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The Darkest Tales

The Darkest Tales Game Cover
72%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
stability, optimization
74% User Score Based on 272 reviews
Critic Score 72%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

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The Darkest Tales Game Cover

About

The Darkest Tales is a single player hack and slash game with horror, fantasy and drama themes. It was developed by Trinity Team and was released on October 13, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The Darkest Tales is a complex and compelling adventure, full of familiar characters and fairytale landscapes. Over the course of the journey, you'll have to come face-to-face with the difficult questions of life more than once.

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The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
The Darkest Tales screenshot
+7
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74%
Audience ScoreBased on 272 reviews
story75 positive mentions
stability15 negative mentions
  • Unique dark twist on classic fairy tale settings and characters with engaging story and atmosphere.
  • Beautiful hand-drawn art style, detailed environments, and pleasing audio including solid voice acting.
  • Varied weapon types, skill tree customization, and a blend of platforming and combat offer a fun gameplay experience.
  • Controls and combat mechanics are clunky, unresponsive, and sometimes frustrating, especially double jump and aiming.
  • Lack of an in-game map makes backtracking tedious and navigation confusing in a Metroidvania-style game.
  • Several bugs and glitches including game-breaking issues, uneven boss difficulty, and poor level design cause player frustration.
  • story
    172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story offers a dark, twisted reimagining of classic fairy tales centered on a teddy bear's quest to save his owner, blending charming characters with haunting themes and unexpected plot twists. While generally simple and sometimes campy or cliché, it remains engaging and atmospheric, supported by strong art and voice acting. However, some find the narrative pacing and execution uneven, with certain endings and dialogue detracting from the overall experience.

    • “I really enjoyed The Darkest Tales, especially its settings and story, where everything is turned on its head and things are not what they seem. The characters were very interesting, and I loved the settings and the way the storybook feel was reversed to feel dread and despair. Between each stage, a narrator reads a story in a comic book fashion, with action sequences played out as drawings. There are brief moments of story within the game, especially between Teddy and Lighty who have numerous conversations, some more meaningful than others. Overall, the story was surprising, entertaining, and very well produced.”
    • “The story is both simple and interesting even if some parts kind of grated my gears like the oversimplified ending and the Neverland part, too many references crammed in one place in my humble opinion, although it satisfied me in the end.”
    • “The reinterpretation of classic characters, like Sleeping Beauty driven mad by insomnia, gives the story a haunting edge. These moments of narrative depth elevate the game beyond a simple platformer, allowing it to tell a surprisingly complex story. Teddy and his companion, Lighty, carry the story with their engaging and sometimes abrasive dynamic.”
    • “The story was the weakest part of the game as a whole.”
    • “Most of the individual flaws aren't game-breaking, but added all together....with the story making me want to stab myself in the brain due to its twee execution, and game-play that can't match the best in a fairly saturated genre, this isn't a recommended.”
    • “[edit: finished it....the final levels are tediously designed, with some poorly explained elements that really got on my nerves. the ending was in line with the rest of the story (i.e very twee), and sh*t all over the darker plot-points, making this all over the place tonally]”
  • gameplay
    100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Gameplay in this game offers a mix of platforming and combat with unique mechanics inspired by metroidvania and hack-and-slash elements, featuring enjoyable boss fights and exploration. However, many players find the controls clunky, platforming frustrating, and combat occasionally lacking fluidity, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped or unintuitive. While the gameplay can be rewarding and fun for fans of narrative-driven indie platformers, it is often marred by bugs, awkward mechanics, and a steep learning curve that may detract from the overall experience.

