History YMMV / Darkwood

** Various events can happen at nighttime aside from monsters trying to get in, including the lights going out(which is bad news after your first level up railroads you into the negative trait that makes being in the dark at night extremely dangerous), knocking at the door, lights shining outside...

** [[AnimalisticAbomination Red Chompers]]. They're fast, aggressive, hit like a runaway freight train, capable of pulling off fake charges while also evading mistimed melee strikes), and tough enough to take the better half of a pistol magazine to kill. While they’re rare and only found in certain side quests within the first two areas (the “Bride of the Wedding” in the Dry Meadow and the Mayor’s pet in the Village), they become a common enemy once you reach the Old Woods. In fact, at that point certain areas and beyond can be ''swarming'' with them. It’s recommended you stockpile trap construction material like scrap metal and bottles before reaching the Old Woods because your situation gets worse once it’s nighttime.

** Gritty Realism: Based on the Dungeons and Dragon’s campaign mode, realism applies to items that you carry both on hand (your hot bar) and your inventory in terms of weight and size of item(s). For instance a tractor wheel is so large you wouldn’t be able to hold/use anything else in your hands like a gun or torch while holding one, holding a gas can would prevent you from using anything requiring two hands under normal circumstances (e.g. shotgun), etc. You must prepare your gear the same way you would realistically in real life, such as being able to sling a shotgun on your back while holding a gas can in one hand and a pistol in the other, and carrying too many heavy items would encumber you — thus you cannot sprint while doing so.

* SelfImposedChallenge: It wouldn’t be a Souls-like game without a community who finds new and interesting ways to make an already hard game even harder. A few common ones are listed below:

*** Melee Only: Taking the above challenge [[UpToEleven one step further]], you cannot use any ranged weapons whatsoever.

** Red Chompers. They're fast, aggressive, hit like a runaway freight train, deceptively calculating (capable of pulling off fake charges and evading mistimed melee strikes), and tough enough to take the better half of a pistol magazine to kill. While they’re rare and only found in certain side quests within the first two areas (the “Bride of the Wedding” in the Dry Meadow and the Mayor’s pet in the Village), they become a common enemy roaming the Old Woods — plus certain areas at this point of the game and beyond can be ''swarming'' with them. Even if you're competent, you'll have a ''very'' tough time; it’s recommended you stockpile trap construction material like scrap metal and bottles before reaching the Old Woods because your situation only gets worse once it’s nighttime.
** [[CreepyCrows Banshees]]. They’re a walking BrownNoteBeing that appear as early as the Silent Woods, yet become common once you reach the Old Woods and even appear as regular enemies in the Swamp (unlike the previous mentioned hideouts where they only attack at night). They mess with your game via InterfaceScrew if one is near you. If one does find you and both of you make eye contact (or it touches you), they scream out loud and knock all your lights out with the exception of lit flares (which can be fatal if the Shadows night event is active while you’re out of flares). Afterwards, they burn up and spawn four Banshee Babies who gang up on you in the dark. You cannot prevent the process by stealthily killing unaware Banshees since they’ll activate their scream regardless, and after all is said and done neither the self-terminating mommy banshee nor her dead babies drop any items. You cannot even scare them off with your “Scream” ability nor hide from them with “Chameleon” if you unlocked it/them. All you do is burn resources and health trying to kill these monstrosities without any reward to be had.
*** You have three advantages against banshees. They cannot break barricaded windows and doors, flying crows in the night warn you if one has entered the hideout (or you can just listen for their signature low-pitch ambience sound along with very heavy footsteps since the crows won’t always appear), and they only activate their scream if you hurt them; make eye contact with one who sees you; or touch them. Unfortunately, choosing to look away from one that knows your location in the room isn’t fool-proof because they can still touch you to activate their scream, and frantic running in your Hideout to stay away from them will draw attention from nearby enemies. Sometimes your best bet if one finds you is to purposely trigger the Banshee’s scream, giving you time to throw a Molotov/Gas Bottle at their location to kill all spawning Banshee Babies.
** There are three enemies introduced in the Swamp and they will terrorize your time there.
*** The first is the Swampers, black mutated alligator-looking things that lurk in deep waters. They deal massive damage and can spit at you, with their spit actually leaving behind a trap similar to the moving vines traps or chain traps. This means you're effectively a sitting duck if you get stuck in it, and god help you if you're near water, since you have even less mobility while stuck to it.
*** The second are the Human Spiders. These things are fast, relentless, and very persistent predators that will pursue you until either you or them are dead. While in view, they're rather slow, but once you take your eyes off them, they become some of the fastest things in the game, and they have the ability to ''self-replicate'' by tossing off a chunk of their torso that'll grow into a new but less healthy Human Spider. This means that a one-on-one fight can soon become a three-on-one if you fail to take it out quick enough. The upside is that a single shotgun shell or three pistol shots will kill a Spider, making them rather fragile, and by this point in the game ammunition is commonly found.
*** Lastly, there's the Centipedes, horrific monsters inhabiting human corpses that can burrow underground. These things are [[FragileSpeedster able to dodge and jump around with abandon]], and [[GlassCannon while they're fragile, they hit very hard]]; their persistent attacks can make fighting them a real pain in melee. Guns make quick work of them with good aim, but their fast, erratic movement can make this easier said then done. Worse still, during the nights you're almost guaranteed to be attacked by one or more, and they'll un-burrow right from beneath you.

