Dark Fall 2: Lights Out

Hello again, this is another joint review by Prator and mysterweb (hereafter referred to as "Web" because I'm lazy and for no other reason). This week, we played through Dark Fall 2, a sequel to Dark Fall: The Journal. We thought DF1 was cool, so after I pulled Web out from under the bed, where she'd been squeaking about monsters, we gave this game a shot. Pay no attention to her, she jumps at rainbow sparkles. Web: You're never gonna let me live that down, are you? Prator: No. Web: Okay, going in with the rainbow sparkles thing (I did NOT jump!), this game includes time travel, dark matter, and Victorian lighthouses. Strangely enough, it seems to work, most of the time. Prator: Expect to be confused and have only a partial understanding of what's going on even by the time you reach the endgame. This is normal, and it's in character since you're playing some hapless cartographer from 1912 who doesn't understand the sci-fi-ish stuff that appears in this game. Web: This is also to be expected because of Dark Fall 1. Expect to be even MORE confused, if that is possible. This game is good, but kind of Crazy. Prator: To start out with, I should probably mention that the reason why I gave this game three stars was because you need to be exceptionally attentive when it comes to observing what you can click on and where you're permitted to walk. Web: In order words, you need to be Superman. And have phase-walk attached. Prator: The puzzles themselves aren't so tough (usually... that one with the generator at the beginning was odd...), once you find all the pieces that go to them, but the pieces can be scattered very widely, and some are easy to miss. Web: Camera angles can work against you, so always check to see how many different places you can look. Small things blend in, large things blend in, and rocks look like they've melted. Prator: Also, I advise you to ignore any ghostly voices telling you to come "over here!", especially if they start laughing at you. Web: Double death. I'll find a way to kill that ghost again... The sound quality was good, but not enough to let you turn in the right direction. Prator: Ambient noises are even better than they were in Dark Fall 1, with the addition of more noises and ambient music that adds a little to the creepy feel. Web: While the noises are good, the ghost voices tend to reverberate a lot, and are not always intelligible. Still really good. I was hiding under my knitting. Prator: ...You were frightened of the door-opening noise. Web: It was not the noise! The white door turned to a black portal of death! It opened really fast! Prator:.... Moving on. Prator: Visuals are pretty good. You can see your own character's face, for once, and Benjamin Parker feels like an actual character in the story, rather than a simple avatar of your whims as the player. Besides that, Everything is suitably dark and unpleasant-looking when it's supposed to be, and brightly lit when it isn't. Web: A nice touch with some objects is that the texture looks pretty realistic, so it doesn't seem odd that you can pick them up. Prator: On that note, I should also probably warn you that this game consists largely of redundant items that you might be able to move, but cannot carry. Web: I think they were put in there for ambiance and extra realism, but they can still get annoying. Prator: It does serve to reinforce the idea that you must look at EVERYTHING, though... Prator: As in Dark Fall 1, your ultimate objective is to gather together a bunch of symbols together as a code to defeat some vaguely evil thing. Web: Ummm... Vaguely evil? Wasn't everyone pretty much dead or glowy? I felt bad for the villain, a little bit but... GLOWY PEOPLE! Prator: I say "vaguely evil" because after finishing the game, I still have no idea what it was doing or why. Web: Good point. You never actually see anything of the villain on screen. He'll talk to you a lot, but it's all in your head. Suitably creepy, but still... Prator: This dude did not inspire terror like the thing from Dark Fall: The Journal. Even though I only saw the titular Dark Fall once in that game, it was the most frightening thing in the game by far. DF2, on the other hand, manages a villain who is more prevalent and creepy, but also very annoying. Web: Hmm.... True, although I will admit that the overlay with his voice was creepy, there were such gems of literature as the case when he said "You are my pawn!" and you thought he said "Where is my porn?" Prator:.....*snicker* Prator: In short, it's a good game if you're really detail-oriented, as was the case with DF1. Web: Also, really good ambiance. Even if you're a diehard, there's still the possibility that you will be wigged out. I am not a diehard, so I cannot stand behind my comment, but still the thought is there. Prator: On a personal note, I must add that this game shares a common "flaw" with Dark Fall 1, in that you are NEVER actually in danger of death or injury, and so long as you remain conscious of that, the scare factor goes down. Then again, I know from experience that dying and reloading over and over in a horror game also drops the scare factor, so maybe this "flaw" will be a positive thing for you. Web: So yeah... Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder, a little bit worse, but not bad!