cause I know I will get obsessed and then it will be over and then I will be sad!! I have only played a little, and keep turning it off because it is sooooooo delicious and I want it to last and last! Didn't it feel like coming home to be back in that train station?!!

Jonathan's games are the best!

Have fun, you can always play again!

Ana

I know exactly what you mean.

Yeah, with my loosely tethered brain cells, 6 months after playing any given game - it's all new again.

The possibilities are endless...



As for Darkling's newest, I hope it arrives by the 14th, as I will be on a long train trip - what could be better than exploring a spooky world, in a closed berth (they have a blue night light) on a northbound night train

But how is the game? I haven't seen anyone commenting on it's pros and cons, yet see lots of folks are playing it by the amount of questions in the hints section of the forums.

Love to hear some feedback!

From the little I've played so far , it's great. I am a BIG fan of first person, I love the 360 view, graphics and atmosphere are amazing, and the movement system somewhat resembles the system in Penumbra. Love it!

Since you asked...

I commented in another thread that I loved the game, haven't ever played a better one. A day after finishing, my opinion hasn't changed.

This isn't your friendly Casper the Ghost story. It is darker, more disturbing and more macabre than any of the other Dark Fall or Lost Crown games. It requires a lot of thought to understand what takes place in the game, and to understand what happened before the events in the game. Indeed, I venture to say that when enough people have finished it we'll have a "plot discussion" that puts the one for Scratches to shame. In this respect it reminds me a lot of the film Mulholland Drive. I don't want to give away anything more about the plot. I think Jonathan did a brilliant job writing a story that will leave people thinking about it long after they've played it through.

Graphically, the game is stunning. Wandering through the various buildings/rooms is a real visual treat. And in many places, without anything specific happening, you'll be very very frightened just looking around at the detritus and decay. The soundtrack works extremely well alongside the graphics to convey a feeling of uneasiness and apprehension at all times.

I was worried before starting play that Lost Souls would be a sequel to the events of Dark Fall: The Journal, more than anything, re-tracing steps through the same rooms/stories we saw in the first game. And while some of the names do return, the journey through the old station and hotel feels brand new.

One of the things that I really loved about the second Dark Fall game--Lights Out--was the blending of horror with a decidedly sci-fi bent. To me that showed that Jonathan wasn't satisfied with creating mere sequels but rather wanted to break new ground and give gamers new experiences. He's done it again here, in spades, and has managed to marry the best of surrealist games like Obsidian and Morpheus with a traditional horror gaming experience. Again, I can't give specifics without giving away plot info, so I won't so that. I'll just say that, if I were ordering up a game from scratch, unlimited in what I would want to incorporate into it, I don't think I could do any better. I wish all games, and all films, were this well written and immersive.

Regarding gameplay, I played on a laptop, and had no problems other than that some of the puzzles, being skills-based or requiring cursor movements (the infamous bone divination puzzle), were a little tricky. Once you know how to move the cursor in these puzzles, it's not a problem.

In sum, I have a new favorite game. No other horror gaming experience comes close to this one IMHO.

Thanks for the replies. I enjoyed the first Dark Fall, although never played Lights Out. The game that really got me into Mr. Boakes however, was Lost Crown, which I enjoyed a great deal and inspired me to play Dark Fall.



I'm also a fan of first person, and recently finished Penumbra Black Plague. Very good game. However when you say 360 view, are you able to go pretty much anywhere you like, or are you more restricted movement wise. I ask because I assumed the game would be more like the traditional AG first person game.

Hi, Argyle1968

That was a very interesting short review of the game...

BUT...I see that there is no mention of inventory at all...I can't find anything on the games inventory ...As I am a fan of inventories in games....

So Can someone Please tell me...Is there an inventory in this game?

Thank You

It has an inventory but not a very large one.

Ana

Thanks, Ana

Question: How important is it to play the previous 2 games first?

I have forgotten much of the first two as I played them when they first came out. Other than recognizing the areas, I don't recall anything else, so I am playing as though I did not play the first ones and doing fine.

Ana

Not at all. Lights Out (game 2 in the series) has no connection with Dark Fall: The Journal and Lost Souls.

