If you're a fan of horror games, chances are you've heard of a guy named Frédérick Raynal; he's the guy responsible for the original Alone in the Dark games, and without him survival horror wouldn't be what it is today. Needless to say, queue the unhinged excitement from within the horror community when word came around that Raynal was releasing a new voxel-based survival/stealth horror game called 2Dark; it raised over $51,000 CAD on Ulule in 2014 and was finally released three years after the fact.

The plot behind 2Dark is perhaps one of the most gruesome stories that can be encountered. It's definitely not intended for anyone but adults, and those who have trauma relating to their childhood may not fare well psychologically. Playing as Detective Smith, your ultimate goal is to save dozens of children from the grips of several serial killers who not only intend to murder these kids, but also sell some of them off to other deranged psychopaths to meet equally as sinister fates. Smith himself ends up losing his children on a camping trip, where his wife is also murdered; he ends up being left to track them down alone. After uncovering many dark criminal secrets, Smith finds himself under the spotlight of this horrible underground organization, who are now after his blood.

Besides the story, the biggest asset that 2Dark has going for it is its dark, grimy art direction. This is one brutally disturbing and gory game, with loads of entrails strewn about and blood soaking every dark crevice that it can. Much of the true visual horror lies in the drawn artwork of the evidence pick-ups that are found in every level; making exploring an essential treat for the fiendish carnage lover. Imagine stumbling upon a book full of recipes for cooking children, and meat charts designed specifically for cuts of kids. You never know quite what you're going to find next, and each piece to the puzzle is more horrific than the last.

If you're pining for viciously tough gameplay, then 2Dark has the hookup for you; if you fart in real life, chances are the enemies in the game have heard you. It's unforgivingly difficult, but it's all about learning patterns, sneaking around in the dark, and waiting for the right moment to strike; as well as with the right weapon. Learning when and where to save is also essential to completing the 5-6 hour long campaign, which does have some decent replay factors thanks to the Challenge Mode. This mode lets you go back through each level and finish collecting all of the candies and evidence that you may have missed, along with saving all of the children without killing anyone. If you do it all in one go, you get extra credit. That said, the Challenge Mode is really only if you're enjoying the game a lot since it's obvious that no one put any thoughts into the achievements, and there is no extra content to unlock.

This is a survival horror game that beckons back to the old days, where if you died you were dead, and you had to restart from your last save. If you didn't have a last save, then it was all the way back to the beginning of the game for you. It's the same concept here, but more forgiving as you'll only be forced to restart the current level. To save your game, you have to smoke a cigarette; careful, as smoking too much will make you cough, and it will potentially alert nearby enemies. It's a built-in system to prevent save game abuse, much akin to having limited save items such as Resident Evil's ink ribbons, without having to use save points like in Silent Hill.

There are some broken promises in 2Dark, though, that still plague it to this day. For one, the developers added DRM when they promised not to. This was eventually removed after much backlash from the community. The most damning lie is the fact that they never got around to creating the last 4 levels of the game. On the Ulule campaign, they stated that "eight levels aren't enough" and that if €35,000 was raised, there would be "two additional levels". This means that even after reaching their stretch goal by over €15,000, they never actually completed the base game since there are only 6 levels.

Even though 2Dark has a lot working in favor for it, there's also a lot working against its success. The art style and level designs are top notch for a small indie horror release, and the atmosphere that's cultivated because of it all is dreadfully tense and may even cause you to hold your breath more than what is natural and healthy. On the other hand, the gameplay gets boring and repetitive by the third level, which almost makes you forgive the fact that the developers copped out of their original 10 level promise. To get the most enjoyment out of this title, you're going to have to be a big fan of stealth and very slow-paced gameplay. Worth grabbing on a huge discount.

The Horror Network Curator | Group Click for Gore

If you're a fan of horror games, chances are you've heard of a guy named Frédérick Raynal; he's the guy responsible for the original Alone in the Dark games, and without him survival horror wouldn't be what it is today. Needless to say, queue the unhinged excitement from within the horror community when word came around that Raynal was releasing a new voxel-based survival/stealth horror game called 2Dark; it raised over $51,000 CAD on Ulule in 2014 and was finally released three years after the fact. The plot behind 2Dark is perhaps one of the most gruesome stories that can be encountered. It's definitely not intended for anyone but adults, and those who have trauma relating to their childhood may not fare well psychologically. Playing as Detective Smith, your ultimate goal is to save dozens of children from the grips of several serial killers who not only intend to murder these kids, but also sell some of them off to other deranged psychopaths to meet equally as sinister fates. Smith himself ends up losing his children on a camping trip, where his wife is also murdered; he ends up being left to track them down alone. After uncovering many dark criminal secrets, Smith finds himself under the spotlight of this horrible underground organization, who are now after his blood. Besides the story, the biggest asset that 2Dark has going for it is its dark, grimy art direction. This is one brutally disturbing and gory game, with loads of entrails strewn about and blood soaking every dark crevice that it can. Much of the true visual horror lies in the drawn artwork of the evidence pick-ups that are found in every level; making exploring an essential treat for the fiendish carnage lover. Imagine stumbling upon a book full of recipes for cooking children, and meat charts designed specifically for cuts of kids. You never know quite what you're going to find next, and each piece to the puzzle is more horrific than the last. If you're pining for viciously tough gameplay, then 2Dark has the hookup for you; if you fart in real life, chances are the enemies in the game have heard you. It's unforgivingly difficult, but it's all about learning patterns, sneaking around in the dark, and waiting for the right moment to strike; as well as with the right weapon. Learning when and where to save is also essential to completing the 5-6 hour long campaign, which does have some decent replay factors thanks to the Challenge Mode. This mode lets you go back through each level and finish collecting all of the candies and evidence that you may have missed, along with saving all of the children without killing anyone. If you do it all in one go, you get extra credit. That said, the Challenge Mode is really only if you're enjoying the game a lot since it's obvious that no one put any thoughts into the achievements, and there is no extra content to unlock. This is a survival horror game that beckons back to the old days, where if you died you were dead, and you had to restart from your last save. If you didn't have a last save, then it was all the way back to the beginning of the game for you. It's the same concept here, but more forgiving as you'll only be forced to restart the current level. To save your game, you have to smoke a cigarette; careful, as smoking too much will make you cough, and it will potentially alert nearby enemies. It's a built-in system to prevent save game abuse, much akin to having limited save items such as Resident Evil's ink ribbons, without having to use save points like in Silent Hill. There are some broken promises in 2Dark, though, that still plague it to this day. For one, the developers added DRM when they promised not to. This was eventually removed after much backlash from the community. The most damning lie is the fact that they never got around to creating the last 4 levels of the game. On the Ulule campaign, they stated that "eight levels aren't enough" and that if €35,000 was raised, there would be "two additional levels". This means that even after reaching their stretch goal by over €15,000, they never actually completed the base game since there are only 6 levels. Even though 2Dark has a lot working in favor for it, there's also a lot working against its success. The art style and level designs are top notch for a small indie horror release, and the atmosphere that's cultivated because of it all is dreadfully tense and may even cause you to hold your breath more than what is natural and healthy. On the other hand, the gameplay gets boring and repetitive by the third level, which almost makes you forgive the fact that the developers copped out of their original 10 level promise. To get the most enjoyment out of this title, you're going to have to be a big fan of stealth and very slow-paced gameplay. Worth grabbing on a huge discount. [h1]Rating: [b]3.0/5.0[/b] - Average, can take it or leave it.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore