Dead of Darkness

About

In Dead of Darkness, players step into the shoes of private investigator Miles Windham as he delves into the mysterious death of his daughter, leading him to the ominous Velvet Island. The game offers a survival-horror experience with cosmic horror influences, featuring a complex narrative and challenging resource management. As players encounter enemies, their mental state deteriorates, leading to intense hallucinations, adding an extra layer of psychological terror to the game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 96 reviews

story22 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game successfully captures the essence of classic survival horror with engaging gameplay elements like inventory management, puzzles, and exploration.
The voice acting is of high quality, adding depth to the characters and enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
The story is intriguing and well-presented, with a rich lore that keeps players invested throughout the experience.

The game suffers from pacing issues and excessive backtracking, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay and lead to frustration.
Combat is limited due to a small arsenal of weapons, which can make encounters feel repetitive and less satisfying.
Some segments, particularly the maze-like areas, can feel tedious and overly challenging, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.

story
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
59%
6%
The story of *Dead of Darkness* follows Miles Windham, a private investigator unraveling the dark secrets behind his daughter's death on Velvet Island. While the narrative features familiar horror tropes and some predictable twists, it is generally well-presented with strong voice acting and engaging character development, particularly in the latter half of the game. Overall, players find the story compelling enough to keep them invested, despite some criticisms regarding its originality and pacing.
- “The story behind *Dead of Darkness* is that you start out as Miles Windham, a tortured private investigator who receives an odd recording claiming that the secret behind the death of his daughter lies on Velvet Island.”
- “I absolutely loved the first 3-4 hours of the game; I was engrossed in the story, eager to find out more and then I discovered 'the trials' which almost made me quit the game due to pure frustration. Thankfully, I stuck with it and would have missed out on a great experience otherwise.”
- “Atmospheric and gory pixel-puzzle-exploration-survival-horror game with great voice acting and a deeper plot than most of the genre.”
- “The story was too intrusive and generally uninteresting, and this game doesn't do much to set itself apart from your Resident Evil or Silent Hill.”
- “The story has some twists and turns and again, while they're well done, they're nothing original.”
- “And like Resident Evil, the story won't be the strong point there.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
57%
10%
The gameplay of *Dead of Darkness* is a blend of classic survival horror mechanics, featuring a familiar loop of item collection, puzzle-solving, and combat against various enemies. While it successfully captures the essence of the genre with solid mechanics and atmosphere, some players note a lack of variety and repetitive elements that can disrupt the flow. Overall, the game offers a well-executed experience for fans of survival horror, despite some criticisms regarding voice acting and pacing.
- “You can even combine the clues with some items to alter them in a mechanic that I thought was brilliant and probably one of the few original ideas in this game.”
- “Gameplay loop is classic and well executed, voice acting is surprisingly there and solid, combat feels good.”
- “Couldn't stop playing until I got to the end, great gameplay, exploration, puzzles, story, it's everything you want from classic survival horror.”
- “I've mentioned that 'Dead of Darkness' is a slave to its inspirations, and this is no more apparent than in the gameplay systems.”
- “The padding kills the flow in certain sections, the voice acting is so bad that it can't be taken seriously, and the lack of variety in the combat or gameplay holds this game back a lot.”
- “The challenge from those sections mainly comes from how the gameplay is; for this type of game, I felt it didn't pair so well with this 2D style.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
The game's 2D pixel art style is well-executed and typical of indie titles, featuring high-definition character portraits that enhance dialogue scenes. While the graphics effectively create a gruesome atmosphere suitable for a hardcore survival horror experience, some reviewers noted a lack of originality and memorability in the artwork. Overall, the visuals are praised for their quality and atmospheric lighting, though they may not stand out in a crowded genre.
- “The game's 2D pixel art style is very much the norm now for indie titles and is extremely well done.”
- “The graphics are rounded out with some nice lighting effects which enhance the atmosphere and give a nice depth to the scenery.”
- “I love the graphic style and it really suited the game; even with the pixel style, the game is extremely gruesome and gory and is not recommended for sensitive players.”
- “If there is one main criticism of the artwork, I'd have to say that while it is done to a high level of quality, none of it is particularly original or memorable, in what will be a recurring theme in this review.”
