On Dark Terms

About

In "On Dark Terms," a 1-4 player co-op horror game, you make a pact with Bwonsombdi, Loa of the Dead, for protection in a post-apocalyptic world. Roam the open-world to gather materials, craft items, and delve into dungeons to destroy Dark Matter. Unique paranormal investigations and consumable crafting set this game apart.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 78 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

music2 negative mentions

The game has a unique concept of being a ghost-hunting cat, which adds a fun twist to the genre.
The open-world design and various dungeons provide an interesting and immersive experience, with potential for exploration and crafting.
The developer is responsive to community feedback and has shown dedication to improving the game through frequent updates.

The game suffers from information overload, making it difficult for new players to grasp the mechanics and objectives.
Many players find the difficulty level excessively high, even on easy mode, leading to frustration and frequent deaths.
The tutorial and initial gameplay experience are poorly designed, often leaving players confused and overwhelmed.

gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
67%
8%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a variety of mechanics, including flash hunts, hallucinations, and a corruption system, which can be overwhelming for new players due to their complexity and the rapid pace of encounters. While the unique mechanics and the ability to play as both a cat and a human add depth and fun, many players find the initial tutorial tedious and insufficient for understanding the full range of gameplay. Overall, despite some frustrations with the mechanics and balance, players appreciate the game's potential and distinctiveness compared to other ghost hunting titles.
- “The corruption, flash hunts, and embodiments add a lot to the gameplay and make it feel much more like a genuine game than the tutorial makes it out to seem.”
- “In relation to other ghost hunting style games such as Metaphysical and Phasmophobia, I would say this game possesses fun mechanics that are different enough that it feels very different from playing Phasmophobia or Metaphysical.”
- “The mechanics make the game really interesting and unique, the open world scenery is just beautiful and it's great to see some really cool looking ghost models!”
- “There's several mechanics like flash hunts, hallucinations, and the event with your corruption bar that you also need to pay attention to, although you have never experienced any of it before. You die very quickly, and suddenly your friends have to figure out the mechanics without you. You don't end up learning anything because you cannot help your friends figure it out... it's just all a mess.”
- “There are 4/5 stages inside each 'dungeon' (essentially a ghost hunt, like going inside a house in Phasmophobia), but each stage has totally different gameplay mechanics, so it feels really overwhelming.”
- “The corruption mechanic makes no sense at all; it's just to annoy you while you are running towards the boss for the 100th time because you are unlucky. The boss has 4 skills and spams all of them, usually faster than you. If not, it at least teleports. The demon is beatable, the witch is annoying, but the ghost... you actually need to be lucky with the ghost, so it's not fun at all at this stage.”
story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
The game's story is engaging and features a well-developed backstory and lore, with a main narrative that unfolds through interactions and objectives. While some players find the storytelling method—primarily through reading letters and item descriptions—less appealing, the environmental storytelling and research missions add depth to the grim history of the world. Overall, players are intrigued by the storyline and eager to explore it further, especially in a multiplayer context.
- “The world looks nice and I was interested to know more about the backstory and lore.”
- “There are research missions for most of every area that tell you a bit more about the events you are dealing with when completing dungeons.”
- “The storyline is interesting and I can't wait to see more... also can't wait to play with my friends.”
- “The story is unfortunately told in one of my least favorite methods, primarily by reading letters or reading short descriptions of items.”
- “I think there should be a tab of collected notes so you can keep track of the story.”
- “When one of us completed an objective, it was not completed for the others, so everyone had to do the mission individually.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game's optimization is currently lacking, particularly at resolutions above 1080p, where players report significant performance issues, including inconsistent frame rates and high GPU usage. While some users experience acceptable performance at lower settings, others face severe lag and overheating concerns, leading to frustration with the developer's dismissive attitude towards reported issues. Overall, optimization remains a critical area needing improvement, especially given the game's early access status.
- “Optimization is still something that needs work, but not surprising given the early access.”
- “Anything above 1080p will suffer performance issues, giving you inconsistent FPS and constant FPS drops.”
- “When I brought it down to medium graphics, it helped a bit and I was getting over 60 FPS, but it still felt laggy on the camera side of things.”
- “Unfortunately, it has some performance issues.”
- “Performance above 1080p is hot garbage. I'm assuming this is the dev's native monitor resolution because this is where it's optimized the most. However, my setup is a single 4K HDR 60Hz monitor, and the majority of my games run perfectly fine.”
- “Anything above 1080p will suffer performance issues, giving you inconsistent FPS and constant FPS drops. It ran around 30-45 FPS on high settings. When I brought it down to medium graphics, it helped a bit and I was getting over 60 FPS, but it still felt laggy on the camera side of things.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's atmosphere is a mixed bag; while some locations, particularly the dungeons and overworld, are visually stunning and effectively create tension, others, like the small train station map, lack depth. Overall, the environmental design contributes significantly to an engaging and immersive experience.
- “Some of the locations have a pretty good atmosphere, creating a strong sense of tension as you try to find your objectives while the corruption level is creeping ever upwards.”
- “The atmosphere is perfect; the environmental design in the dungeons and overworld is exceptional, and the clue gathering and everything else is on point.”
- “The world is atmospheric and visually stunning; the dungeons are fun and exciting, even on repeat playthroughs after some unfortunate deaths.”
- “The train station map near the starting apartment is very small and lacks any sort of atmosphere.”
graphics
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their visual appeal, with levels described as "awesome" and "pretty." However, players have reported issues with optimization, including high GPU usage and performance lag, particularly in early access. Adjusting settings can improve frame rates, but some technical problems remain, indicating that further optimization is needed.
- “The levels look awesome and the graphics are pretty.”
- “When I brought it down to medium graphics, it helped a bit and I was getting over 60fps, but it was still a bit laggy on the camera side of things. Turning off motion blur helped, but this game still feels as if the performance is being affected by something else out of my control.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback, with players noting the clash between the Christmas update music and the regular soundtrack, which can be annoying. Additionally, the ice cream vans feature unsettling music that contributes to jump scares, while the overall audio experience is described as chaotic and disjointed.
- “When I launched the game, it mentioned a Christmas update, but the annoying Christmas music played simultaneously with the normal music, and it still says 'early access'.”
- “The ice cream vans play music that jump scares you, and there are scarecrows that drag you off and kill you, respawning you in the safe house.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the humor in the game through amusing cat antics and entertaining animations, which contribute to a lighthearted and enjoyable experience.
- “It was hilarious to create the cats and engage in silly antics while running around as them, especially enjoying the amusing animations.”
- “The humor in the game is top-notch, with clever dialogue and unexpected situations that kept me laughing throughout.”
- “I loved the quirky characters and their witty banter; it added a delightful layer of fun to the gameplay.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the game's unique ideas and strong community, emphasizing that it offers high replayability and consistently delivers an enjoyable experience.
- “An amazing game with such unique ideas and replayable every time. It won't let you down, and it has a great community.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express concerns about misleading hardware specifications on the game's Steam page, suggesting that the advertised requirements do not accurately reflect the game's performance capabilities at various resolutions.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, while users report occasional bugs, such as texture glitches, the game's stability is commendable for a title developed by a single developer, with many expressing surprise at the relatively low number of issues.
- “There are still some bugs that pop up from time to time. For me, the biggest one would be texture glitches randomly when the game is loaded, but for a single developer, I am surprised there aren't more bugs.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
- “I encountered several stability issues, including random freezes and long loading times.”