Dark Room
- July 15, 2020
- Lexip Games
- 3h median play time
Get on SteamHe stared at the darkness and thinking . In early morning , when all the doors were locked , they had all wanted to come in , and now that he had opened one door and the other had apparently...
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a visually pleasing art style and a fitting atmosphere that enhances the experience.
- The story has potential and can be interesting, with some players appreciating the different endings.
- Some puzzles are cleverly designed and can provide a good challenge for players who enjoy brain teasers.
- Many puzzles are overly cryptic, illogical, or tedious, leading to frustration and a lack of enjoyment.
- The game suffers from poor translations and numerous typos, which detract from immersion and overall quality.
- The controls and mechanics feel clunky and unrefined, with slow movement and a simplified interface that doesn't meet PC gaming standards.
- story8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally viewed as interesting and has potential, with some reviewers appreciating its atmosphere and premise. However, it is criticized for being disjointed and lacking depth, with some players feeling that it is overshadowed by gameplay issues and confusing puzzles. Overall, while the narrative has its merits, it fails to fully engage or satisfy all players.
“I really liked the story and the idea behind it.”
“The idea, the story is interesting and has potential.”
“The game has a good story and the puzzles are designed cleverly.”
“Tl;dr - dark room squanders an interesting premise and beautiful locale with milquetoast horror elements and a lackluster story.”
“The game is super short but has decent atmosphere, an okay story and some confusing puzzles on the harder difficulties.”
“I don't really care about story, but it seemed that the story was disjointed.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its appealing art style and fitting ambiance, contributing to an interesting premise. However, the experience is marred by poor audio quality, confusing puzzles, and a notably short gameplay duration, which detracts from the overall immersion.
“The game is super short but has decent atmosphere, an okay story, and some confusing puzzles on the harder difficulties.”
“I liked the atmosphere, sound, style, and general movement.”
“Great atmosphere and interesting premise.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Gameplay is characterized by a visually appealing atmosphere and an intriguing story, but it suffers from poor audio quality, sluggish movement mechanics, and a mix of overly simplistic or illogical puzzles. While some players may appreciate the unique elements, many find the gameplay frustrating due to vague clues and a lack of depth, resulting in a short overall experience.
“Dark room = 2-3 hours of gameplay”
“The art is nice to look at, the atmosphere feels fitting, and the story, as far as I got into it, felt interesting, but the audio is awful, the mechanics of moving around feel heavy and slow, the puzzles are either too easy or not logical at all, and - like it or not - it has a slide puzzle.”
“Someone may like this sort of gameplay, but spending an hour on a puzzle just because the clues are so vague is not my thing.”
“Great atmosphere and interesting premise, but bad dubbing, nonsensical puzzles, and very short gameplay (1-2 hours).”
- graphics2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are criticized for being static and reminiscent of low-effort flash or mobile games, which fails to meet the visual standards expected from a PC title. This lack of effort in the graphical design detracts from the overall quality and appeal for PC gamers.
“The game features somewhat lazy, static 2D graphics, of the type you normally expect to see in low-effort Flash/browser games and mobile apps.”
“Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in (get it? because it's a mobile app???) like this isn't going to result in a high-quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of "Dark Room" has been criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling that it is a poorly adapted mobile app rather than a genuine PC game. The simplistic gameplay and static visuals contribute to the perception that the developers are prioritizing profit over quality.
“Dark Room is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game. It's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers. The game is a static image adventure where you tap on hotspots to manage your inventory and move from scene to scene, reminiscent of how adventure games used to be before King's Quest.”
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend money on features that should be included in the base game.”
“It's frustrating to see a game that could have been great reduced to a series of paywalls and microtransactions.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find that while point-and-click games often feature challenging puzzles, some grinding elements can feel tedious and lack logical depth, relying instead on repetitive tasks like moving tiles. The inability to skip these less engaging puzzles further contributes to the frustration.
“The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which quickly became boring and frustrating.”
“The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