    • “I liked the game - quite an interesting twist with famous fairy-tale characters. The gameplay and the general dynamics of what is happening organically fit into the story, with a varied selection of weapons that you can use at your own discretion. Sometimes you just won't go further without the necessary skill or weapon, which I personally like.”
    • “The platforming begins smoothly, with intuitive mechanics and balanced difficulty.”
    • “By blending metroidvania elements with hack-and-slash combat, it offers a unique gameplay mix, though some mechanics feel underdeveloped.”
    • “Pogoing off enemies is extremely finicky and weird compared to every other game with the mechanic I've played; the game insists you only press down to achieve a downward attack, leading to many falling-to-your-death moments where pogoing is required (thankfully the game does not use this mechanic much beyond the early parts).”
    • “Double jumping is often unreliable, and boss battles, particularly Sleeping Beauty’s charm mechanic, lack clear instructions, leading to frustration.”
    • “The main problem with the mechanics is that once you hit something, you are stunned momentarily and unable to perform any actions.”
  • graphics
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their beautiful, fairy-tale-inspired art style, atmospheric visuals, and detailed, evocative environments that create a magical and immersive experience. While the art and visual presentation stand out as a major strength, some users note occasional technical glitches and that the gameplay mechanics don't always match the quality of the graphics. Overall, the visuals are seen as a compelling highlight that greatly enhances the game's mood and storytelling.

    • “The standout feature of the darkest tales is its stunning watercolor aesthetic, evoking the pages of a twisted storybook.”
    • “Graphics are awesome and there is a lot of attention to detail, especially with lighting and backgrounds, they look like giant works of fairy tale art and sometimes notable things in the backgrounds just pop out when you pay attention.”
    • “The atmosphere is creepy, the graphics are wonderful and evocative and the music is truly immersive.”
    • “Once you look past the visuals there is not much reason to play this game.”
    • “This feels like a PS2 game with better graphics, with all the clunkiness and stuck-up design of that time.”
    • “There were several graphic anomalies, making it so enemies could not be seen (Red Riding Hood fight blood waterfalls, had to turn settings down).”
  • music
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric, immersive, and emotionally balanced soundtrack that complements the eerie and whimsical tones of the setting. While most users highlight the superb sound design and how the music enhances the overall experience, a few found it overwhelming or preferred to mute it. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout element that enriches the game’s visual and narrative appeal.

    • “The audio design bolsters the eerie atmosphere, with a soundtrack balancing whimsical and ominous tones.”
    • “The atmosphere is creepy, the graphics are wonderful and evocative, and the music is truly immersive.”
    • “The music, voice acting, setting, and art style of this game make it more than worthy of a playthrough, especially for a hardened (Pixar) metroidvania fan.”
    • “Sound effects are too loud and the music is pretty bad for me.”
    • “This is the first game where I decided to turn the game music off and listen to Spotify instead.”
    • “Music was done well, but it was too much in the background except during the final phase of the game and the boss fights.”
  • atmosphere
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely praised for its dark, eerie, and immersive atmosphere that skillfully blends whimsical fairy tale elements with a creeping sense of horror. Its audio, visuals, and art style collectively create a compelling, gloomy environment that enhances the storytelling and platforming experience. While some find the atmosphere unsettling yet captivating, a few note that it may require patience to fully appreciate.

    • “The audio design bolsters the eerie atmosphere, with a soundtrack balancing whimsical and ominous tones.”
    • “Getting into the looking glass of children's stories and experiencing the whole gloomy and mysterious atmosphere of horror is an indescribable sensation and experience.”
    • “The atmosphere is creepy, the graphics are wonderful and evocative, and the music is truly immersive.”
    • “At first it seems that this is just a game about fairy tales, and then you see a terrible bloody atmosphere, and you feel it.”
    • “The atmosphere quickly changes from cute to dark and intimidating.”
    • “I'd say that the atmosphere feels closer to the original fairy tales, dark and gloomy.”
  • stability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, lag spikes, and occasional crashes, which hinder the overall experience. While some players report decent control responsiveness, many highlight clunky combat and annoying softlocks especially during boss fights. Despite its strong concept and story, the game requires substantial polishing to reach a stable and smooth state.

