It’s quite unusual when a small, independent project is so good and appealing to a large enough audience that a well-known publisher is willing to back it. While there are some bright examples, such as Bejeweled, Alchemy and others, they are limited mainly to puzzle and tycoon games. Dark Fall is an exception in the adventure games niche. A one-man team with some support for research, music and voice acting has created a very atmospheric adventure game that is on its way to become the sleeper hit of the year.
Story
The game begins with your brother leaving you a phone message. He is an architect, working on renovating an abandoned hotel and train station, both known for mysterious disappearances. Your brother is obviously distressed, talking about some dark force chasing him. The call is cut short…
As you arrive to the hotel, you find a dark and abandoned place, full of paranormal activity. Invisible people are talking to you, lights go on and off seemingly by themselves, you hear music, singing and whistling. Throughout your investigation, the story of the haunted hotel, as well as the individual stories of its missing occupants begin to unravel.
Game mechanics
Dark Fall is a first person point-and click adventure game. You move through the environment by clicking with your mouse whenever the cursor indicates a place you can step into. The cursor also changes shapes whenever you can manipulate or examine particular objects. You collect items, which you can later use on other objects, in order to advance in your game.
You won’t be required to combine items in your inventory, which somewhat limits the number of puzzles the author could use. This deficit is addressed by having many small puzzle games to solve, ranging from picking a lock, through playing a certain sequence on the piano, to deciphering secret messages. There are numerous hints for almost all problems, and hence solving them shouldn’t become too tedious. The only frustration I experienced was when I tried to pick a lock, which needs to be done in a certain sequence. I was simply trying all possible moves for nearly ten minutes before the lock sprung open. I still don’t know what the proper sequence was supposed to be.
While I enjoyed the puzzles very much, the storytelling is even better. This game includes so many different personal stories, intertwined with the main storyline, that it almost reads like a book. While you will have a great deal of freedom from the very beginning, the author somehow managed to keep a very tight storyline. Throughout the game, I never felt like I knew something I was supposed to find out about later. The story was always one step ahead of my expectations, and this helped to keep my interest for two straight nights of heavy gaming.
The story is further enhanced by one of the best atmospheres I have seen in a game in a long time. Dark Fall is scary. Very scary. The game still sends shivers down my spine whenever I think of certain sequences. While this is mainly achieved by the superb sound, very appropriate graphics and a great story were added to the mix, resulting into a truly terrifying experience. The only gripe I have here is that it felt rather distant, as if I was watching a horror movie. I never felt threatened in the game, and there is no way to die or fail in your main quest.
Interface
I’m still looking for the perfect adventure game interface, and while Dark Fall comes close, there is something left to be desired. Many reviewers will complain about the lack of an auto-notes system. The game offers an incredible amount of information, and you’ll end up having to write everything down on paper. I ended the game with five sheets of paper completely covered with notes, and I often turned to them even when I was not playing the game, having sketched down a problem and trying to find a solution.
Unlike others, I like this approach to problem solving much more than a journal system. It’s more engrossing than the “settle down and click away” method. However, it has one great disadvantage: Dark Fall is the type of game you want to play when everybody is asleep, with your headphones on and the lights off. It turns out that the game graphics are too dark to allow you to take notes with only the screen illuminating your desk.
Technical considerations
Maybe because of the game’s simple engine (it was written using Macromedia Director), Dark Fall is surprisingly stable. I never got as much as a hiccup, but I was glad I read the manual prior to installing the game. The installation process seemingly stalls for a couple of minutes while the main file is being copied, and without the warning in the manual, I would have canceled out. In addition, I was not fully satisfied with how the game handled saving and loading files.
I praised Microids for coming with the unique approach of creating a saved games folder in My Documents directory, which allowed me to back it up along with my regular computer back-ups. XXV Productions, the developer of this game, goes a step farther and saves the game as a text file directly into the My Documents folder. Having several hundred files there, many of which are text files, it was always cumbersome to find the saved game.
Gameplay – 8
Dark Fall offers one of the most engrossing and scariest atmospheres in recent games. It also includes many tough, yet never frustrating puzzles and superb storytelling. Considering how open and non-linear the game is, I still don’t understand how was it possible for the author to include so many different stories, all of which are very tightly written and none of which gives away too much too soon. The only problems I’ve had with the gameplay are the cumbersome file loading interface and the necessity to write everything down.
Graphics – 6
Let’s face it: Macromedia Director doesn’t allow for good graphics. The resolution is stuck at 640x480 pixels, which by today’s standards is hopelessly obsolete. On my laptop screen, this caused all writings to appear very fuzzy and hard on the eyes. However, the author makes the best out of the situation by keeping the graphics purposefully grainy and dark, which adds to the scary atmosphere in the game. My main gripe is not as much the resolution or the fuzzy graphics, as the few animations you find here. From time to time, you’ll be required to unlock a door or handle an item in front of you. I was very disturbed by seeing the key seemingly float into the keyhole and turn there; it felt like I was a ghost, too. After I saw it, I could no longer feel like I was in the haunted hotel.
Sound – 10
The main quality of the sound is in what you don’t hear. The game doesn’t offer any soundtrack, so most of the time all you hear is your footsteps. This quickly changes, however, as the ghosts announce their presence. Squeaking floors, moans, snippets of conversation and other weird sounds, interlaced by torturously long periods of complete silence, provide for a very scary gameplay. All sounds are very professionally done, as are the voiceovers. The voices have a distinctly British accent (after all, that’s where the game takes place), and the acting sounds very authentic. The intro, where you hear the message from your brother, was the only time when I couldn’t believe the voice, which didn’t sound distressed at all. The rest of the game, however, makes up for this deficit.
Replay value – 7
At $20 and 15-20 hours of gameplay, the game breaks even in my personal “$1 per hour of gaming” scale. However, the storytelling and atmosphere transform the title from an average adventure game to an interactive book. If you don’t mind re-reading books, you’ll have no problems playing Dark Fall in the future, either. A major advantage here is that there is no CD check, so the game can sit on your hard drive for as long as you want, and you won’t have to dig for the CD whenever you feel like replaying it.
Overall – 7.8
Dark Fall is a very fine adventure game. It goes back to what adventure games were in the first place. It doesn’t try to impress you with graphics and sound, both of which simply enhance the atmosphere. It offers superb storytelling and a very engaging gameplay. Almost all puzzles are tough, but logical. Unfortunatelly, it will never appeal to a large audience; it’s not challenging enough for veteran players, it doesn’t offer enough eye candy for people spoiled by titles like Syberia, and it’s too low-key for the general gaming population. However, those who pick it up will cherish it as a good book for years to come.
