DarkMaus

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 548 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • atmosphere
DarkMaus Game Cover
Starting at $4.99Buy now
Get on Steam

DarkMaus is a single-player platformer game with a good plot, exceptional gameplay, and dense atmosphere. Armed with a variety of weapons, players control a lone wanderer in the corrupted world of Hazath, battling enemies in thoughtful, skill-based combat. Each death summons an ally ghost that retraces your steps, adding an extra layer of strategy to this challenging and rewarding game.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 548 reviews
gameplay50 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • DarkMaus offers a challenging and rewarding gameplay experience reminiscent of the Dark Souls series, with tight combat mechanics and a unique ghost system that aids players after death.
  • The game's art style and atmosphere create a dark and immersive world, enhancing the overall experience and keeping players engaged.
  • The variety of weapons and character customization options allow for different playstyles, making each playthrough feel unique.
  • The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and performance drops, which can hinder the gameplay experience.
  • Some players find the difficulty spikes and enemy placements to be frustrating, leading to moments that feel unfair or overly punishing.
  • The inventory and menu systems are clunky and can be cumbersome to navigate, detracting from the overall fluidity of the game.
  • gameplay210 mentions

    The gameplay of Darkmaus is heavily inspired by the Souls series, featuring challenging, skill-based combat and unique mechanics like ghost assistance, which can help mitigate difficulty spikes. While the isometric perspective offers a fresh take, some players find the controls clunky and the healing system lacking, leading to a punishing experience that may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the game is praised for its atmospheric design and varied combat, though it may require patience to master its mechanics.

    • “I personally love all of the options for kitting out your character and the built-in assist mechanic with the ghost rats.”
    • “The core elements of gameplay (skill-based combat, soft-capped stat-raising, equipment load, risk-vs-reward) are all center-stage and all feel great.”
    • “Overall a wonderful game for those who enjoy challenge and masochistic level design with good gameplay dashed in for spice.”
    • “Sadly, there is no 'estus-flask' mechanic, only farmable consumables for healing which may be offputting for some.”
    • “The PC is extremely fragile compared to enemies and has infrequent access to healing items; even Dark Souls gave players automatically restoring healing items at every bonfire, and because of this, the gameplay suffers a little.”
    • “Very limited gameplay, but the game has severe framerate and slowdown issues.”
  • graphics114 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a minimalist and stylish art style that many players find appealing, effectively creating a dark and atmospheric world reminiscent of titles like "Limbo." However, some users report performance issues, including frame rate drops and graphical glitches, which can detract from the experience. Overall, while the aesthetic is praised for its beauty and creativity, there are calls for improved graphics settings to enhance performance.

    • “Aesthetically and musically, the game is truly gorgeous, and I even plan on grabbing the OST in a sale.”
    • “The dark, atmospheric world is achieved with very minimal graphics, the music is fitting, and while obviously very heavily influenced by the Dark Souls series, Darkmaus is not crippled with being too derivative by adding a couple of its own elements.”
    • “Fantastic soundtrack, extremely unique art style that beautifully encapsulates the grim and gritty world you're traversing through, easy to pick up combat that at the same time seems to be one of those that could take days of playtime to get down pat.”
    • “No joke, the game is almost unplayable without a graphics card.”
    • “Besides the gameplay, there is a pretty glaring issue with the graphics, specifically the framerate.”
    • “There are no graphics settings to fix this other than playing in a tiny window, which basically means you die over and over because you click out of the game.”
  • atmosphere68 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its dense, dark, and oppressive qualities, effectively immersing players in a haunting world reminiscent of the Soulsborne series. The combination of minimal graphics, eerie music, and clever lighting mechanics enhances the sense of claustrophobia and tension, making exploration both challenging and engaging. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the overall experience.

    • “The atmosphere is dense and the combat - while feeling heavy at first - is enjoyable once you get the hang of it.”
    • “The dark, atmospheric world is achieved with very minimal graphics, the music is fitting, and while obviously very heavily influenced by the Dark Souls series, Darkmaus is not crippled with being too derivative by adding a couple of its own elements.”
    • “Lighting is important and torches factor into staving off the complete darkness and the color scheme along with the general setting depicted really create a dark and oppressive atmosphere that will keep you on edge.”
    • “Transferring spooky atmosphere on mouse protagonists and animal scenery/feral wildlife probably was a tough job, but from the start the player feels some sort of claustrophobia in his torchlit circle, because you might never know what is around the next corner.”
    • “It's bleak and dark aesthetics suit well with the atmosphere its developer tried to create.”
  • story62 mentions

    The story is generally perceived as simplistic and minimalistic, revolving around a mad king/necromancer that players must confront, with an abrupt and anticlimactic ending. While some players appreciate the dark atmosphere and character moments, many feel the narrative lacks depth and detail, leaving key plot points underdeveloped. Overall, the game is seen as having a barebones story that, while not the main focus, still offers some engaging elements amidst its challenging gameplay.

    • “The story is dark and vague, and you feel overwhelmed at every turn, but never cheated.”
    • “There are a couple of plot twists, and the game has all the basic needed souls lore, like why you keep reviving after death.”
    • “Really one of the most interesting things about the game is how you feel like it's just a normal type of game where you just need to get to the end, but the thing that kind of threw me for a loop was meeting another character who I was to escort to a village, and once I got her there, I was told more of the backstory of the game.”
    • “The story abruptly ends; you fight someone that looks just like another boss or mini-boss, and as soon as you defeat it, the credits start rolling. No fanfare, no explanation, no nothing, it just... ends.”
    • “The story in particular feels bare, although the overall atmosphere is intimate and oppressive enough to compensate for that.”
    • “In my opinion, this game embodies what an outside perspective of all souls titles is: no story, extraordinarily brutal gameplay, and absolutely no explanation of anything.”
  • music62 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and moody qualities, effectively enhancing the overall experience and matching the game's aesthetic. While the soundtrack is described as sparse, it is noted for being potent and well-timed to specific events, contributing to moments of tension and immersion. Some users found the music to be beautifully orchestrated and fitting for the dark themes of the game, although a few mentioned issues with implementation and occasional bugs.