** {{Speedrun}}: Complete the game as fast as possible. For added difficulty, if you don’t beat the game within a pre-determined amount of days, you lose and must start over.

** Trap Master: At night, you cannot use weapons and must rely on traps to deal with your enemies. Matches and flares are the only items allowed to start gasoline on fire.

* PopularWithFurries: Naturally the Wolfman is the one character that has taken the interest of the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom''.

** The Swamp is utter hell to navigate, as it's a colossal area[[note]]around double the size of the Old Woods hub you left behind to reach the Swamp[[/note]] filled with swamp water that slows you down, poisonous mushrooms galore, and a large amount of tough enemies (including the three above-mentioned DemonicSpiders), which can have Black Substance on them. There are no separate major locations where the InUniverseGameClock freezes, so you can only visit one location per day and that's with a carefully-designed schedule. Also, gasoline and wood are at a premium and a must pickup whenever found, and thanks to the twisting land paths and the water, it's a slog to carry supplies back to the hideout. Fortunately, ammunition for firearms is absurdly easy to find there, the hideout is more easily defensible than the Old Woods one, and nightly invaders aren't nearly as relentless.

** The Swamp is utter hell to navigate, as it's a colossal area[[note]]around double the size of the Old Woods hub you left behind to reach the Swamp[[/note]] filled with swamp water that slows you down, poisonous mushrooms galore, and a large amount of tough enemies (including the three above-mentioned DemonicSpiders), which can have Black Substance on them. There are no separate major locations where the InUniverseGameClock freezes, so you can only visit one location per day and that's with a carefully-designed schedule. Also, gasoline and wood are at a premium and a must pickup whenever found, and thanks to the twisting land paths and the water, it's a slog to carry supplies back to the hideout. Fortunately, ammunition for firearms is absurdly easy to find there, the hideout is more easily defensible than the Old Woods one, and nightly invaders aren't nearly as relentless.

** Banshees. They’re a walking BrownNoteBeing that appear as early as the Silent Woods, yet become common once you reach the Old Woods and even appear as regular enemies in the Swamp (unlike the previous mentioned hideouts where they only attack at night. They mess with your game via InterfaceScrew if one is near you. If one does find you and both of you make eye contact (or it touches you), they scream out loud and knock all your lights out with the exception of lit flares (which can be fatal if the Shadows night event is active while you’re out of flares). Afterwards, they burn up and spawn four Banshee Babies who gang up on you in the dark. You cannot prevent the process by stealthily killing unaware Banshees since they’ll activate their scream regardless, and after all is said and done neither the self-terminating mommy banshee nor her dead babies drop any items. You cannot even scare them off with your “Scream” ability nor hide from them with “Chameleon” if you unlocked it/them. All you do is burn resources and health trying to kill these monstrosities without any reward to be had.

** Banshees. They’re a walking BrownNoteBeing that can appear as early as the Silent Woods (only at nighttime) yet become far more common once you reach the Old Woods, and everything about them is painful. They mess with your game via InterfaceScrew if one is near you — they don’t even have to know where you are, you just need the Stranger to make eye contact with one. If one does find you, they make a loud scream that knocks all your lights out with the exception of lit flares (which can be fatal if the Shadows night event is active while you’re out of flares). Then they die after a short while or you hit them, which then spawns five banshee babies who gang up on you in the dark and start pecking away at your health. You cannot prevent the process by stealthily killing unaware banshees since it’ll activate their scream regardless, and after all is said and done neither the self-terminating mommy banshee nor her dead babies drop any items. You cannot even scare them off with your “Scream” ability if you unlocked it. All you do is burn resources and health trying to kill these monstrosities without any reward to be had. Your only two advantages is they cannot break barricaded windows/doors and sometimes crows flying in the night warn you if one has entered the hideout (or you can just listen for their signature low-pitch ambience sound along with very heavy footsteps).

