When it comes to the Souls-like genre, there are two kinds of players: the ones who want the fast-paced action and get themselves iced by face-checking traps, and the ones who are methodical that have their shield raised up whenever exploring unchecked territories. The latter is who Darkwood caters to, and it shows because of the slowed down action system it has.
But that’s not a bad thing. Darkwood chose the horror survival theme after all, and slower gameplay ramps up the tension. The devs promised a horror experience that eschewed “jump scares,” and I can say the devs did a good job. The environment has the “everything has gone to shit” feeling with abandoned houses, mutating monsters, a mysterious plague, and come nighttime you get to experience the thrill of ambience horror. Sound is key in this game, because you’re given warnings that something dangerous is lurking in the darkness, the catch being that you won’t know where if you have no light.
The action harkens back to the ye olde days of horror survival gaming where players; weren’t expected to kill everything, instead doing their best to dodge trouble. This is another strong point; the Protagonist feels like someone who is undergoing the beginning stages of the plague, having to rely on their savviness with traps and ambushing monsters with melee combat not being ideal. Even the dogs in the starting area show little mercy if you mess around them for too long, and they’re smart enough to swarm you, giving you a small taste of what’s to come. Until you get your hands on a reloadable gun, you’re at a disadvantage and should do your best not to attract enemy attention, which is classic horror survival mentality.
The item crafting system is what I’d consider the weak point of the game. It’s rather basic, and since you’ll have to experiment with everything yourself most first time players can get discouraged. I learned after beating the game for the first time that not only were there recipes during the beta that you had to find instead of being handed to you after upgrading a workbench, there was even a potion system, and I feel that could’ve added more depth. The limited items you can make are helpful though, and since looting is an integral part of the game it does feel rewarding making it back to your hideout with a full backpack. This also leads to players having to decide whether to focus on crafting what will make their time in the wildness easier, or spend more resources fortifying their current hideout to make the daunting nighttime more manageable. Furthermore, if you continue to lose loot from dying or carry too much gear to keep yourself safe and thus can’t pick up much loot, then you’re going to have a bad time. Then again, this is a Souls-like game, so mercy should never be expected.
I’d say this game isn’t what I’d recommend to first time Souls-like players, especially those who are impatient and hate slow pacing. But it’s definitely an interesting take on a genre that is being copied to death right now ever since Dark Souls took off, so for those looking for a quality throwback to the horror survival genre with a rich story waiting to be uncovered I’d recommend this game.
Interesting take on Souls-like genre
When it comes to the Souls-like genre, there are two kinds of players: the ones who want the fast-paced action and get themselves iced by face-checking traps, and the ones who are methodical that have their shield raised up whenever exploring unchecked territories. The latter is who Darkwood caters to, and it shows because of the slowed down action system it has.
But that’s not a bad thing. Darkwood chose the horror survival theme after all, and slower gameplay ramps up the tension. The devs promised a horror experience that eschewed “jump scares,” and I can say the devs did a good job. The environment has the “everything has gone to shit” feeling with abandoned houses, mutating monsters, a mysterious plague, and come nighttime you get to experience the thrill of ambience horror. Sound is key in this game, because you’re given warnings that something dangerous is lurking in the darkness, the catch being that you won’t know where if you have no light.
The action harkens back to the ye olde days of horror survival gaming where players; weren’t expected to kill everything, instead doing their best to dodge trouble. This is another strong point; the Protagonist feels like someone who is undergoing the beginning stages of the plague, having to rely on their savviness with traps and ambushing monsters with melee combat not being ideal. Even the dogs in the starting area show little mercy if you mess around them for too long, and they’re smart enough to swarm you, giving you a small taste of what’s to come. Until you get your hands on a reloadable gun, you’re at a disadvantage and should do your best not to attract enemy attention, which is classic horror survival mentality.
The item crafting system is what I’d consider the weak point of the game. It’s rather basic, and since you’ll have to experiment with everything yourself most first time players can get discouraged. I learned after beating the game for the first time that not only were there recipes during the beta that you had to find instead of being handed to you after upgrading a workbench, there was even a potion system, and I feel that could’ve added more depth. The limited items you can make are helpful though, and since looting is an integral part of the game it does feel rewarding making it back to your hideout with a full backpack. This also leads to players having to decide whether to focus on crafting what will make their time in the wildness easier, or spend more resources fortifying their current hideout to make the daunting nighttime more manageable. Furthermore, if you continue to lose loot from dying or carry too much gear to keep yourself safe and thus can’t pick up much loot, then you’re going to have a bad time. Then again, this is a Souls-like game, so mercy should never be expected.
I’d say this game isn’t what I’d recommend to first time Souls-like players, especially those who are impatient and hate slow pacing. But it’s definitely an interesting take on a genre that is being copied to death right now ever since Dark Souls took off, so for those looking for a quality throwback to the horror survival genre with a rich story waiting to be uncovered I’d recommend this game.