Dark and Darker is a dungeon escape game. And that’s the problem – or should be. Dungeons are so common in fantasy games that it’s hard to pay too much attention to them. We’ve seen them all, we know what they do. But when was the last time we took a good look at what it would actually be like to be in one? Dark and Darker does that and does it brilliantly.
It’s technically a PvPvE extraction game, meaning you go into a dungeon with – and against – other people, as well as monsters, and you have to find your way out. If you die, you walk away with nothing but the experience points you’ve earned. If you take too long, you’ll be rushed and eventually killed by an earthquake or a deadly blizzard that rushes in. It’s about pressure. You know, you’ll never be safe before you start. You will have to move, but where?
It is dark. So dark you can’t even see the chests next to each other unless you light a torch. You will not see the platforms or the missing parts of the platforms. You won’t see traps on the floor or piles of bones that will form into skeletons when you’re nearby. In terms of setting, Dark and Darker lives up to its name. The light in the game is therefore valuable. But torches also mark you in front of anyone nearby and occupy the sword arm you hold them. They are a risk.
And such silence. No atmospheric music completes the experience; it’s just you and whatever sound surrounds you. And because you can’t see very far or very clearly, what you hear has more meaning. It will tell you what is around you and what dangers you may face. Do you hear the flapping of wings or the muttering of a goblin? Can you hear the bony creaking of a skeleton? You will audibly form a picture of what is nearby. Even silence speaks volumes, as there may be a hidden enemy nearby. And you should hear footsteps on the other side of the door and bang! weapons or fluff! spells: it could be what you’ve been dreading all along – another player. Sound is important.
Dark and Darker makes you painfully aware of sounds you’re do too I don’t think I’ve ever played an RPG where my own footsteps seemed so unbearably loud. I don’t think I’ve played an RPG where I winced at the sound of a broken vase or crate. I’ve never paid so much attention to the sounds I make. This in turn leads to a natural kind of creep. Not stealth in the sense of a coded mechanic where you become transparent and walk around. Stealth in the sense of staying in the shadows and crouching to muffle footsteps. Stealth in the sense that armor selection is important because heavier armor makes more noise. Monsters may not notice this, but other players will. Their threat is always there.
The basis and reinforcement of these systems is the inherent sense of the difficulty of the game. These squealing skeletons and muttering goblins can kill you just like other players. They are not fodder, as is often the case in other games. For starters, monsters will certainly be more of a hindrance than other players, so you’ll want to know where they are. But this is a game of careful exploration and looking for any advantage you can get. Rushing forward almost always ends in death.
I swear by Dark and Darker a lot, but it reminds me of Souls in how it values ​​persistence. It feels very unfair at first, but every time you beat back against it, there are little moments of progress. You die, but now you know how a certain enemy attacks. You die, but now you know how to cast spells – you’re starting with so little information (the tutorial is in development; it’s an Early Access version). Little by little you build understanding. It’s satisfying, it’s a badge of pride, and it prepares you for what inevitably comes next: playing with other people.
There is a feature in the game where you can ask a ‘knight’ for help and when you press it, it will send you to the Dark and Darker Discord. Here, your request is recorded by experienced community members who have taken on the role of “knights” in the game – truly community knights. They team up with you and teach you how to play. There is a queue so I haven’t experienced it myself but I did a group with someone who had and who shared their knowledge of it. It helped a lot. This dev-supported approach seems to have spread to the wider community, as once I shared my frustration with my lack of progress, people immediately popped up on chat to cheer me on. It’s like setting an example that everyone wants to emulate. It is nice.
Since there is no matchmaking or multiplayer lobby in the game, Discord fulfills this function as well. You have to request a group – it’s not automatic – but in my experience it’s quick and easy to find. It seems like people are willing to experience the game together – there’s a sense of support in the air. Maybe it’s there because it’s needed and missing from the game itself. I don’t know. What I do know is that they played together, Dark and Darker transform. I fought alone. I’ve moved on with someone else. I had my first breathless dungeon escape. For the first time, I got a taste of purposefully fighting other players and winning. I felt the magic of Dark and Darker and I loved it. There is nothing like it.