I bought this on Steam not too long ago and finally got around to playing it. I played the first game, Dark Fall: The Journal, about eight years ago and enjoyed it. I do have the second one but read a synopsis online and the story didn't really catch my interest. So, I thought I'd move on to the third game in the series. The stories don't seem connected although I believe the first and second game share some characters.
The Plot:
You play as an Inspector. That is the only name you're given.
Four years prior to the start of the game a little girl named Amy went missing after playing at a playground. The Inspector arrested a homeless man named Mr. Bones for the crime. Everyone was happy until it came to light that the Inspector (you) had planted and tampered with evidence. The Inspector was disgraced and Amy was never found. Amy's parents never forgave the Inspector, believing that while wasting time with Mr. Bones, the real culprit was never caught.
As you progress through the game you gain more clues to Mr. Bones, Amy, yourself and the Dark Fall.
Story:
I enjoyed the story. It was creepy, atmospheric and fairly coherent. Some things were left unanswered for me though. Maybe it's just me. I might not have been observant enough (or smart enough) to put it all together. I'll go into further detail in a moment. The
There were no jump-scare moments but plenty of startling and creepy moments.
Gameplay:
It's your standard point-and-click adventure game with emphasis on puzzle-solving over combat. In fact, there is no combat. Sometimes these types of games are easier for me to play as you can get up to do things during them without being worried about coming back to a dead character. And when you live in a house with several people always calling you that can be a real consideration. Trust me.
The voice-acting may not be the best but it's certainly not the worst I've heard. The only real issue with it is the weird over-emphasis with which the actors give their lines.
It ran smoothly on my computer which is having it's own "issues" at present. If you're looking for technical specs, sorry, I am not tech inclined. Basically, if it runs, great! If it doesn't, damn it! So, there you go. About all I can say is that I have Windows 7.
It didn't seem like a very long game. I racked up eighty-odd hours with it but, like I said, I was called away a lot and instead of saving and quitting I would just let it run. So, maybe a day or two? It's hard to say. If you're smarter than me and don't do any excessive backtracking (or obsessive note taking) then you might get through it a lot faster.
In fact, I think that would be the greatest flaw with it. And it's a flaw shared by other point-and-click adventure games. It's not very clear sometimes where you're supposed to go.
The difficulty seemed just right on easy. I haven't tried 'Hard' mode yet but I will update as soon as I do.
I'm not on my own computer so I will also add screenshots when I can.
Overall Impressions:
I really enjoyed the game. I like creepy over jump-scares. I like the slower pace of point-and-click games. The story seems pretty well thought out. The detail in the train station and hotel is great. I particularly liked the ghost flashback puzzles. A lot of attention was paid to period detail and music. The soundtrack was unobtrusively creepy. I think that music can be used very effectively to heighten tension and motion. Unfortunately in more recent media (movies and TV included, especially) the music is jacked too loud and drowns out any chance at tension. The scares are telegraphed miles ahead of time because of the music. I like when it's kept to the background, unobtrusive but noticeable. It's a fine line and this game does it well.
The sound effects are eerie as well. Even with so many distractions it kept me involved, wanting to press further.
I guess my overall opinion is that if you like this type of horror game then you'll like it. If you weren't a fan before then this won't change your mind. It's available fairly cheap on Steam so if you're into this kind of game then give it a go. I'd start with Dark Fall: The Journal first, though, because I'm anal like that. I didn't this time (small miracle) but I plan to. I also plan to play the second one, Dark Fall: Lights Out just because I haven't and it bugs me.
Spoilery Spoilers Below:
The only issues I had with it were a few storyline problems. Clearly, during the game you realize that Amy is not at all what she seems. She was kicked out of her school for doing a black magic ritual (with Mr. Bones). There is a note in one of her books about the ritual itself and performing it to summon 'Angels'. But that is about all the information that you get. Did she cause the Dark Fall with her ritual? Mr. Bones says that she's with the 'Angels' and her 'sisters' now and that they take care of her. Assuming she disappeared because of the ritual, how? Why? Was she evil before summoning the Dark Fall or did it turn her evil? Why was she keeping the others there?
Just quite a bit was left dangling on that part of the story.
Also, you get a lot of story on the ghosts that you release. But when it comes to releasing Mr. Bones and your confession so much is left dangling. Obviously, you've killed Mr. Bones. It's pretty clear throughout but when did you kill him? What led up to it? History changes for the ghosts when you release them, why not for you and Mr. Bones? So much is left dangling here.
Also the two endings. While both good they leave a lot of resolution unaccounted for.
End Spoilers
So, that's my take on it. It's hard for me to get near my consoles in the winter so I've been trying to scoop up on horror games on Steam when I get a chance (and the money). Next up is 7th Guest and I have a good feeling about it. At the start up menu was Tim Curry's voice welcoming me. What could be better than that? I've been wanting to play it for a while now but (before Steam) I could only ever find it on disc and, knowing it's age, wasn't sure I wanted to spend that kind of money on a game that may or may not work. So, bought it through Steam and I will let you know my thoughts on it when I get done playing it. At the rate I'm going it should be a month or two. Just kidding, I'll try to be a little quicker than that.
So, I'll see you guys again soon. As always, feel free to leave me a comment or anything. I'm always looking to improve the blog so any suggestions are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment