Random Video Game Review - Darkwood

 

Forests can be pretty dangerous places at night. You'll never know what lurks within, whether it be some blank dude in a suit or giant spiders. This game basically makes out that a forest has grown to take over the world and has basically captured much of humanity and transformed them into horrific monsters. It's another game from Steam Early Access and perhaps one of the more successful games to come out of that initiative. This is either going to be the scariest game since Freddy Fazbear took over the internet or just another one of those survival games that tries hard to do different with some success. Let's take a look:

Set in Poland in the late 1980s, a large but mysterious forest has occupied the land and continues its expansion. People have been trapped inside the forest and turned into horrific monsters due to a plague that lurks within. A group of government officials and soldiers are then sent to investigate the woods, though by the point of playing the game, much of that group is either dead or left the forest. What's left are a group of main characters, each hell-bent on finding a way out. As a semi-open world game, the game's world gets expanded as you progress the storyline. It also has the usual things you'd expect in most games now such as NPCs, a crafting and day/night system, a skill tree, stealth and combat. Plus, depending on actions made in the story, multiple aspects of the world get altered as a result. Daytime lets you explore the world for supplies, things to repair or craft, and various other things to help you get by. Nighttime is more restricted as you are forced to stay at your hideout and defend it from intruders. Various outcomes occur depending on your survival of both day and night cycles, but you may gain a reputation from the NPCs that you encounter. Plus your treatment of them will alter the storyline in many ways.

This is a well-made game. Definitely scary in many ways and very much story driven, with everything that you do having an impact on the overall storyline. Which kind of in a way makes this a great game that is innovative, scary and one not to be overlooked or missed despite its status as an indie game. 9/10