However, that said, a few things from the Journal will make a little more sense in the context of what you learn during Lost Souls--about some of the background characters, I mean.

And knowing the layout of the train station and hotel from The Journal helps a bit with knowing where you're going in Lost Souls, but, again, not all areas from each game are accessible in the other, or accessible in the same ways, and nothing in Lost Souls requires you to have played The Journal or have a knowledge of what happened in that game.

I agree- it helps being a bit familiar with the area but I don't think it's necessay to have played the two previous games.

I finally gave in and started playing in earnest ! LOVVVVEEEE it !!

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback! Especially you Argyle...You flatter me!...Mulholland Drive is my favourite Lynch movie. If I wasn't making games, I would be the MC at Club Silencio.

As for inventory...there are around 115 items, altogether, from booze to bones...but, thankfully, you don't carry them all at once! On average, you'll have about 15 items at any one time. That includes 'Bonus Items' hidden in the gameplay.

Enjoy, and DO have nightmares.
Jonathan

oh..can hardly wait until Interact can ship!!! Got my Constant Comment tea, spam, split pea soup and cheese and crackers all laid in.....to get ready for a nice longggg wonderful time!!! Yes...i too like to take my time and sometimes force myself to stop when a game is really good so it will last longer. Have had to do it on each and every one of Mr Boakes' games...(and the last half of darkness last 2 as well!!)..They're like that first bite of your fave dessert..you want to really savour it!

Thanks, Jonathan
_________________________

That sounds like a good size inventory...

With regard to the queries about whether you need to have played through the original Dark Fall, I'd have to back up the statements that you don't need any experience with the first game to appreciate this one. However, as one who has played the first game multiple times, I will say that familiarity with the environment has had a real impact on my experience thus far. There are definitely points where you have the sense that, "I've walked these halls before", but as you take in the pervasive decay of the place and the myriad signs of supernatural manifestations, you recognize that in some fundamental respects, it isn't the same place at all. For myself, the changes communicated that the darkness that had been in Dowerton during my first visit had grown far stronger and that its corruption now tainted every corner of the place. As a result, the whole environment was much more frightening than it was in the first game and there's almost a constant sense of being threatened. Nowhere is safe.

This is not your mother's Station Hotel.

That said, I can completely relate to others who don't want to rush through the game. Eager as I am to solve the mystery, there are very, very few games that conjure up an atmosphere that is this frightening and effective. So far, it's been an outstanding experience.

I've just finished with help from MAGS wonderful walkthrou' and I think this will be voted as the best game of 2009. I loved all of the previous of his games but this is the best ever. atmospheric, creepy, puzzling and challangeing.
Like Lost Crown there are bits that brought tears to my eyes and other bits which made me feel happy that I had suceed in my tasks.
I liked the little hints on the phone and the unlimited saves. In fact I do not think I could find anything I did not like about it. :holidays:

I'm curious.... I do know that this game comes after the events of the first game, but does anybody have an idea as to how many years in the game world have passed since those preveious events? Because it really is drastically different now as Pathfinder stated above. If that question was already addressed, sorry for the repeat. :-)

Dawn

The suicides and closing of the hotel is in 1947.

Dark Fall 1 happened in 2002, when your brother left you a message about somehing hunting them.

Dark Fall 3 is in 2010.

I just finished Lost Souls a couple of nights ago and am still in the process of mulling over the experience. Truly an outstanding game. I'd be inclined to agree with old lady...probably my top game of 2009. I'm hoping at some point soon I can discuss some of the plot points with others that have completed the game. It was very thought provoking, more so (at least for me) than any of Boakes' previous titles.

Like MaG, I was under the impression that both games were set in the "present day", coniciding with the years they were released. Which would make for almost an additional decade's worth of decay on Dowerton Station and the Station Hotel.

That said...

Read everyone's comments here... I'm having big trouble resisting temptation......mine is sitting on the shelf waiting for Christmas Day, after all the family have gone home and left me alone with just the cat for company and looking forward to being scared...very scared... but can I wait that long, keep busy...keep busy...

After reading all of this, I am DYING to get this game. It's on my "to buy" agenda for January - too many Christmas expenses this month. Cannot wait to play!