Dark Fear

95%
Game Brain Score Based on 102 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • gameplay
Dark Fear Game Cover
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
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"Dark Fear" is a retro-style RPG with turn-based combat. The game features a gloomy atmosphere and a storyline focused on horror and mystery. Players must explore different areas, fight enemies, and uncover the truth behind their character's amnesia. Pixel art graphics and a chiptune soundtrack enhance the overall nostalgic experience.

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Reviews

95%
Audience ScoreBased on 102 reviews
story26 positive mentions
grinding39 negative mentions
  • Dark Fear successfully combines elements of classic point-and-click adventure games with RPG mechanics, creating an engaging and nostalgic experience.
  • The game features a well-crafted atmosphere with effective jump scares, complemented by a haunting soundtrack that enhances the overall horror experience.
  • Puzzles are logical and satisfying to solve, and the game offers a good balance of challenge without becoming overly frustrating.
  • The game can become grindy, particularly with the hunting and fishing mechanics required to earn gold for upgrades, which may detract from the overall enjoyment.
  • Combat mechanics are simplistic and can feel repetitive, lacking depth and variety as the game progresses.
  • The story, while engaging, is somewhat predictable and relies on familiar horror tropes, which may not appeal to all players.
  • story75 mentions

    The game's story is a blend of classic horror and adventure elements, drawing inspiration from titles like King's Quest, featuring a dark and creepy atmosphere filled with occult themes and puzzles. While some players appreciate its engaging narrative and well-crafted suspense, others criticize it for being clichéd and predictable, with a lack of meaningful choices and character development. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a highlight, despite some players finding it unoriginal and marred by tedious gameplay mechanics.

    • “A case of completing quests in this haunting valley, fighting monsters, upgrading your equipment, and mostly story-based with some good old-fashioned puzzle solving and inventory puzzles.”
    • “The story is richly intriguing and well told, and the combat is simple but oddly tactical and tense.”
    • “Genuinely startling moments and creepy atmosphere, with an intriguing storyline and cast of weird creatures to keep you occupied.”
    • “The story is unoriginal, uninspired, and introduces several characters that go nowhere, as if having the time-wasting hunting grind segments wasn't enough. This goddamn time-vampire of a game then has you going to some 'icy fortress' to meet this 'ice queen' who exists for no other reason than to give you an excuse to fight some other random monster and collect a few token items to move the plot along.”
    • “The gameplay is boring and filled with grind, the story is generic, cliched nonsense, the soundtrack is alright, the atmosphere is stereotypical at best, and the whole experience made me wish I could just take it all back and spend my time doing something of more value.”
    • “The story became so lame and anti-climactic that I was close to giving up before the game's end - the game had nothing to offer anymore... no interesting mechanics, no interesting plot, no nothing.”
  • music54 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, effectively setting the mood for various scenarios, from intense action to eerie moments. However, concerns have been raised about its copyrighted nature, which poses potential issues for content creators on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, as well as the lack of customizable sound options within the game. Overall, while the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, its integration with the game design has received mixed feedback.

    • “The soundtrack is incredible, and absolutely elevates the game.”
    • “The music is bone chilling and the atmosphere is perfect, great job devs.”
    • “The music is very good, setting just the right mood.”
    • “It is impossible to mute the sound in the game outside of just muting your PC, which I feel is a tad unusual as most games with basic settings tend to let you control the volume of the music and sounds or, at the very least, turn them on and off separately.”
    • “The sound design is the only positive, with tracks that can be soothing or eerie; unfortunately, they aren't matched by the environments and game design, and the music comes off as being discordant with the rest of the atmosphere of the game.”
    • “The developer was even kind enough to explain the music is copyrighted and offered an option to turn it off as a nod to content streamers who may face DMCA takedowns if they record a YouTube video with the music on.”
  • gameplay47 mentions

    The gameplay of "Dark Fear" is a mixed bag, with many players noting that it prioritizes story over mechanics, leading to a grind-heavy experience that can feel repetitive. While the game draws inspiration from classic point-and-click adventures and incorporates basic RPG elements, the combat and resource management systems are often described as simplistic and lacking depth. Despite its flaws, some players appreciate the nostalgic feel and atmosphere, finding the gameplay engaging enough to keep them invested in the narrative.

    • “Although to touch upon the RPG aspects of this game, Dark Fear does indeed include combat with various monsters throughout the game and, as a result, has a variety of mechanics to bear in mind here, since starting off it's a matter of having a good melee weapon and sufficient armor alongside enough health potions but, later on, this gets expanded to a powerful ranged weapon that enables the use of various bolts to deal even higher damage alongside 'special' bolts that are usable after 2 regular attacks to exploit specific enemy weaknesses alongside magic tattoos that give you protection from the nasty special abilities of some enemies later on in the game!”
    • “Drawing lots of inspiration from the old Sierra point-and-click adventure games, with a little dash of Oregon Trail and some basic old-school RPG mechanics, Dark Fear succeeds at crossing all three of these and adds a healthy dose of creepy atmosphere and some good scares.”
    • “Combining simple resource gathering, point-and-click adventuring, and JRPG combat with some strange but intuitive 'golf game' controls, this somewhat short but strangely addictive recipe makes for quite a fun 7-10 hours of gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is boring and filled with grind; the story is generic, cliched nonsense, the soundtrack is alright, the atmosphere is stereotypical at best, and the whole experience made me wish I could just take it all back and spend my time doing something of more value.”
    • “The problem is the RPG mechanics are incredibly bare-bones; you attack, eventually you get a crossbow that requires specific kinds of ammo, there's a special attack, there's a flat armor upgrade, there's healing potions, and then there's tattoos which are designed for specific enemies in mind so will only be used once or twice.”
    • “The gameplay can be described quite simply as 'fucking annoying.'”
  • grinding39 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is generally viewed as a mixed bag; while some players find it manageable and not overly time-consuming, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, particularly due to the repetitive nature of hunting and fishing for resources. Many reviews suggest that the game could benefit from reducing the grinding required for upgrades and improving the combat system, as the current mechanics can feel tedious and detract from the narrative focus. Overall, while grinding is present, it varies in intensity and impact on gameplay, with some players appreciating the nostalgic feel it brings.

