The Heart of Darkness
- April 15, 2022
- BigWednesday
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam"The Heart of Darkness" is a role-playing game where players must save a kingdom swallowed by shadows, caused by a cursed saintess. Players can choose from five origin stories, each with unique skills and abilities, and embark on a journey to defeat the darkness and free the saintess. The game features a dark fantasy world with strategic combat and character development.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The writing and lore are standout features, providing an engaging and dark narrative that keeps players invested.
- The pixel art and overall atmosphere effectively capture the essence of Soulsborne games, creating a unique and immersive experience.
- The gameplay, while turn-based, offers a solid challenge with various classes and strategies, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The combat system can feel simplistic and repetitive, lacking the depth and challenge found in traditional Souls games.
- The game suffers from limited NPC interactions and dialogue, which can detract from the overall immersion and character development.
- The explicit content, while abundant, may feel out of place or poorly integrated for some players, overshadowing the main gameplay experience.
- story26 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story is engaging and layered, drawing inspiration from the Dark Souls series, with a grim and dark atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. While the main quest is compelling, side quests often feel inconsequential and lack depth, with characters serving more as functional NPCs than fully developed individuals. Despite some creative elements, such as unique interactions with bosses, the writing quality is inconsistent, leaving players wanting more closure and character development.
“The story and the mystery of the sanctuary and the darkness are great.”
“The story and characters really drive home how grave the situation is, and the deeper you go, the more grim it becomes.”
“It's grim, dark, and sad with an engaging story.”
“The story/writing in the game isn't great, and these scenes in particular just have a lot of slurping and moaning.”
“There's one main quest throughout the game along with a handful of side quests that ultimately don't really matter, but since they're along the way you do them for completion's sake or because 'why the hell not'?”
“They're basically NPC-tier characters that exist solely to perform certain functions and not arouse one's curiosity or endear themselves to the player, especially due to how short most of their storylines are (if you can even call them that).”
- gameplay17 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of solid mechanics and repetitive elements, featuring a turn-based system that some players find engaging while others see as generic. Players navigate maze-like dungeons filled with puzzles and obstacles, with a grindy loop of leveling up and crafting gear. Despite its grindy nature, the game offers enjoyable exploration and world-building elements reminiscent of soulsborne titles, making it appealing to fans of the genre.
“The gameplay itself is surprisingly good; maze-like dungeons filled with all sorts of puzzles and obstacles with various environments including a poison swamp.”
“It has solid gameplay and a story that keeps you engaged, although the main character is just a placeholder.”
“The plot, themes, questline, world, and characters all feel rather soulsborne-like - exploring the world feels quite nice and I'm more taken by the general gameplay myself.”
“The gameplay loop can be rather repetitive: level up, craft and/or equip better gear, kill floor boss, and repeat until the final boss.”
“The gameplay was a turn off for me; however, I can see why people like it.”
“Broadly speaking, the game is not much different from the usual JRPG in terms of gameplay, but it includes some features that make it stand out among the rest.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its intriguing and immersive qualities, drawing strong inspiration from titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. The high-quality pixel art, imaginative monster designs, and a fantastic orchestral soundtrack contribute to a unique and engaging experience, setting it apart from typical HRPGs. Overall, players appreciate the combination of visual and auditory elements that enhance the game's dark and nostalgic ambiance.
“The pixel art is really high quality and creates the right atmosphere, and all the boss and monster designs are really imaginative and detailed.”
“Moreover, the designs, as well as the game's fantastic orchestral OST, fit the atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is heavily inspired by Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but this is not the best HRPG that tries to do that, in my opinion.”
“Nostalgic feeling of Dark Souls atmosphere.”
“Appearance and atmosphere: I'd normally forgo such a category altogether, considering how most HRPGs utilize similar tilesets, but this one is different, hence why I'm including it.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics received a mixed review, scoring 6.5/10, with praise for the beautiful artwork and effective adoption of the souls aesthetic. While the visuals are commendable, the overall execution may not fully meet expectations. The accompanying soundtrack also received positive remarks.
“They did an amazing job adopting the Souls aesthetic and difficulty.”
“Artwork is very good and the music isn't bad either.”
“Beautiful artwork and soundtrack.”
“The overall visuals are quite underwhelming, scoring only 6.5/10.”
“The graphics feel outdated and lack the polish expected from modern games.”
“The art style is inconsistent, making it hard to appreciate the visuals.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its quality and emotional impact, though some users note that the ambient sound can be inconsistent depending on the location. Overall, the soundtrack complements the beautiful artwork effectively.
“The music is fine, sometimes even really good, and at times it even hit me like a truck.”
“It has really nice and fitting music.”
“Beautiful artwork and soundtrack.”
“The ambient sound and music are somewhat lackluster depending on the location.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be significant, particularly when it comes to crafting rare items and leveling up, with the grind easing only towards the end when merchants become available. While the gameplay remains enjoyable, the need for extensive grinding to obtain rare materials can detract from the overall experience.
“Crafting certain items can get really grindy, unless you get to the point where the merchant sells them all, but that is at the end of the game, or find another merchant who sells them.”
“Getting later levels can also be rather grindy, but not as bad as getting the rare crafting materials.”
“The gameplay honestly isn't bad, though it can be a bit grindy, and getting the winning combination is pretty easy.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is solid, with users reporting no crashes or significant performance drops. However, a few players noted the presence of "out of bounds" tiles, indicating minor issues in the game's environment.
“Performance: no crashes or performance drops; I only found 2 or 3 'out of bounds' tiles.”
“Performance: no crashes or performance drops, just found like 2 or 3 'out of bounds' tiles.”
“Performance: no crashes or performance drops, just found like 2 or 3 'out of bounds' tiles.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is marked by a stark contrast between its tragic world-building and the rare, precious moments of warmth and connection, which players find deeply impactful amidst the overall bleakness.
“The world-building in this game is impressive, and I found myself cherishing the few wholesome moments and interactions, which felt truly precious amidst the tragic and horrific backdrop.”
“The emotional depth of the story left a lasting impact on me, making the characters' struggles and triumphs feel incredibly real and relatable.”
“I was moved by the game's ability to evoke such strong feelings, as it beautifully captured the complexities of love, loss, and hope.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is viewed positively, with players noting that it reflects significant thought and effort, distinguishing it from typical low-effort cash grabs often seen in RPG Maker titles.
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that character development is lacking, with some players feeling that the pacing detracts from the overall experience, particularly in intimate scenes.
“I watched some of the scenes and was unimpressed for the most part due to a severe lack of character development and pacing.”
