Hi everyone. I haven't been around in a long time because I was obsessed w/ Oblivion on the Darkside and didn't come up for air til recently. The first adventure game I grabbed when I came back to the Lightside was "Darkness Within", and I'm so glad that I did!

I haven't finished the game and am very much still playing it, but I couldn't resist saying a few words about it in case there are some people who want to give it a shot but haven't bought it yet and are wondering what it's like.

First of all, it may have taken Lighthouse Interactive a long while to get the game onto the shelves, but the time spent on production was well-worth it. The game is very polished, very professionally done, and the graphics (always my favorite part of a game) are just stunning.

The scenes are beautifully made, depicting offices, victorian home interiors and spooky outdoor shots with loving attention. One of the neat things to me is that this game takes place in 2011, yet the whole tone of it is circa 1930's, so the player feels like he's very much in the past rather than in the future.

On the gamebox are the words, "A chilling horror adventure inpsired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft". And it's easy to see this inspiration from the get-go. The music, the typed-out diary pages, the chill of "something has happened, but what?"...all combine to give any Lovecraft addict a sweet taste of the Master's work. I'm currently re-reading Lovecraft's stories and as I slip from computer game to bedtime books, there is hardly a blip. For me it's as if ol' H. P.'s spirit is living within this game, and that image lends a wonderful richness and depth to the exploration of the games' many settings.

The music and sounds for Darkness Within were well-chosen too, with just enough sublety that they don't get in the way of the exploration, but just enough "umph" that they stir the hairs on the back of your head as you wander about the halls and tunnels that contain Darkness' mysteries. I am very impressed with the sounds in this game, and that's saying alot because in general when I play a computer game, I turn off the sound and dig into the graphics. For this game though, I feel the need to not only turn on the sound, but to also turn off the lights and put on headphones so as to really become absorbed in the audio. (which btw, in the dark w/ headphones is scary! Ack!)

In all of the creepiness, you the player are not only getting the experience of being scared while staring at pretty graphics, which can sometimes happen in other games. In this one you get to put on your thinking cap and play detective. Not only are you on the hunt for missing P.I. Loath Nolder, but in searching for his whereabouts you also become involved with one of Loath's own cases, that of the murdered Clark Field. Why did Nolder leave the country for five years after taking on this case? Was it connected to Field's interest in the occult? And what happened to Loath Nolder once he returned from his escape to Africa and Oceana? Was that too tied to the Clark Field case or was it something more?

As someone who is still near the beginning of this game, I can't say for sure. (and wouldn't even if I knew---that might ruin it for the rest of you guys!) But I can say that as I tip-toe my way through this game, with only my wits and my notes at hand to help me, I can't help feeling like this mystery is not going to be an easy one to solve.

However, there are lots of in-game helps for the amateur detective so you're not totally on your own. Along with hints there is a neat tool (which is a little tricky and one I am still learning how to use) where you can take objects and combine them, then have your character "think" about them and what they mean. Also, when reading through books, diaries, papers, etc. you can underline clues that seem important and thinking about those as well; often adding new topics and new clues to follow up as you go. Sometimes just looking at photos will move you forward. Other times connecting certain books to others will help you leap forward and into the next part of the game...it's all a matter of reading and re-reading items until they've made their hidden clues visible. Not easy, but the challenge is fun; I always enjoy it when a game makes me work for what I want and teases my intellect just enoough to make me feel involved, but not frustrated. This game does this beautifully, IMO, and whenever I log out of it I find myself curled up in bed thinking about what I need to do next; so I'm not just "haunted" by the game's ambience, I'm also haunted in a different way, by those things that still need attention and how I'm going to solve their riddles so that I can move on to the next part of the story.

All in all I have to give this game a 10/10 so far for the way it has completely captured my imagination. I really haven't felt this "into" and excited about an adventure game in a long time and I'm so tickled that it is waiting for me now, even as I type this.

In fact, I fear I must go for now because I sense that something is waiting for me beneath the darkness, something that wants to get me. I don't know what it is, but I think that perhaps it pursed Loath Nolder as well and that is why he disappeared. Perhaps it is also why we have not been able to find him despite his return to our country.

If I find him and figure out the mysteries during my travels, I will let you know. And if I don't...well, then I am either in the local sanitarium (again), or they've found me...

Whoever and whatever "they" might be...



Hope you guys enjoy the game as much as I am!

Shivers and hugs,
Cat

This was a great read, Cat; your enthusiasm for the game is palpable.

It's sitting right here in my to-play pile!!

Catbelly -- thanks for your impressions of the game -- beautifully written!

I'm very curious to know what you think when you get to the end.

Catbelly! A great read and a great recommendation for the game

Catbelly,

Very good review about Darkness, i finished game yesterday and i must to say that i agree it is an excellent adventure for sure one of the best of the year.
I would like to say that i do not agree with a review of Adventure Gamers with rate of 2.5 to Darkness is very unfair to the game.

Great review Catbelly


A great reason to play it again

Thanks catbelly for a great review - it's certainly caught my interest & imagination!

Thanks so much you guys. I'm glad ya liked my little take on Darkness Within and I hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying it!