- “The pixel artwork though feels pretty basic - it’s about at the level you can see in the trailer throughout.”
- “If it had better graphics, I’d put it on the same level as Resident Evil.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
57%
12%
The music and sound design in the game are highly praised for their quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, effectively building tension and complementing the gameplay without being intrusive. Players appreciate the immersive sound effects, particularly during jump scares, and the nostalgic "Resident Evil" vibe of the soundtrack. However, some users noted that the music can be too low in certain cutscenes, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The music nicely sets the tension of each scene and never intrudes upon the action or distracts from any scene.”
- “During some of the jump scare scenes, the music really added to the scare factor.”
- “The music is spot on for those old Resident Evil vibes; I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that soundtrack.”
- “Music can be very low; I couldn't hear it in some cutscenes, and some cutscenes could probably use music.”
- “Music can be very low; I couldn't hear it in some cutscenes, and some cutscenes could probably use music.”
- “I'm old enough to remember listening to music on cassette tapes, and yeah, there were good times, but would I ever want to go back to them?”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its effective use of lighting effects, dark pixel art, and immersive sound design, including strong voice acting that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers note that it successfully captures the essence of survival horror, evoking a nightmare-like scenario reminiscent of classic titles like the original Resident Evil. Overall, the combination of graphics, sound, and gameplay creates a compelling and spooky atmosphere that resonates well with fans of the genre.
- “The graphics are rounded out with some nice lighting effects which enhance the atmosphere and give a nice depth to the scenery.”
- “Everything was given to recreate the once-great experience: great pixel art, a dark atmosphere, and a nightmare-like scenario in a survival horror adventure.”
- “Atmospheric and gory pixel-puzzle-exploration-survival-horror game with great voice acting (sound design in general) and a deeper plot than most of the genre.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game offers great replay value, particularly with the New Game Plus feature, but some players feel that beyond maxed-out weapons, there isn't much new content to unlock. Additionally, the experience can be challenging due to certain enemies that can defeat players in one hit, which may affect the enjoyment of replaying.
- “+ great replay value.”
- “+ great replay value.”
- “I am not sure about replay value; yes, there is a New Game Plus, but besides having your maxed out weapons, nothing really unlocked for me. Even on the very easy mode, I didn't see too much of a difference with maxing out my weapon upgrades. Beware, there are several enemies in the game that can one-hit knock you out, so be cautious about who you challenge with a knife.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of "Tower of Faith" to be tedious, particularly due to the numerous spike traps that require careful navigation. While these challenges can be frustrating, they are generally considered manageable.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players are drawn to the game for its survival horror elements but find themselves engaged and invested in the plot and character development, indicating a strong narrative that enhances the overall experience.
- “At the start, I came to the game due to the survival horror gameplay, but stayed for its plot and character development.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with only a few minor issues reported, including a couple of misspellings in dialogue and one instance of dialogue not triggering. Players noted only two actual game glitches, indicating a stable experience overall.
- “The voice acting is good, but I encountered a few misspellings in the dialogue, one instance where dialogue didn't trigger, and only two actual game glitches.”
- “The voice acting is good, but I encountered a few misspellings in the dialogue, one instance where dialogue didn't trigger, and only two actual game glitches.”

Buy Dead of Darkness

Dead of Darkness
$15.99
See offer on Steam

12h Median play time

13h Average play time

4-23h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

This game contains adult content

83%3.4kreviews

Tormented Souls

2021

Survival Shooter

This game contains adult content

91%402reviews

Lamentum

2021

Survival Role Playing

88%7.3kreviews

Crow Country

2024

Shooter

88%216reviews

Evil Tonight

2021

Survival Shooter

This game contains adult content

79%906reviews

Them and Us

2021

Action Adventure

97%3.5kreviews

My Friendly Neighborhood

2023

Shooter

This game contains adult content

77%252reviews

Eternal Evil

2022

Action Adventure

This game contains adult content

87%1.3kreviews

Conscript

2023

Survival Role Playing

90%1.4kreviews

Alisa

2021

Survival Action Adventure

This game contains adult content

75%270reviews

Remorse: The List

2022

Survival Shooter

Dead of Darkness Tweets

Dead of Darkness

Platforms

About

Buy Dead of Darkness

Dead of Darkness

Videos

Games Like Dead of Darkness

Tormented Souls

Lamentum

Crow Country

Evil Tonight

Them and Us

My Friendly Neighborhood

Eternal Evil

Conscript

Alisa

Remorse: The List