    • “You play it for the plot, not for the gameplay (combat is in need of improvement and you spend way too much time grinding hunting and fishing).”
    • “It's a mind-numbing grinding experience that requires neither effort, skill, or intelligence; it only requires patience.”
    • “The creator seemed really worried people would accuse the game of being short, as there is a lot of grinding thrown in involving the fishing and hunting.”
  • atmosphere34 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its effective blend of creepy elements and engaging visuals, creating a sense of dread that enhances the horror experience. While some reviews note inconsistencies in music and gameplay that detract from the overall immersion, the well-crafted environments and occasional jump scares contribute positively to the game's chilling ambiance. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as one of the game's strongest aspects, successfully evoking nostalgia for classic horror and adventure games.

    • “Tonally, it walks the line between maintaining a creepy atmosphere with a couple of great jump scares, but it's balanced by the turner horror movie roster of villains and never gets too intense.”
    • “The atmosphere of mountain horror folklore is good; the jump scares are few (and thanks for that since everyone goes overboard with them) but effective and well-integrated. The tale of dark magic is compelling and has a couple of disturbing moments, the puzzles are simple without being insulting, the graphics are quite nice in their clean pixelated glory, and everything in general simply works.”
    • “The game's dark, chilling atmosphere evokes a sense of dread, and it delivers each scare at an appropriate time.”
    • “The sound design is the only positive, with tracks that can be soothing or eerie; unfortunately, they aren't matched by the environments and game design, and the music comes off as being discordant with the rest of the atmosphere of the game.”
    • “While the presentation and the atmosphere worked out, the story became so lame and anti-climactic that I was close to giving up before the game's end - the game had nothing to offer anymore... no interesting mechanics, no interesting plot, no nothing.”
    • “The jump from supernatural horror to straight-up fantasy is a little silly and kind of takes you out of the horror atmosphere.”
  • graphics27 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming retro aesthetic, reminiscent of 16-bit and early pixel art styles, which effectively create a dark and immersive atmosphere. While some players may find the low-resolution graphics off-putting, many appreciate the nostalgic appeal and how well they complement the horror and mystery elements of the game. Overall, the pixelated visuals are praised for their quality and ability to enhance the game's engaging narrative and eerie ambiance.

    • “A Commodore-64 adventure style game with a well-written horror/mystery plot and an endearing pixel aesthetic.”
    • “The art style is reminiscent of old DOS games, strangely nostalgic, yet surprisingly fresh.”
    • “16-bit graphics may prove to be off-putting for those looking for a more realistic horror game.”
    • “The game is rendered in a semi-8-bit graphical style with mouse-click based controls.”
    • “The graphics are very late-80s to early-90s pixel art, all of which are very well done and work to keep the environment creepy without feeling like they're trying too hard.”
  • replayability7 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is considered low, with players noting that once completed, there is little incentive to revisit it beyond reliving specific moments or pursuing achievements. While some aspects, like artwork, contribute to a unique experience, the lack of engaging content for multiple playthroughs limits its long-term appeal.

    • “As no doubt a game's worth is largely dependent on its fun and what makes it stand out from the crowd, as well as, to a lesser degree, its replayability and overall length.”
    • “The artwork is more pixel-based, but given how limited that is, they make phenomenal work of it to create a great game that has some replayability.”
    • “There is little replayability once the game has been completed outside of reliving certain scary moments and potentially speedrunning it.”
    • “Replayability: low.”
    • “Though it has zero replayability, apart from getting all the achievements, it's definitely worth a playthrough and to be added to your collection.”
  • monetization3 mentions

    The game features no in-game purchases, which users appreciate as it avoids the pitfalls of monetization strategies that feel exploitative. The nostalgic art and sound design are praised for their originality, contributing to a positive perception of the game's value without relying on cash grabs.

    • “The game offers a fair monetization model with no in-game purchases, allowing players to enjoy the full experience without spending extra money.”
    • “I appreciate that there are no hidden costs or paywalls; everything is accessible through gameplay.”
    • “The absence of in-game purchases makes it refreshing to play without the pressure to spend money.”
    • “The art and sound are perfect for grabbing at that nostalgia, but in a way that feels fresh and inventive rather than a cheap cash grab like so many others.”
    • “I looked at it and honestly, sometimes I believe games that are being sold really need better advertising... sometimes, not all.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a light-hearted tone, with players finding the ending amusing and noting that the jump scares often elicit laughter rather than fear. However, some feel that the overall presentation, particularly the battle interface, could benefit from a more engaging and vibrant approach.

    • “The story is pretty simple, though I found the ending funny.”
    • “The whole battle interface could do with a little more pizzazz in general, and the jump scares were more funny than scary, lol.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Overall, players report a stable experience with no significant bugs or errors, indicating a smooth gameplay and effective storytelling.

    • “My playthroughs were bug-free, and there were no spelling or grammar errors as far as I could tell. The storytelling, while simple, was plenty effective.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

60% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
5-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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