Thursday 22 October 2009

Dark in the Spotlight

My indie game Dark has been out for a week-and-a-half, and I have been blown away by the massively positive reception!

Here are all the reviews of Dark that I could find, plus some interviews towards the end. I will update this post as more come along (if you follow me on twitter, then you will know when I do). If you like what you hear in these reviews, you should go and get Dark on Xbox LIVE Indie Games.

I have to give props to everyone who has reviewed my game. Dark, due to its intentional vagueness, is not the easiest game to write about, but write you did! Thank you!

(These review quotes are just snippets; click through for the full reviews.)

Round Ups

“For once an artsy game that lives up to the whole ‘game’ thing.” – Negative Gamer gave it 3 out of 3 controller-eating dinosaurs and a “Buy It” recommendation!

“As soon as I was done I started the game right back up again to play through again… An experience everyone should play.” – Gay Gamer placed it in the “Yay” category.

“Very distinctive graphic design … very atmospheric game” – Emuholic’s Game Blog

“Sedate, atmospheric, short adventure platformer.” – xnPlay

Reviews

“Dark is a game that should be experienced and not simply read about on the internet… One of the best XBL Indies I’ve played … the kind of game you’ll want to show your non-gaming friends.” – Pixelated Sausage gave Dark 5 out of 5 sausages!

“No game on [XBLIG] has really lived up to the Indie mentality … Until Dark came out.” – Player 1 Only gave it a score of “9 – Amazing”

“Dark is actually something different and interesting and had me hooked from the start… Dark has an appeal that cannot be matched it is simple and awe-inspiring at the same time.” – Nometet gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

“Dark is a game that just wants you to play it so that you can be a part of it.” – Small Cave Games gave it a B+

“Slight criticism aside, Dark is a confident foray and gentle borderline entrance into art gaming exhibiting a rare mastery of atmosphere through its namesake aesthetic and gorgeous soundtrack.” – In a full review Negative Gamer gave -3 (out of -10, yes they use a negative scoring system)

“It succeeds at being something truely unique and more than justifies the price.” – Indie Game Blog gave it a “Buy” recommendation

“It’s an interesting game and the presentation is totally original compared to anything else I have seen. It is definitely a side step from the norm.” – XBLIG.co.uk

“As an interactive work of art, it shined … imagine one of those screensaver apps but instead of being lame, it’s actually kickass” – PwnEm.com gave it 8.25/10

“Where this game shines is the lighting … giving it a lot of personality.” – Wasted Seconds gave it 7/10

“This game is definitely something you should pick up and try out.” – SFX360 gave it 7.6 overall

“Compared to other games costing 80 points there is not a great deal, but for the experience of playing it is kinda worth spending the points.” – Emuholic’s Game Blog

“[Dark] takes a fairly standard genre like 2D platforming and then turns it upside down. Or more accurately, it turns off the lights.” – Diehard GameFAN