** Banshees. They’re a walking BrownNoteBeing that can appear as early as the Silent Woods (only at nighttime) yet become far more common once you reach the Old Woods, and everything about them is painful. They mess with your game via InterfaceScrew if one is near you — they don’t even have to know where you are, you just need the Stranger to make eye contact with one. If one does find you, they make a loud scream that knocks all your lights out with the exception of lit flares (which can be fatal if the Shadows night event is active while you’re out of flares). Then they die after a short while or you hit them, which then spawns five banshee babies who gang up on you in the dark and start pecking away at your health. You cannot prevent the process by stealthily killing unaware banshees since it’ll activate their scream regardless, and after all is said and done neither the self-terminating mommy banshee nor her dead babies drop any items. You cannot even scare them off with your “Scream” ability if you unlocked it. All you do is burn resources and health trying to kill these monstrosities without any reward to be had. Your only two advantages is they cannot break barricaded windows/doors and sometimes crows flying in the night warn if you one has entered the hideout (or you can just listen for their signature low-pitch ambience sound along with very heavy footsteps).

** Banshees. They’re a walking BrownNoteBeing that can appear as early as the Silent Woods (only at nighttime) and everything about them is painful. They mess with your game via InterfaceScrew if one is near you — they don’t even have to know where you are. If one does find you, they make a loud scream that can draw the attention of nearby enemies, plus it knocks all your lights out with the exception of lit flares (which can be fatal if the Shadows night event is going on during this time and you’re out of flares). Then they die after a short while or you hit them, which then spawns five banshee babies who gang up on you in the dark and start pecking away at your health. To make all this worse you cannot prevent the process by stealthily killing unaware banshees since it’ll just activate every single effect regardless, and after all is said and done neither the self-terminating mommy banshee nor her dead babies drop any items. You cannot even scare them off with your “Scream” ability if you unlocked it. All you do is burn resources and health trying to kill these monstrosities without any reward to be had. Your only two advantages is they cannot break barricaded windows/doors and sometimes crows flying in the night warn if you one has entered the hideout (or you can just listen for their signature low-pitch ambience sound along with very heavy footsteps).

** Banshees. They can appear as early as the Silent Woods at night and everything about them is painful. They mess with your game via InterfaceScrew if one is near you — they don’t even have to know where you are. If one does find you, they make a [[MakesMeWannaShout loud scream]] that can draw the attention of nearby enemies, plus it knocks all your lights out with the exception of lit flares (which can be fatal if the Shadows night event is going on during this time and you’re out of flares). Then they die, which spawns five banshee babies who gang up on you in the dark and start pecking away at your health. To make all this worse you cannot prevent the process by stealthily killing unaware banshees since it’ll just activate every single effect regardless, and after all is said and done neither the self-terminating mommy banshee nor her dead babies drop any items. All you do is burn resources and health trying to kill these monstrosities without any reward to be had. Your only two advantages is they cannot break barricaded windows/doors and sometimes crows flying in the night warn if you one has entered the hideout (or you can just listen for their signature low-pitch ambience sound along with very heavy footsteps).

** Red Chompers. They're fast, aggressive, hits like a runaway freight train, deceptively calculating (capable of pulling off fake charges and evading mistimed melee strikes), and tough enough to take the better half of a pistol magazine to kill. Starting at the Old Woods, they become a common enemy, and certain areas can be ''swarming'' with them (and by 'swarming', it means more than one). Even if you're competent, if all you have is a nail board, you'll have a ''very'' tough time.
** There are three enemies introduced in the Swamp, and all three will terrorize your time there.

*** The second are the Human Spiders. These things are fast, relentless, and very persistent predators that will pursue you until either you or them are dead. While in view, they're rather slow, but once you take your eyes off them, they become some of the fastest things in the game, and they have the ability to ''self-replicate'' by tossing off a chunk of their torso that'll grow into a new but less healthy Human Spider. This means that a one-on-one fight can soon become a three-on-one if you fail to take it out quick enough. The upside is that a single shotgun shell will kill a Spider.
*** Lastly, there's the Centipedes, horrific monsters inhabiting human corpses that can burrow underground. These things are [[FragileSpeedster able to dodge and jump around with abandon]], and [[GlassCannon while they're fragile, they hit very hard]], and their persistent attacks can make fighting them a real pain in melee. Guns make quick work of them with good aim, but their fast, erratic movement can make this easier said then done. Worse still, during the nights you're almost guaranteed to be attacked by one or more, and they'll un-burrow right from beneath you.
* DifficultySpike: Two, as the paragraphs above may tell you.

** The Old Woods are a true DifficultySpike. Red Chompers and Huge Dogs roam the place constantly, there's no equipment upgrades to speak of like when you go from the Dry Meadow to the Silent Forest, and the hideout has more holes than a sieve, making nights exceptionally difficult to manage.

** Same goes with the Villagers, who treat you like absolute dirt, but themselves are on the verge of collapsing, [[spoiler:and depending on your actions they can all go savage or be decimated to the last person]].

