Game: When the Darkness Comes
Available Platforms: PC
Price: Free
Reviewed on: PC
Genre: Psychological Horror, Indie
Players: 1
Developer: Sirhaian
Release date: March 1, 2019
Hello and welcome to Jay’s Game Reviews! Today I am reviewing Sirhaian‘s Psychological Horror game When the Darkness Comes.
When the Darkness Comes is not a game for everyone, as the warning says at the game’s start screen. The game delves into the psychology of anxiety and depression, and can therefore be upsetting for some individuates (this reviewer included). Please play with caution and remember, it’s just a game! If you find yourself needing to exit after starting I found that you will need to press CTRL-ALT-Delete, open Task Manager, and end the task from there.
PROS:
- Narration. This game, much like “The Stanley Parable” is narrated throughout by an unseen character. The narrator does a great job of drawing the player into the game world. The dialogue it well written and allows the player to feel like they are not just part of the story, but the story itself.
- Lighting. Sirhaian did a great job using light and shadows to guide the player throughout the game. Additionally, there are small details in low lit areas, areas that are the wrong way, such as the words “wrong way” on a border block early in the game (see image below).
- Music. The music in the game by Julie Maxwell sets the mood very well. The sound effects add to the pacing and help with amping up the horror aspect.
- Single Developer. This game was made by one person who utilized Unity assets that he found online to help build the game world, sound effects from freesound.org and outsourced the music. That is pretty impressive!
CONS:
- No exit. Once the player starts the game the only way to exit that I found is to press CTRL-ALT-Delete, open Task Manager, and end the task from there. For a game that starts with a “Trigger Warning” that seems a little counter-intuitive.
When the Darkness Comes is a dark game that takes the player on a tour of the human psyche looking at depression, anxiety and suicide. While the game is not for all players, it is really well done and you can feel the passion that the developer put into his project. One of my favorite things about indie games is that they are made by developers who have a real passion for making games, for telling their stories, and for entertaining us, the players. Triple A studios could take a lesson from games like When the Darkness Comes; and I hope that, for the sake of gaming’s future, someday they do.
Does this weeks game sound interesting to you? You can pick up When the Darkness Comes for yourself on Steam or at Sirhaian‘s website for free write now and experience it now.
I Rate this adventure 97 out of 100
Check out my first impressions video below:
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