    • “The music itself is orchestrated, mostly somber, and perfect as an enhancement.”
    • “The game soundtrack is really nice, so that helps to add to the atmosphere of you running around exploring.”
    • “The aesthetic carries it the whole way through; the music is sparse but very potent, and it's maybe just over the length it needed to be.”
    • “Music will cut out and restart randomly; there's no real title screen, and there are a number of bugs (most of them harmless, but some frustrating) that I've run into.”
    • “Its only real shortcomings are its lack of story and its fairly plain (albeit spoopy) soundtrack.”
    • “I am a sucker for soundtracks though, and the actual music tracks for this title were quite good, if questionably implemented.”
  • replayability14 mentions

    The game offers notable replayability primarily through its New Game+ mode, allowing players to revisit the experience with new weapons and items, as well as explore different build variations. While the game is relatively short, lasting around 5-8 hours, many players find the challenge and mechanics reminiscent of "souls" games to provide sufficient incentive for multiple playthroughs. However, some reviews mention a lack of depth in replay value, suggesting that while enjoyable, it may not sustain long-term engagement for all players.

    • “The game is short, but wholesome, and there is replay value with New Game+ to try to grab the weapons and items you missed the first time around.”
    • “Excellent little game, had a 'souls' game experience for 5-7 hours, which I plan to finish again since the game has so much replayability like a true souls game. New Game+ adds some new weapons and items; I just wished this game had achievements and at least one attribute respec per new game. 9/10 game.”
    • “In consequence of using souls' mechanics, the game offers plenty of replay value through its weapon variety, self-handicaps, and how you take care of baddies.”
    • “Plenty challenging but fairly short with little replay value.”
    • “Not very long sadly (took me 8 hours to complete), but it has some replayability with ng+ and different build variations.”
    • “Excellent little game, had a 'souls' game experience for 5-7 hours, which I plan to finish again since the game has so much replayability like a true souls game, ng+ adds some new weapons and items, just wished this game had achievements and at least 1 attribute respec per new game.”
  • optimization10 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including frame drops and brief screen interruptions, which detract from the overall experience. While others report smooth performance, the consensus suggests that the game requires further optimization and additional graphics options to enhance playability.

    • “Great game, runs smoothly.”
    • “I don't know why the dev said it's optimized for controller - it definitely feels natural with keyboard and mouse.”
    • “Unfortunately, performance issues are holding it back quite a bit.”
    • “Overall, I can't recommend this game unless they fix the performance issues, they're just too hindering.”
    • “I'd especially appreciate any graphics and performance options since the game has some moments where it chugs on my computer or the game is interrupted with a blank white screen for just a split second.”
  • grinding8 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, as it often feels tedious and unrewarding, reminiscent of Dark Souls but lacking its satisfaction. The presence of unfair enemies and a cumbersome item menu further complicates the experience, making it difficult to effectively manage resources and progress. Overall, grinding is seen as a chore rather than an engaging challenge.

    • “It's like Dark Souls, except the combat is incredibly unrewarding and the game just feels tedious to replay.”
    • “Navigating the items menu can become cumbersome and tedious late game when you have lots of stuff.”
    • “This aspect of grinding to earn back the ability to make up for a mistake is also made worse by the 'entities' of DM which appear designed to unfairly kill you and waste any rations that you use.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game's stability has been criticized due to significant issues such as freezing during combat, severe frame drops, and occasional graphical glitches. While some players attribute performance problems to their hardware, the recurring freezing and unplayable conditions on different systems indicate a need for improvement in stability. Overall, these issues detract from the gaming experience.

    • “Before my laptop broke, I had gotten pretty far into the game. It was a little slow; I assume it's my computer's fault. After trying to replay on my new desktop, I have an issue where whenever I attack an enemy, the screen flashes white for 5 seconds and everything freezes. It basically made the game unplayable.”
    • “I also noticed a few fairly severe and random frame drops and freezes.”
    • “Small graphical glitches: I only encountered one of these, and it's not really anything big. It's just there, like every game has them, and has no impact on gameplay.”
  • humor6 mentions

    The humor in the game is derived from its intentionally frustrating mechanics, leading to absurd and unfair deaths that players find amusing. Additionally, there is a missed opportunity for comedic potential with the absence of a "mauslock" option, which some players feel could have enhanced the experience. Overall, the humor is characterized by a blend of irony and the shared struggles of players facing challenging scenarios.

    • “And, because it's like I Wanna Be The Guy, you get to die a lot in a lot of hilariously unfair ways.”
    • “Also a crime against humor for missing the opportunity to add a 'mauslock' option in the settings menu.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is highlighted by its fascinating and novel character designs, which, despite a minimalist approach, are executed flawlessly and significantly enhance the overall setting.

    • “Fascinating character designs full of novelty.”
    • “Additionally, while also a bit minimalist, the actual set and character designs are flawless and really just further enhance the overall setting of the game.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players find the game to be a short yet wholesome experience that evokes emotional engagement, with the added incentive of replay value through new game+ to explore missed content.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy DarkMaus

Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
2-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Similar Games