As the world of A Dark Room unfolds, new elements and mechanics are slowly introduced, giving a sense of exploration and mystery. You go from maintaining a fire in a dark room, to forming a village where you collect and manage resources, to exploring the wild where you fight enemies and gather loot. So what is the story about?
Well, the game makes a big deal out of you being a monster. When I carted wood, bad stuff happened, and the builder got angry with me. Eventually, villagers were called slaves! I felt shocked, confused, and vaguely defensive. I thought I was oppressing the villagers by forcing them to cart wood, so I stopped pushing the "Cart Wood!" button. But after getting stuck, I eventually realized it was ME carting wood, and pushing that button (for some reason) just advanced the plot in which you grow tyrannical (and carting wood is the only way to proceed). When I realized this, I went from vague defensiveness to vehement defensiveness. I wasn't making decisions; the game was railroading me into them. The only real moral choice I remember making is deciding whether to kill or release a thief (which has no bearing on the overall plot).
After beating the game once, I was confused by the praise it got, so I did some research. Apparently, I'm a member of Alien Invaders. But the point still stood. Since I had this revelation when I wasn't playing, I didn't feel like a monster, but rather like a viewer watching a Villain Protagonist story unfold. Now, that would be interesting… as a movie. As a minimalist game, the story was thin, and I didn't feel like I was responsible for committing atrocities at all; I was just told that I was responsible. I guess other players were shocked by the in-game revelation and liked to fill in the gaps with their imagination, but these issues and gameplay inconsistencies broke my experience. The "slaves" come to your village out of their own free will, but why? Enemy encounters give no opportunity to negotiate or disengage, and they attack you first, so the game mechanics are telling me it's self-defense.
For a better ending, I replayed the game without building huts, (which meant no slaves), but it wasn't significantly different. The builder was happier, but was I really any better? I was mostly just doing the same thing as before, and there's only a (maybe?) slightly happier ending.
I suppose this game might be more interesting for the aspects of exploration and mystery rather than concepts of morality and choice, but I didn't find that enjoyable enough either. The presentation and story reveals felt vague and obscure (and for me especially, ill-timed). The gameplay and mechanics were alright, but not outstanding (it's a minimalist game, after all). Overall, I found A Dark Room mediocre.
A Dark Room
This review has spoilers.
As the world of A Dark Room unfolds, new elements and mechanics are slowly introduced, giving a sense of exploration and mystery. You go from maintaining a fire in a dark room, to forming a village where you collect and manage resources, to exploring the wild where you fight enemies and gather loot. So what is the story about?
Well, the game makes a big deal out of you being a monster. When I carted wood, bad stuff happened, and the builder got angry with me. Eventually, villagers were called slaves! I felt shocked, confused, and vaguely defensive. I thought I was oppressing the villagers by forcing them to cart wood, so I stopped pushing the "Cart Wood!" button. But after getting stuck, I eventually realized it was ME carting wood, and pushing that button (for some reason) just advanced the plot in which you grow tyrannical (and carting wood is the only way to proceed). When I realized this, I went from vague defensiveness to vehement defensiveness. I wasn't making decisions; the game was railroading me into them. The only real moral choice I remember making is deciding whether to kill or release a thief (which has no bearing on the overall plot).
After beating the game once, I was confused by the praise it got, so I did some research. Apparently, I'm a member of Alien Invaders. But the point still stood. Since I had this revelation when I wasn't playing, I didn't feel like a monster, but rather like a viewer watching a Villain Protagonist story unfold. Now, that would be interesting… as a movie. As a minimalist game, the story was thin, and I didn't feel like I was responsible for committing atrocities at all; I was just told that I was responsible. I guess other players were shocked by the in-game revelation and liked to fill in the gaps with their imagination, but these issues and gameplay inconsistencies broke my experience. The "slaves" come to your village out of their own free will, but why? Enemy encounters give no opportunity to negotiate or disengage, and they attack you first, so the game mechanics are telling me it's self-defense.
For a better ending, I replayed the game without building huts, (which meant no slaves), but it wasn't significantly different. The builder was happier, but was I really any better? I was mostly just doing the same thing as before, and there's only a (maybe?) slightly happier ending.
I suppose this game might be more interesting for the aspects of exploration and mystery rather than concepts of morality and choice, but I didn't find that enjoyable enough either. The presentation and story reveals felt vague and obscure (and for me especially, ill-timed). The gameplay and mechanics were alright, but not outstanding (it's a minimalist game, after all). Overall, I found A Dark Room mediocre.