Super Dark Deception

About

Super Dark Deception is a single player arcade role playing game with horror and anime themes. It was developed by Glowstick Entertainment and was released on July 12, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Death awaits you once again in Super Dark Deception, a fun 2D reimagining of the hit horror maze game, Dark Deception!

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86%

Audience ScoreBased on 203 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The 16-bit retro art style and pixel graphics are very well done, creating a nostalgic and charming experience.
The game offers a faithful yet fresh 2D demake of the original Dark Deception with new content, story elements, and the ability to play as monsters.
Despite difficulty and bugs, many players find the gameplay fun, challenging, and rewarding, especially for those with less powerful PCs.

Several mechanics from the original game don't translate well into 2D, such as the Gold Watchers' line of sight and Agatha's teleportation, leading to frustrating and unfair AI behavior.
The game has numerous bugs including glitchy AI, stuck characters, non-working achievements, and control issues that impact player experience.
Levels are perceived as unbalanced and overly difficult in unfair ways, especially boss fights and certain enemy encounters, making progression frustrating.

gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
64%
12%
The gameplay offers a familiar and enjoyable skill-based loop with fresh 2D pixel art adaptation and new AI mechanics, but many original mechanics, like teleportation and enemy detection, do not translate well into 2D and feel awkward. Additionally, numerous bugs and unfair level designs hinder progression and achievements, significantly impacting the overall experience. While some players find it fun and recommend the main game instead, others feel the technical issues and mechanical limitations need urgent fixes.
- “The gameplay is pretty fluid and it works well in a 2D state.”
- “The gameplay seems simple at first glance but there is actually a pretty enjoyable skill curve to it.”
- “It is not only a demake of the original game 'Dark Deception,' but also offers new experiences to all players with the new AI mechanics of the original cast of enemies, the archive room filled with fun Easter eggs, and you can get the chance to play as the monsters.”
- “Not a part of the 'review bombing', but this game basically takes the same core mechanics and issues that the original game had and somehow makes them worse to deal with.”
- “Also, some of the original game's mechanics just do not work in 2D, like the teleportation mechanics, and the gold watchers looking mechanic, since you can only look left and right, which is just ludicrous. They should definitely make it so you can look in all four directions.”
- “A lot of the mechanics don't cross over well into 2D.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The graphics are highly praised for their charming 2D pixel art style, which effectively captures a retro, demake aesthetic while refreshing the original game's mechanics. The visuals are described as beautiful, spooky, and well-crafted, contributing significantly to the overall engaging atmosphere. Users appreciate the art style's uniqueness and quality, giving it top marks despite minor level design issues.
- “The pixel art style and the adaptation of the old mechanics into 2D make the game feel fresh and actually different from the original.”
- “The visuals are amazing and I love the retro sprites and art style.”
- “The art style is beautiful, the voice acting is great, and it's pretty spooky at times too.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The story in this game is praised for its expanded narrative and improved storytelling compared to previous entries, adding more depth and features that enhance player engagement. While some bugs remain, the storyline and animations help mitigate gameplay issues, making the story a notable highlight with good pacing and additional content.
- “I'm aware the previous chapters in the main game got updated since that horrible and redundant Agatha boss fight makes a re-appearance here, but it would seem this game got more storytelling than what the original game currently has.”
- “Aside from that, I love that more attention got put into the storytelling aspect of the game because I feel like that's what the main game has lacked for so long, even with the late and lackluster display of character development we got with chapter 4.”
- “I've always liked the story so I'm glad to see it expanded upon in this game.”
- “☐ no story”
- “There is still a few bugs, whats ruin gameplay, but storyline and animations is closing that problem.”
- “I'm aware the previous chapters in the main game got updated since that horrible and redundant Agatha boss fight makes a re-appearance here.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music is highly praised for its 8-bit and 16-bit remix style, seamlessly fitting the game's nostalgic pixel art aesthetic and enhancing the overall atmosphere. Players find the soundtrack engaging and memorable, with several tracks described as standout and even "bangers," contributing significantly to the game's charm.
- “With the option of buying statues to decorate is a really nice touch, and the song that plays slaps so hard.”
- “And lastly, the music was converted to fit in with the rest of the game, which just sounds amazing.”
- “I absolutely love and adore the spritework and music, it gives such a nice, almost nostalgic vibes of old games.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous bugs, including player glitches after death and unpredictable enemy behavior, which contribute to an unbalanced and sometimes unfair experience. While these issues do not entirely ruin the gameplay, they significantly impact stability and make achieving high rankings difficult. Overall, the game feels buggy and unstable in its current state.
- “When you die, it glitches your player so he is stuck facing one direction.”
- “In its current state, this game is overpriced, buggy, and not what it promises to be.”
- “I would consider it a pretty hard game, even unfair at some moments or very buggy, making it impossible to S rank (or nearly impossible).”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The atmosphere is widely seen as lacking compared to the original game, with many users feeling the new version fails to capture the original's iconic and immersive mood. While occasionally moments can be scary, overall the game is described as losing the charm, beauty, and tension that defined the earlier installment.
- “Yes, it does not have the atmosphere like the original game, but it can still be sometimes scary.”
- “The atmosphere of the original is gone and replaced with... I don't know, this game doesn't have any atmosphere for some reason.”
- “Everything loses atmosphere and, above everything, it loses iconicity. Dark Deception is a really iconic game, but here it just loses its charm.”
- “Watcher boss is too hard... like it's really easy if the zone was not so small with Malak and others so fast. The original was probably harder actually, but it was much more beautiful with the atmosphere and the zone was big. It was quite fun. Here, no.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game offers strong replayability with multiple unlockable extras such as different characters, stats, and a customizable archive room. Collecting soul shards to purchase decorations adds depth beyond just achieving high ranks, enhancing long-term engagement. Overall, users rate its replay value positively, around 7/10.
- “Very fun game with tons of replayability!”
- “Lots of replay value.”
- “You can unlock many extras not available in the main game, like different playable characters, game stats, and a customizable archive room. The game offers true replay value beyond just achieving S ranks, as you can purchase more decorations by collecting soul shards.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game becomes tedious and challenging, especially after collecting all the shards, where players face frequent ambushes requiring fast reactions and precise dodging. Early levels are more enjoyable and less demanding, but the difficulty spikes significantly during grinding.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Level 4 was fun and not too challenging until you get all the shards, then you get ambushed and surrounded, requiring fast reactions and precision to dodge, which is very tedious in this game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express confusion or skepticism about the game's optimization, implying it may perform worse than expected rather than improving efficiency.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the increased focus on storytelling compared to previous entries, though some feel character development remains limited and could be more substantial.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is highlighted by charming and lighthearted touches, such as the character performing a funny little dance when idle, adding a playful and entertaining element.
- “When you idle for a while, your character will do a funny little dance.”