The Dark: Survival RPG

38%
Game Brain Score Based on 15 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • grinding
The Dark: Survival RPG Game Cover
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"The Dark: Survival RPG" is a challenging game set in a decaying world where chaos reigns. Players must survive by crafting, building, and farming while contending with dangerous creatures and caves. An action-based skill system allows for customization, and upon death, players become ghosts able to explore the spirit dimension. All items save their place in the world, allowing for a personalized home base. The game features day, night, and season cycles, and encourages exploration and combat for loot and food.

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Reviews

38%
Audience ScoreBased on 15 reviews
atmosphere3 positive mentions
story3 negative mentions
  • The game features a large open world with plenty of exploration opportunities and engaging old-school grinding mechanics.
  • The atmosphere and art style are unique, providing a charming RPG vibe that many players appreciate.
  • The solo developer shows a strong commitment to the game, with promising updates and a clear vision for future improvements.
  • The game suffers from significant interface and usability issues, including a confusing inventory system and lack of tooltips or tutorials.
  • Many players have reported bugs and missing content, such as the inability to level up skills and the absence of key quest items like rats.
  • The overall gameplay experience is marred by clunky animations, poor character creation options, and a lack of survival mechanics despite the game's title.
  • story5 mentions

    The story aspect of the game has been criticized for its lack of clarity and functionality, with players reporting missing quests, absent enemies, and no quest log to track objectives. This has led to confusion and frustration, as essential gameplay elements like skill progression and quest tracking are either broken or nonexistent. Overall, the narrative experience feels incomplete and disorganized.

    • “The starting quest asks you to kill some rats, but there are no rats.”
    • “There is no window to see what quests you have, or any text for the quests.”
    • “I had no way to go back and check if I was told where the rats were, and there is no quest log at all to refer back to.”
  • music3 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; some find it constant and shrill, leading to a desire to mute it, while others appreciate its soothing and immersive qualities that enhance the overall experience. The combination of music and lighting effectively creates tension, although some players suggest adjustments to the timing of the transitions. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere, with players expressing a willingness to continue playing.

    • “The music was appropriately soothing and relaxing, with sound effects that met my expectations.”
    • “The music and lighting made it immersive; however, I would maybe make nighttime a little later. It went from bright to dark quickly, which kept me on the edge of my chair to ensure nothing was coming to get me. I really enjoyed it and will be playing a lot more.”
    • “The background music is constant and has no context, so I either have to mute it or deal with the constant stream of shrill music.”
    • “The music lacks variety and quickly becomes repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
    • “The soundtrack feels out of place and doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players appreciate the extensive old-school grinding available in the game, noting that the large map offers ample opportunities for prolonged engagement and activities that can keep them occupied for many hours.

  • graphics2 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for being cool and visually appealing, contributing to a positive overall experience. However, some users feel that the game would benefit from additional options for graphics or resolution settings to enhance its visual quality further.

    • “Cool graphics, nice game overall.”
    • “The game needs a graphics or resolution option that will improve the overall feel and look.”
    • “The visuals are outdated and lack the polish expected from modern games.”
    • “The graphics are underwhelming and do not do justice to the game's potential.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is consistently praised as outstanding, creating an immersive and engaging experience for players.

    • “The atmosphere of the game is outstanding.”
    • “The immersive environment truly draws you in and makes you feel part of the world.”
    • “Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that lingers long after playing.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game features smooth performance and enjoyable character customization, though players note a lack of variety in female hairstyles and male beard styles, despite an abundance of scar and tattoo options.

    • “The character customization is impressive, with a wide variety of scar and tattoo options, although I would love to see more diversity in hairstyles, especially for female characters and shorter styles for males. Overall, the game runs smoothly.”
    • “The optimization of the game is commendable, providing a seamless experience even during intense gameplay moments.”
    • “I appreciate how well the game performs on various systems, making it accessible to a wider audience without sacrificing quality.”
  • gameplay1 mentions

    The gameplay features a charming blend of Minecraft-inspired elements and robust crafting mechanics, complemented by enjoyable combat that, while not perfectly polished, offers a fun experience. The character designs evoke a strong, fantasy aesthetic, and the overall effort put into the game is evident.

    • “The gameplay itself is actually fairly neat; it's got some Minecraft vibes. The male characters all look like high-strength Fable models. The crafting system is rather in-depth, and while the combat is not incredibly polished, it is fun and tries its best to ease you in. There is a lot of love in this game.”
    • “The crafting system is impressively detailed, allowing for a wide range of creativity and customization. The combat mechanics, while still being refined, provide an enjoyable experience that keeps you engaged.”
    • “I love how the gameplay encourages exploration and experimentation. The balance between crafting, combat, and resource management creates a dynamic and immersive experience.”
    • “The gameplay is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel tedious after a short while.”
    • “The controls are clunky and unresponsive, which makes the gameplay frustrating.”
    • “The combat system feels unbalanced and often leads to unfair encounters.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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