Dark Fall 2: Lights Out

...and a really good plot, atmosphere and setting. This is as close as adventure games really get to providing a genuine mystery for the player to solve, and you'll find yourself taking loads of notes...and even enjoying it. The style will be familiar if you've played any 'escape the room' style web-based Flash games, although Dark Fall 2 is a league above in quality and gameplay. Playing the first game is not a prerequisite (though it comes highly recommended) for understanding the plot here. In fact, while the first game was more of a straightforward ghost hunt, the plot in Dark Fall 2 starts out that way, but twists and turns all over the place and is as gripping as a good novel. This in itself is quite a feat, as there is surprisingly little use of cut-scenes to tell the story. In terms of criticism, there are two main failings of this title. First, it suffers from the same shaky voice acting as the first game did, although it's less noticeable on the whole and doesn't spoil anything. The second problem is more significant: like most Myst-style games, you'll find that your progress is halted on occasion simply because you haven't noticed that you can look at an object from a different angle. This is a shame, as the actual puzzle-solving in the game is excellent, and you may end up resorting to a walkthrough simply to figure out which camera angle hotspot you missed. Overall, these minor detractions still leave no doubt that this game is among the best in the genre. In fact, I enjoyed it much more than Myst, which seems like an exercise in aimless wandering by comparison.

The first game was an outstanding title and the sequel is even better. The premise of the game is actually based off an real life event where three lighthouse-keepers mysteriously vanished off of an island just off the coast of England called the Flannan Isle in 1900. The game has a really spooky atmosphere as you wonder through the lighthouse on Fetch Rock, you might even hear something move on the floors above you or even the disembodied voices of those who just vanished on that isle. Are you brave enough to discover the truth of the mysterious activities that haunt this little island?

The game-play for this game was pretty good, though the "scares" in it repeat themselves a lot. If you leave an area and return, the same scare pops up again. It feels a little like a Flash game for browser at times, though it -was- made with Flash. The puzzles are interesting and at times can be pretty tough to crack. But the game's ending is awful. It's short and pointless. I don't want to spoil what happens, but let's just say the first game had a better and longer ending. This game pretty much says "You win! Game over." So I give it 4 stars for game play minus 1 star for the ending.

If you're expecting Dark Fall 2, kill that expectation now. The only thing that ties the two games together is the appearance of a minor character from the first game. Other than that, there's no connection, not even in terms of genre. Dark Fall was a straight-forward ghost story -- paranormal happenings and the like. This one starts off like that in an abandoned lighthouse. The ambience is spooky and there's plenty of tension and thrills. You think you're in for another ghost story, another Dark Fall game. This expectation is fed through the use of the term "Dark Fall" by characters and writings during this beginning portion of the game as well, so it's easy to expect a struggle against a similar dark, spiritual entity yet again. However, this is soon derailed as the plot seems to jump tracks and begin to follow the course of a sci-fi adventure. What you first perceived as a tale of a haunted lighthouse ends up being a time traveling adventure with a confusing and abrupt ending. In fact, the entire plot causes more confusion than resolution. It's hard to put the pieces together and determine what was paranormal and what wasn't, or if anything was in the first place. You're only left with questions of "how?" and "why?" It's sorely disappointing, and the jump from ghost story to science fiction is the reason why I wouldn't label it Dark Fall 2. However, the artwork and sound design are still fantastic, following the high standards that the first Dark Fall set. It's very engaging to view and interact with items from the early 20th Century, and all the rooms are laid out in a pleasant manner. Reading journals of the different characters and the other reading material encountered is engaging. Boakes certainly has a talent for characters and setting, and there was no disappointment here. In short, the atmosphere measures up and is immersive, but the sci-fi plot feels disjointed and gives no strong resolution in the end. I'm glad I played, but it was disappointing.