Dark Light

Foreword

I originally published a review for Dark Light on January 20th, 2020. I have made a few revisions to that review after revisiting the game. My opinion remains the same; this is poor game, and I don’t recommend it. However, I still had fun, and for the right crowd I think Dark Light might appeal as a sort of “hidden gem”.

Gameplay

. . . in a nutshell

Wander a dark maze while avoiding (unkillable) monsters and search for cryptic items. The goal of the game is to escape a bunker using a four digit code, which is acquired piece by piece throughout the playing area. Finding each number will require a selection of hidden items and switches, patience, and possibly a whole lot of save-scumming.

out the shell. . .

Most of the map is pitch-black, and all you can see is your immediate surroundings. It makes playing the game very hard, and you will die and die again from unforeseen threats. If this doesn’t appeal to you, you can toggle “Lighting Effect” from the “Settings” menu, which will illuminate the whole map. I chose to keep the default “dark” setting.

Because I don’t like myself.

After about three hours I rescinded my decision. Monsters roam-about, and will kill the protagonist should they hit her enough. She’s helpless, so your only recourse is to avoid confrontation at all costs. There are hidden items scattered-about, picked-up by “interacting” with un-marked tiles. Some items are only accessible from hidden rooms, activated by switching switches.

Just don’t switch more than one switch at a time. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Some items can be used to heal the protagonist, and others are crucial to progressing (such as a hammer to smash blocks). If you find any “clovers”, chow down. Through-out the map are hidden numbers: the goal of the game is to collect all four, and use them undo a lock. If you want the “Good Ending”, be sure to activate every computer terminal you find.

Also, don’t forget to collect all the hentai!

Story

Some girl is wandering the countryside. She stumbles upon (what appears to be) an empty bunker, and she steps inside. The door clicks shut, only to be unlocked by an unknown, four-digit code. This girl has fallen prey to the “Organization”, a group of baddies with evil intentions (that are never explained). Why the bunker is filled with monsters or hentai is never explained. Perhaps this hapless girl has wandered into some sort of sick experiment?

Or maybe, this is how all of those lewd hentai monsters are made!

Visuals

The titlescreen is appealing and simplistic. From “Options”, you can adjust audio and gameplay preferences. To fullscreen the application, just hit the “F4” key. DarkLight uses a number of default RPGMaker sprites. The visuals are generic, and I’d venture to say that there’s very little original sprite-work. But custom-sprites are pricey and time consuming, so I’m willing to give them a pass.

The Goods

There are fifteen static CGs to find (and unlock). The artwork is alright, though it seems a bit out of place. The protagonist is never involved in any lewd scenes. Every CG depicts an unknown character in an out-of-context, sexual situation (typically having something to with BDSM). I would consider the CGs to icing on the cake, but hardly a key part of the game (except I think you need to collect them all to get the “good ending”.)

Verdict

I don’t recommend this game. I want to recommend this game, because I had fun playing it. But I think this is objectively a bad game. It is far, far too cryptic, and feels extremely unpolished. If you’re not careful, you can soft-lock yourself with a bad move, and I don’t think a player could reasonably beat this game without a guide. If you’re a fan of secrets, then this title is worth a shot, provided you grab it on sale.