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Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side

75%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
gameplay, monetization
75% User Score Based on 106 reviews

Platforms

PCPCWindowsWindowsNintendo SwitchNintendo SwitchMac OSMac OS
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About

There is no one in the world who could return from the Dark Side inviolate… “Darkness and Flame. The Dark Side” is an adventure game in the genre of Hidden Objects, with plenty of mini-games and puzzles, unforgettable characters and complicated quests.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side screenshot
+7

75%
Audience ScoreBased on 106 reviews
story9 positive mentions
monetization3 negative mentions
  • The game offers a fun and engaging experience with a variety of puzzles and a decent storyline, making it a great way to pass the time for a free game.
  • Graphics and animations are visually appealing, and the game features interesting mini-games that add to the overall enjoyment.
  • Players appreciate the challenge level of the puzzles, which can be both fun and thought-provoking, making it suitable for those who enjoy hidden object games.
  • The game has a paywall for hints and the bonus chapter, which can be frustrating for players who expect a truly free experience.
  • Limited hints and the need to purchase coins for additional help can hinder progress, especially for those who are not familiar with hidden object games.
  • Some players found the gameplay mechanics and puzzle logic to be confusing or poorly designed, leading to frustration during play.
  • story
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this hidden object game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its engaging narrative and artistic presentation. While the puzzles are considered manageable, some users express frustration with the monetization aspects, such as the need to purchase hints and additional content. Overall, the game offers a satisfactory storyline that complements its gameplay, though some players feel that the free version limits the experience.

    • “The storyline was good and I liked the artwork, but the constant pestering to buy more coins got annoying, and the locked 'pay to open' section after the main story pushes this into a thumbs down.”
    • “Lovely storyline and I would love to see a sequel to it.”
    • “This has a great storyline and keeps you on your toes.”
    • “Had more trouble finding the tools I need to progress than the puzzles themselves, and it sucks that this free version takes place in the middle of the story.”
    • “Standard hidden object game with a standard story, graphics, puzzles, and a few hidden object scenes.”
    • “Pretty game, but it's hard to like the story when you can't get past a puzzle.”
  • graphics
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and quality, featuring nice animations, well-designed environments, and a distinctive art style. While many players appreciate the visuals and find them engaging, some note that the graphics are standard for the genre and that the overall experience is marred by issues such as poor translation and monetization frustrations. Overall, the aesthetic appeal is a highlight, but it is accompanied by mixed feelings regarding gameplay mechanics and additional costs.

    • “The game aesthetic is beautiful.”
    • “Very nice animations, very nice set of puzzles, beautiful graphics, and even voice acting and lots of achievements!”
    • “Love the art style and the environments; the characters and story were good!”
    • “While the graphics are average for a HOPA, the gameplay is far more infuriating to deal with.”
    • “Graphics are typical for Five-BN, but the English translation seems worse than usual, and that's only emphasized by the stiff, awkward delivery of the voice actors.”
    • “Standard HOPA game with standard story, graphics, puzzles, and a few hidden object scenes.”
  • gameplay
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay features a mix of clunky animations and janky mechanics, which some players find endearing, while others see it as a drawback. Despite these issues, the game offers engaging puzzles and well-designed locations, with a non-intrusive monetization model that avoids aggressive pop-ups. However, the overall experience is marred by poor cut scenes and gameplay inconsistencies, leading to mixed feelings among players.

    • “Well thought-out action-consequence gameplay.”
    • “It comes with nice graphics, well-done locations, and some interesting game mechanics and puzzles.”
    • “It's not one of the typical free-to-play games where you have to spend energy to replay the same scenes for collectibles; the gameplay is the same as a typical non-free hidden object puzzle adventure, except that hints and skips cost coins which are bought with actual money.”
    • “The animations are hilariously clunky and the gameplay is a little janky, but that's to be expected from this company and it doesn't take away from the fun puzzles.”
    • “The poor gameplay isn't helped by the awful cut scenes.”
    • “I wouldn't mind seeing more hogs released like this, and if you just want a cheap hog you could certainly do worse, but the gameplay issues hit me right in the pet peeves.”
  • music
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is praised for its quality, especially considering its free-to-play status and low budget, contributing to an engaging atmosphere alongside the story and cutscenes. Players appreciate the great soundtrack, which enhances the overall experience of the puzzle gameplay. Additionally, the game includes a soundtrack, concept art, and wallpapers, adding value for players.

    • “For a free-to-play puzzle game, it has good music, cutscenes, and actually tries to tell a story, so I can't knock it for the resulting quality since that was probably the result of a low budget.”
    • “It's only an 880MB download, has achievements, and offers several hours of decent puzzle content along with a story, music, voice acting, and cutscenes.”
    • “Lots of different puzzles, great soundtrack, and story.”
  • monetization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization model heavily relies on microtransactions, with players noting that completing the game often requires purchasing in-game currency or hints, although some feel these purchases are unnecessary for progression.

    • “The game offers in-game purchases for coins, and I didn't mind the price.”
    • “Slightly more difficult, with in-game hint microtransactions, but they are yet unnecessary.”
    • “Can't be completed without microtransactions.”
    • “In-game purchases for coins (I didn't care about the price).”
    • “Slightly more difficult, with in-game hint microtransactions, but is yet unnecessary.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its clunky animations and janky gameplay, which, while expected from the developer, adds to the overall enjoyment of the fun puzzles.

    • “The animations are hilariously clunky, and the gameplay is a little janky, but that's to be expected from this company, and it doesn't take away from the fun puzzles.”
  • atmosphere
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers appreciate the game's artistic style, highlighting the character and atmosphere design as particularly pleasing and contributing positively to the overall experience.

    • “I found the artistic style of the character and atmosphere design very pleasing.”
  • stability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting numerous bugs and a poorly designed hint system that exacerbates the experience.

    • “The game is too buggy and has a really bad hint system.”
    • “Frequent crashes make it nearly unplayable.”
    • “I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the experience.”

Buy Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side

6h Median play time
6h Average play time
6-6h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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