Review for Darkwood. Game for Linux, PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 17/08/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 16/05/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 14/05/2019 The version for Xbox One came out on 17/05/2019
If you are looking for a video game with a horror setting, perhaps that does not abuse jumpscare in order to make the gameplay monotonous and boring, this is the game for you. Darkwood is a horror video game that features simple but intrinsic RPG and survival mechanics. The title was made by Acid Wizard Studio, a group of just three people. Developed using the Unity graphics engine, among the various languages. It is currently available for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Ever since he was in alpha, Darkwood has attracted considerable interest from his many and generous supporters. In fact, the video game actually came to life through a crowfounding on Indiegogo equal to 57.000 US dollars, an encouraging goal if you consider that the set goal was 40.000.
Set in the eastern block during the late 1980s, the plot takes place almost entirely within a forest. This - as a consequence of its being incredibly dense - definitely isolates from what is the usual outside world. At the same time, it swallows everything inside it. The player plays a character about whom nothing is initially known. His intention, however, is clear from the first minutes of the game: to get out of the forest alive.
Let's talk about the setting now. In what is the real physical limitation of the dense and impenetrable group of trees that determine the boundaries of the game map, the world of Darkwood is not limited only to a wooded context. Inside it there are also structures such as houses, a pigsty and a radio station.
A dark forest that is the setting for a horror game ... Trivial isn't it? But no, because to hit perfectly in the center it is not so much the what is represented, but the how: every object and at the same time every character, every creature, are totally deformed. This is because, as mentioned before, the forest wants to make everything its own, and to do so it has to deform it.
An example of this is the Musician, a character with a decidedly grotesque appearance both in his appearance (the long and dirty nails, the drool coming out of his gritted teeth), and in his behavior (hiding not as a symptom of shyness but of fear, the playing his violin out of tune but at the same time expressing melancholy): the Musician is no longer human, but absorbed by the forest. Basically, you spend your time in front of a character or an environmental element thinking "what is that?" or "what does that mean?". As you progress through the game, you investigate an element in depth from time to time. Once you get to the explanation on a certain topic, person or object, the result is real chills.
In order to realize this sense of horror and deformation, Darkwood in his view from above presents colors that are often not very saturated. Even the forest - which should be bright green - is actually very dull. During some events or in certain areas of the game world, colors tending to black & white are often preferred, while the red color of blood is always highlighted. To this must be added the clean and precise cut that takes place between light and shadow. The intent is to make the player feel a sense of security that is only available in environments lit by daylight, or artificially produced electric light. The audio also makes its mark: always right, always dynamic. No sound effect is ever out of place.
The game is defined as survival not because there are objects to eat or water to drink as in classic survival video games, but because during the night it is necessary to anguishly defend oneself from all the evils that the forest can cause. For this aspect the shelter is in fact fundamental, where there is a generator to keep the electricity active and a work table where to store the loot.
After the night, time will stop until you exit the shelter, and in the meantime it will be possible to trade with a special trader who will offer you a stock of items updated every day. The gameplay also offers a simple level-up system: through the consumption of particular objects such as mushrooms and eggs, it is possible to accumulate "essence" to level up. Each of the consumables grants very useful perks.
These are the elements that characterize the plot of Darkwood: chills, disgust, dismay, disbelief… All within an initially unclear narrative, but which develops through play. Darkwood is a very special indie game, in which there is an evident and great passion, all within an equally great work. Especially for the disproportionate amount of detail it possesses. Every single moment played gives an emotion that the latest horror video games produced have not always managed to bring us to life. It also fills other gaps such as the banal plot and gives us an ending that is not at all obvious.
► Darkwood is an RPG-Adventure-indie game developed by Acid Wizard Studio Crunching Koalas Sp. Z oo and published by Acid Wizard Studio Crunching Koalas Sp. Z oo for Linux, PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch , the video game was released on 17/08/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 16/05/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 14/05/2019 The version for Xbox One came out on 17/05/2019
