The Dark: Survival RPG
- September 23, 2020
- Joseph Murray
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a large open world with plenty of places to explore, offering hours of engaging gameplay.
- The atmosphere and unique RPG vibe are outstanding, showcasing the developer's commitment and passion for the project.
- Character customization options are appreciated, and the game has potential for growth with continued developer support.
- The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and interaction frustrating for players.
- Many quests and gameplay elements are either missing or poorly implemented, leading to confusion and a lack of direction.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including graphical glitches and audio problems, detracting from the overall experience.
- story10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has been criticized for its lack of clarity and functionality, with players reporting missing quests, a nonexistent quest log, and incomplete quest objectives, such as being tasked to kill rats that are not present. Additionally, the latest update has introduced issues like the inability to use skill points for character progression and missing environmental assets, further detracting from the overall narrative experience.
“The starting quest asks you to kill some rats, but there are no rats.”
“There is no window to check your quests or see the quest text.”
“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.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some find it soothing and immersive, others criticize the constant and contextless background music as shrill and distracting. Overall, the sound effects meet expectations, contributing to an engaging atmosphere, though some players suggest adjustments to the timing of the music and lighting transitions for improved immersion.
“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 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 becomes grating after a short while.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the extensive old-school grinding available in the game, noting that the large map offers ample opportunities for hours of engaging gameplay.
“The map seems plenty big, and there is already plenty of good old school grinding to do to keep you occupied for many, many hours!”
“Plenty of good old school grinding to keep you occupied for many hours.”
“The map seems plenty big, and there is already plenty of good old school grinding to do to keep you occupied for many, many hours!”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised as cool and appealing, contributing to a positive overall experience. However, players express a desire for options to adjust graphics or resolution settings to enhance the visual quality further.
“Cool graphics, nice game overall.”
“The game needs a graphics or resolution choice that will make it feel and look better.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised as outstanding, creating an immersive and captivating experience for players.
“The atmosphere of the game is outstanding.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features smooth performance and enjoyable character customization, though players note a lack of variety in hairstyles and beard options, despite an abundance of scar and tattoo choices. Overall, while the optimization is solid, there is potential for improvement in customization options.
“The game runs smoothly, and the character customization is impressive, though there is room for more options, especially for short hairstyles and male beard styles. The variety of scar and tattoo options is a nice touch.”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The gameplay is engaging and reminiscent of Minecraft, featuring a detailed crafting system and enjoyable combat, despite some lack of polish. The character designs evoke a strong, stylized aesthetic, and the overall experience reflects a significant amount of care and effort from the developers.
“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.”