Also, I am so surprised that anyone could rate this game so low! What the heck were they thinking? grrrrr

Cat

Cat, I'm playing this game now too and I agree with you. I'm really enjoying it. This is one of the scariest games I've played. I don't get scared easily by games but this one does the trick. It's really well done and I'm enjoying it immensely. I didn't read the AG's review but can't imagine what their problem was with the game. I think it's one of the best!

Melanie

Hi Melanie. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it too! Isn't it fun when you're really wanting to find a great game and one comes along that really just does it for you? I love that!

sigh....

Cat

Sure thing! I just lost my whole game and have to start from scratch though! Everyone, install the patch first!!! There are gamestopping glitches where you can lose inventory and if you are stupid like me and forget to back up your saves, you will lose your game if you go install the patch afterwards. I'm looking for a saved game now so I don't have to go back to the beginning.

I got lucky and Vista backed up my saves and I didn't have to restart my game. I was able to move them back but I don't know if xp will so beware if you install the patch after starting the game!

Melanie -- are you saying that when you install the patch, all previous saves are corrupted?

I agree- I just finished the game-- I really liked it- looking forward to D2.
Although I must admit-- the thought machine was trying at times- I just did not get the what to I mix up to think about. I found that confusing-- other than that it was great!!

They weren't corrupted but they were not compatible. Vista made them compatible but I don't know if they will be in XP.

Hi Winfrey. Just wanted to say that I totally get you about having trouble with the thinking part. It could definitely get frustrating, especially when it would say, "There's nothing to think about!" LOL! And I would be thinking, "Yes there is! I just don't know how to make you do it!" LOL LOL

Ah well, aside from that little quibble I really did love the game. I just wish it wasn't over, darn it!

Cat saying Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night!

Hey melanie,

I have the same error with the darkness within and secret atlantis, is a problem for windows vista. Luck i could finish darkness but secret atlantis i lost every saves.

Very Nice catbelly36..

I did find that thinking combination a little bit of a pain to learn. I did enjoy this game also immensely...

Thanks again...

I have to correct myself about my game being corrupted. It was. I'll have to start over. The door would not work for me. That's the door that has the puzzle on it. The handle finally turned after refusing to for umpteen times but still did not open. So in other words, applying the patch ruined the game.

Melanie, that is awful!

ARGHGHGHGHGH! Are you going to reinstall without the patch? Or microwave the patch?

I've written to the publisher about the problems with the patch, but haven't heard anything about a resolution. I suspect that, at some point, there will be another patch to fix the first one.

I haven't decided yet. I'm too frustrated with the publisher. It's a great game and they ruined it for me. I may reinstall and play with the patch from the beginning if I see that enough people played with it without problems. If not, I'll play without it. GRRRR! Not for a while though. I'll have to get over my mad.

I'm playing Vampire Bloodlines Masquerade and Oblivion right now instead. To top it all off, I got Culpa Innata and it was a defective disc! I just sent it back for an exchangee! I don't know about the way these adventures are being made! They're good games finally, but what are they doing when it comes to production? I guess I'll just have fun on the dark side for a while. lol.

Melanie -- there's a post in the developer's Darkness Within forum here that might help.

Also, if you're feeling adventurous you could try testing the new patch they are working on -- info is here.

I hope you begin having better gaming experiences! Were you able to get the Culpa disk replaced easily?

I am playing Darkness Within on a Vista computer and had all kinds of problems after installing the patch. It was during the holidays and the forums were shut down. However, I did discover that if I just re-installed the patch each time and started the game from the prompt, everything ran smoothly. Unfortunately, I did have to start over because my saved games were not recognized and I couldn't find them anywhere.

I love this game, though, so it was worth the effort. This is the type of game that made me fall in love with adventure games in the first place.

Becky,
I was able to send the Culpa Innata disc back but not get a new one. They said they couldn't get anymore so are refunding it plus shipping to me. I'll have to reorder it somewhere else. I guess adventure games haven't been lucky for me lately. I bought 2 new ag's and 1 had a defective disc and the other had a defective patch!

I'll check out those DW links Becky, thanks. I'm really having fun with Vampire though so don't think I'll try Darkness Within again right now.

Kriskips, I solved the problem of the disappearing saves in Vista after installing the patch but it didn't do any good because the games were corrupted. I didn't know they were corrupted until I came to the door puzzle and it just wouldn't work.

To get the saves back in vista, all you have to do is click the sentence on top of the window that says compatibility and it will bring you to the new folder it created for you where it moved your saves. Just copy those saves and paste them back into your game where they belong and give the computer the administrator permission to do so. Like I said, mine were corrupt. Yours may not be though. I don't know if it always ruins them or if it's the luck of the draw but I wouldn't try adding a patch to a game in progress again. In fact, I haven't decided if I want to try the patch at all again.

Edit: Becky, I just checked out those links. It doesn't sound too promising. I think when I'm ready to go back, I may just back up my saves up to the point where I enter the room of the door puzzle, uninstall the game and the patch, and play unpatched now that I know where the unpatched version has problems and what causes them, I can probably avoid them as I did not have problems before I added that (%#@!!) rotten patch in the first place.

Thanks catbelly for such an energetic review! - it just turned up on my doorstep today! I'm so behind with so many great games yet to play so may be some time before I get round to it but yet another to look forward to!! Sorry that some of you are having problems with patches etc - hope things get sorted out!