** Red Chompers. They're fast and aggressive, deceptively calculating (capable of pulling off fake charges and evading mistimed melee strikes), and tough enough to take the better half of a pistol magazine to kill. Starting at the Old Woods, they become a common enemy, and certain areas can be ''swarming'' with them. Even if you're competent, if all you have is a nail board, you'll have a ''very'' tough time.

*** The second are the Human Spiders. These things are fast, relentless, and very persistent predators that will pursue you until either you or them are dead. They are some of the fastest things in the game, and they have the ability to ''self-replicate'' by tossing off a chunk of their torso that'll grow into a new but less healthy Human Spider. This means that a one-on-one fight can soon become a three-on-one if you fail to take it out quick enough. The upside is that a single shotgun shell will kill a Spider.

* MostWonderfulSound: The slowly rising orchestral piece that plays whenever dawn is about to break, signalling at least a momentary reprieve.

*** The second are the Human Spiders. These things are fast, relentless, and very persistent predators that will pursue you until either you or them are dead. They are some of the fastest things in the game, and they have the ability to ''self-replicate'' by tossing off a chunk of their torso and causing to grow into a new, less healthy Human Spider. This means that a one-on-one fight can soon become a three-on-one if you fail to take it out quick enough. The upside is that a single shotgun shell will kill a Spider.

*** Lastly, there's the Centipedes, horrific monsters inhabiting human corpses that can burrow underground. These things are [[FragileSpeedster able to dodge and jump around with abandon]], and [[GlassCannon while they're fragile, they hit very hard, and their persistent attacks can make fighting them a real pain in melee. Guns make quick work of them with good aim, but their fast, erratic movement can make this easier said then done. Worse still, during the nights you're almost guaranteed to be attacked by one or more, and they'll un-burrow right from beneath you.

** The Swamp is utter hell to navigate, as it's a colossal area[[note]]around double the size of the Old Woods hub you left behind to reach the Swamp[[/note]] filled with swamp water that slows you down, poisonous mushrooms galore, and a large amount of tough enemies (including the three above-mentioned DemonicSpiders), which can have Black Substance on them. Also, gasoline and wood are at a premium and a must pickup whenever found, and thanks to the twisting land paths and the water, it's a slog to carry supplies back to the hideout. Fortunately, ammunition for firearms is absurdly easy to find there, the hideout is more easily defensible than the Old Woods one, nightly invaders aren't nearly as relentless and each night survived nets you 200 reputation to restock with, cushioning the blow.

* DemonicSpiders: There are three new enemies introduced in the Swamp, and all three will terrorize your time there.
** The first is the Swampers, black mutated alligator-looking things that lurk in deep waters. They deal massive damage and can spit at you, with their spit actually leaving behind a trap similar to the moving vines traps or chain traps. This means you're effectively a sitting duck if you get stuck in it, and god help you if you're near water, since you have even less mobility while stuck to it.
** The second are the Human Spiders. These things are fast, relentless, and very persistent predators that will relentlessly pursue you until either you or them are dead. They are some of the fastest things in the game, and they have the ability to ''self-replicate'' by tossing off a chunk of their arm and causing to grow into a new, less healthy Human Spider. This means that a one on one fight can soon become a three on one if you fail to take it out quick enough.
** Lastly, there's the Centipedes, horrific looking monsters that burrow underground. These things are major [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]], able to dodge and jump around with abandon. While they're fragile, they hit very hard, and their persistent attacks can make fighting them a real pain in melee. Guns make quick work of them with good aim, but their fast, erratic movement can make this easier said then done.
* JerkassWoobie: The protagonist is a merciless, cruel individual with a disdain for basically everyone around him, and he's able to commit some seriously brutal actions throughout the story for his own personal gain. That being said, he's a mutated, possibly mentally unwell individual stuck in an absolute hell on earth, and the multitude of flashbacks throughout the game imply that he had a loving home life with his family- much of what he does is simply in an attempt to get back home. [[spoiler: The fact that, no matter what you do, the protagonist never truly comes home is deeply depressing, especially since he had a wife.]]
** Same goes with the Villagers, who treat you like absolute dirt, but themselves are on the verge of collapsing, [[spoiler: and depending on your actions can go savage.]]
* ThatOneLevel: The Swamp is utter hell to navigate, as it's filled with swamp water, poisonous mushrooms galore, and a large amount of tough enemies (including the three above-mentioned DemonicSpiders). It's telling that people usually claim that ditching the nail board and switching to the axe, shovel, or sickle, all of which do much more damage than the nail board.

* ThatOneLevel: The Swamp is utter hell to navigate, as it's filled with swamp water, poisonous mushrooms galore, and a ridiculous amount of extremely tough enemies (including the three above-mentioned DemonicSpiders. It's telling that people usually claim that ditching the nail board and switching to the axe, shovel, or sickle, all of which do much more damage than the nail board.