Earlier this year we had the chance to interview the lovely people at Acid Wizard Studio about their first project, Darkwood. We’ve now been lucky enough to get our hands on an alpha copy of the game and can tell you that it’s even more scary hands-on.
Darkwood is a survival-horror game set deep in the heart of a Soviet forest that has been ravaged by a deadly plague. Using tools and materials found around the area, you must scavenge what you can and hope you survive the night, defending yourself from not only the wilderness but those unfortunate enough to not be killed by the illness. Add to that your own declining state of sanity…
It’s an ambitious first title from Acid Wizard Studio, a small independent team hailing from Warsaw in Poland. They claim they ‘play games and make games’ and they’re pretty awesome bunch of folks. After receiving 143% of their Indiegogo target, they went on to make such a unique gem that is swimming in an ocean of survival games flooding the market lately. But that’s the thing about Darkwood: it’s an interesting concept worth your attention because – trust me – to get the most out of it, you will be sinking a lot of time into it without even noticing!
What you can’t see can be terrifying.
When I found out about Darkwood, I jumped at the chance to interview the people behind it. After reading its premise and watching some gameplay videos I found that it looked like the kind of title I would want to get my hands on as quickly as I could. But that leads into a new problem: expectation. After having the pleasure of interviewing the developers, my desire to actually play Darkwood grew massively. When I heard that it was a survival-horror game inspired by two of my favourite film directors – Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch – as well as two authors who published Roadside Picnic, a novel which would go on to directly inspire the S.T.A.L.K.E.R franchise, along with an atmosphere very reminiscent of Silent Hill… I was just salivating at the chance to play!
But as I said, expectation can be a destructive force. If you expect too much from a game there is a very high chance it might not offer what you were hoping, and that to me was a worry. But after receiving a preview copy and finally getting the chance to sit down and actually play it, I have to admit: I am pleasantly surprised with what Acid Wizard Studio has managed to produce.
That’s one hell of a hangover.
Darkwood is a game that doesn’t give you any easy answers in more ways than one. Firstly, the main plot is deeply wrapped in mystery. Over the course of the title you will trawl the forest, savaging what you can whilst to survive; and as night comes, you best hope you have barricaded yourself in while also dealing with your declining sanity. The story takes a large amount of twists and with insanity being integral, as you progress and uncover the mystery you’re left wondering what is really happening. From my first few breakthroughs, I’m not even sure that the plot runs in a coherent order but this just adds to the appeal.
Secondly, while there is a tutorial of sorts and the game does give you hints on what to do, most of the time it isn’t afraid to let you explore, make mistakes and figure things out for yourself, only helping you out slightly when you need it to. Comparing it to another survival title, Don’t Starve, Darkwood addressed every issue I had with the former. Don’t Starve practically drops you into the thick of it and leaves you wondering around aimlessly and, unless you learn from hours of mistakes or use a wiki, it can be an intimidating experience. Darkwood on the other hand tells you how the mechanics work; I haven’t had to tab out of the title to go to a wiki as it teaches you how to do things when you need to. You don’t need to worry about crafting straight away, but around thirty minutes in a message pops up once you have the appropriate tool, letting you know you can press tab to start making something from the items you just found. This uses your lack of knowledge to ramp up the creep factor and it works beautifully.
Despite his appearance, he’s a rather charming gentleman.
The one thing I love about Darkwood is the feel and atmosphere: it’s dripping with a sense of unease. Everything from the visual style right down to the game mechanics contributes to the general feeling of anxiety and tension. The first time I encountered an enemy I was armed, but I had no idea how to attack the wolf that was charging towards me – you have no idea how terrifying and helpless I felt. Although I died in my panic, I woke up in a room, and in the corner a man with the head of a fox chatted idly with me for a while. It was a surreal but rewarding experience to say the least.
The game’s controls feel slow and deliberate. The combat is frantic and panic-driven, where a missed swing can make all the difference in outcome. The crafting system is interesting as well as the drug-making used in order to keep you alive but at a cost. I think Darkwood’s selling point is how the protagonist’s sight works, as you can only see in a cone of around ninety degrees. If something is behind you and you’re not carrying a torch, it can kill you before you could even see it. Now this may sound frustrating but far from it: it keeps you paranoid. It keeps you checking your surroundings like a hawk and really gets you deep into the mindset the title is trying to present. In a lot of ways, the general tension and sense of unease reminds me a lot of the Silent Hill series.
Darkwood is a little rough around the edges, but it’s still in alpha stage and that just adds to the overall charm for me. It is a game deep in atmosphere and tension and has a fantastic visual appeal and design, one that takes its influences and plays them well. Acid Wizard Studio are a team that have taken Russian fiction and folklore, along with surrealism, to make a deeply evocative title that not only met my expectations but rose above them and offered me plenty of surprises. But to tell you the surprises would spoil the experience and, after all, the forest is waiting…
Darkwood is available on Steam Early Access, and is due to be released in about a year if all goes according to plan. We can’t wait to get our hands on the finished version and will bring you more news as we receive it!