    • “This game is an extremely buggy mess; the only area that works as intended is the first one, which was used as the demo.”
    • “This game has constant lag spikes, the screen freezes while the game keeps going (resulting in multiple unfair deaths), it seems to have a memory leak, and it has crashed several times.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game is not without flaws; there are a decent number of bugs, glitches, and even softlocks.”
  • humor
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is well-received, featuring witty dialogue and amusing character interactions, notably the "so bad it's good" performance of the pirate queen and the funny exchanges between characters like Teddy and the light. Its blend of reimagined fairy tale elements adds a unique, humorous twist to the story, contributing to an enjoyable and heartfelt experience.

    • “Their dialogue offers moments of humor and reflection, while reimagined fairy tale characters like a broken sleeping beauty or a malevolent Peter Pan add layers to the narrative.”
    • “The plot is good enough and the exchanges between Teddy and the Light are funny and enjoyable.”
    • “Voice acting is solid (except for the pirate queen, which is so bad it’s good—hilarious, honestly).”
  • optimization
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is mixed, with some users reporting steady performance and minimal crashes, while others experience significant stuttering and poor control optimization, especially on keyboard. Overall, it is playable but not consistently well-optimized across all areas and hardware configurations.

    • “Lastly, performance is good, with a steady 75 fps framerate and very few drops (although I did dip into the 30's during the final boss).”
    • “I also experienced 0 crashes, so it's safe to say it's a well optimized game.”
    • “Nice game but not very well optimized from performance point of view, but still playable.”
    • “What I can't forgive is the horrid optimization.”
    • “The game controls are obviously not optimized for a keyboard format.”
    • “Performance issues: this game has really bad stuttering issues in certain parts of the game.”
  • grinding
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in this game can feel tedious, especially due to the lack of a map and some lengthy, repetitive level design. However, farming experience to unlock upgrades like cheaper healing can significantly ease progression, making the grind more manageable though still somewhat repetitive and occasionally frustrating.

    • “In any case, even in hard mode, farming XP and getting the upgrade that reduces the cost of healing will make most of the game easy to complete.”
    • “On the other hand, there's still something off in the action, and the level design can be rather turgid, overly long, and without a map can be fairly tedious in places.”
    • “Fighting monsters may sometimes get repetitive and tedious, but fighting them is optional.”
  • emotional
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game delivers a visually and emotionally impactful exploration of darker themes underlying childhood ideals, creating a resonant and sometimes heartwarming narrative. Despite some gameplay issues, its emotional depth and unique approach to fairy tales stand out positively.

    • “The game subtly examines how childhood ideals are corrupted by darker experiences, a theme that adds emotional weight to the narrative.”
    • “The darkest tales is a visually striking and emotionally resonant journey into the darker side of fairy tales.”
    • “And the very end is even heartwarming.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers moderate replayability mainly through achievements and unlocking additional skills, despite its engaging story and narrative depth. However, clunky mechanics and interface issues somewhat limit its overall replay value.

    • “Decent length with good replayability value.”
    • “Replayability value: yes, to unlock further skills.”
    • “Despite its engaging story, The Darkest Tales lacks substantial replayability.”
    • “Its narrative depth and artistic ambition shine, but clunky mechanics, interface issues, and limited replay value hold it back.”
    • “But there are the achievements and all the small things to look for that offer some replay value.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is highlighted by a diverse and imaginative range of enemies and bosses, featuring creative and memorable designs that add depth and appeal to the game’s world.

    • “There's a large variety of enemies and bosses to fight which range from silly to outright terrifying, all of which have creative and memorable character designs.”
    • “Character designs are quite interesting and make me want to see an art book on them.”
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72%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews
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9h Median play time
9h Average play time
8-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Darkest Tales is a hack and slash game with horror, fantasy and drama themes.

The Darkest Tales is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 9 hours playing The Darkest Tales.

The Darkest Tales was released on October 13, 2022.

The Darkest Tales was developed by Trinity Team.

The Darkest Tales has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

The Darkest Tales is a single player game.

Similar games include The Darkest Tales: Into the Nightmare, Woolfe - The Red Hood Diaries, Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries, Darksiders 3, The Last Case of Benedict Fox and others.