark Decadence's characters scared me the most, mainly the fact that if you look away, they run towards you really quickly and freeze in different positions.”
- emotional7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game elicits strong reactions, with players expressing laughter and tears in response to various moments, including humorous animations and poignant scenes. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke deep feelings, with some even describing it as a transformative experience that leads to tears of joy and heartbreak. Overall, the emotional impact is significant, with players rating it highly despite some frustrations.
“This game made me cry 10/10”
“I cried playing this game 10/10”
“10/10 would cry again”
- monetization5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been heavily criticized, with users labeling it as a cash grab filled with excessive microtransactions. Many feel that the developers prioritize profit over game quality, leading to a lack of updates and a dwindling player base. Overall, the sentiment suggests disappointment in how the game's monetization has negatively impacted its longevity and player experience.
“Don't waste people's money on a game you can't be bothered to fix because all you want is a cash grab.”
“But it's a dead game now, filled with microtransactions, and only a handful of people play it.”
“What was supposed to be released around now has been rescheduled to be released months from now due to the latest excuse of a partnership deal for the multiplayer cash grab.”
