DARK (2013)

 PC
User Score
4.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 272 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 272
  2. Mixed: 64 out of 272
  3. Negative: 153 out of 272

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  1. WookieChestHair
    Jul 4, 2013
    2
    So I bought this game this afternoon, very amped up as I'm a sucker for stealth games. Upon beginning the game, I realised a few things. 1. This feels a lot like Hitman: Blood Money 2. This looks a lot like Walking Dead and 3. This game has managed to combine Hitman and Walking Dead, take all the life and fun from both of them and charge you $40 for it. This game has you playing as aSo I bought this game this afternoon, very amped up as I'm a sucker for stealth games. Upon beginning the game, I realised a few things. 1. This feels a lot like Hitman: Blood Money 2. This looks a lot like Walking Dead and 3. This game has managed to combine Hitman and Walking Dead, take all the life and fun from both of them and charge you $40 for it. This game has you playing as a stealthy assassin...vampire. Which is already a poor decision, the devs for this game should've noticed the irreversible pussification of vampires at the hands of the Twilight franchise. As a blood-sucker, you wield, what was said to be an arsenal of powers, is actually about 6 or 7 different powers with 3 or so passive ones, that can aid you in your missions. They are fun to use for about 3 minutes, then they just get boring. This is a grand example of a game that has a brilliant concept and so much potential, but is so poorly executed. Game play is extremely boring and repetitive there's really no motivation for you to keep playing, story is unoriginal and uninteresting, voice acting has been painfully forced with all but one or two characters so far, enemies, rather than looking around for anything suspicious, will walk back and forth between programmed routes, which is more often than not, a bloody straight line, just waiting for you to use the same 2 or 3 animations to kill them. Other than their 'routes', enemies also can't spot you if you are more than 10 metres away from them, or even better, they cannot see you if you are right around the corner...hiding behind a clear glass wall. This game is unfinished. That's really all there is to it. What's worse is the price tag. 40 dollars?! Seriously!? That's insulting. It's frustrating that I'm forced to live in a generation that creates games of this calibre and then prices them like that. My mistake was in buying it on release day, rather than wait for some reviews to come out. Hopefully, you won't make the same mistake I did.… Expand
  2. titantim
    Jul 8, 2013
    2
    Terrible control! The teleporting is infuriating trying to get the right location. The actual fighting is slow and clunky. You wind up for every punch (which is an instant kill), but while you wind up, everyone is shooting at you. You need to play it to see how bad it truly is.

    The AI is brainless, more than any other stealth game I've played. You don't even need to fight most of the    Terrible control! The teleporting is infuriating trying to get the right location. The actual fighting is slow and clunky. You wind up for every punch (which is an instant kill), but while you wind up, everyone is shooting at you. You need to play it to see how bad it truly is.

    The AI is brainless, more than any other stealth game I've played. You don't even need to fight most of the time. If you're seen, but make it through the door where the next cut-scene begins, they forget about you.

    The animation and look of the game looks like an old xbox (original) game.

    The sneaking element doesn't make any sense. If you go behind the enemy and do an attack to instant kill them, it doesn't make noise for others to hear (Even though it makes a huge noise for the player). However, grabbing them to drink their blood (which makes no noise when you do it) alerts nearby enemies).    … Expand
  3. KingShree
    Jul 25, 2013
    4
    I had very low expectations and even that i was disappointed. When you see a trailer of this game you can already feel that something is not right. And its true, It has some good elements but there are so many mistakes and so many things copied from other games, trough game you will find yourself saying, i saw this in another game and this in that game etc. Not a total blow but still not good.
  4. 223kazin
    Jul 5, 2013
    3
    Hate to echo many others, but this game fell flat on it's face. I was really looking forward to this game(About as much as one can as an inherent skeptic). With a game I have mixed feelings about I'd normally start off with what's good and what's bad, but all the good parts are kinda "Meh" and rather unlikable. So we'll just skip to the bad.

    The voice acting, as has been said, feels    Hate to echo many others, but this game fell flat on it's face. I was really looking forward to this game(About as much as one can as an inherent skeptic). With a game I have mixed feelings about I'd normally start off with what's good and what's bad, but all the good parts are kinda "Meh" and rather unlikable. So we'll just skip to the bad.

    The voice acting, as has been said, feels like it goes from one sentence to the next with no pause inbetween.It feels like the skip button is pushed half a second before the sentence /should/ end.

    The gameplay is repetitive. You do the same 3 "kill" moves over and over, and worst of all, the ragdoll physics can go completely bonkers on 2 of them. I've had it happen 4 times to me where I'll flip kick or just super-vampire-deck someone over a ledge, only for their body to be discovered and everyone within earshot is looking for me.

    My footsteps while running sound like I'm wearing clogs. and are about 20x louder than anyone else. "Preternaturally silent footsteps" my @$$.

    They also mislabeled this game. It's not "Stealth Action", It's just "Stealth". Once you're discovered you're quickly riddled with bullets. You have a couple powers at your disposal but they really don't do anything for you when you only have 4 blood points to throw around and every room has a dozen or more enemies.

    I want to like this game. I REALLY do, but nothing stands out except the bad. I love vampire lore, I love stealth games, I'm a huge fan of Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption and Bloodlines. I expected this to expand off of 2 excellent games or at the very least, take pointers from them. I guess I'll go back to waiting for a vampire game that will actually deliver. As it stands this is just a bad ripoff of Dishonored. Giving it a 3. I'm sure the desperate among us for a vampire or stealth game will enjoy the game, but those of us that see past that will be sorely disappointed.    … Expand
  5. monsterbate
    Jul 4, 2013
    0
    Terrible. Clunky controls, horrible story, cringe-worthy voice acting and dialogue. What else can I say. I bought it on a whim and was very sad to read steam's refund policy after about an hour with it.
  6. Gravemind316
    Jul 5, 2013
    2
    I originally believed this game would use the stealth mechanics from Bethesda Studio's Dishonored, mixed in with cel-shaded graphics like Telltale Games Walking Dead series and a vamp-based storyline and abilities. However, the game fails miserably on all of these fronts. The graphics are weak at best, the storyline rushed and weak and the worst of all, the stealth mechanics and overallI originally believed this game would use the stealth mechanics from Bethesda Studio's Dishonored, mixed in with cel-shaded graphics like Telltale Games Walking Dead series and a vamp-based storyline and abilities. However, the game fails miserably on all of these fronts. The graphics are weak at best, the storyline rushed and weak and the worst of all, the stealth mechanics and overall game-play are inexcusably terrible. the only thing I can say is if you like the look of this game, go buy Dishonored.… Expand
  7. Kinghy
    Jul 21, 2013
    4
    Looked Good. Plays Bad.
    Worst animations I've seen in a long time and I could forgive bad animations but these animations are just the product of lazy developers. You don't even have an animation to walk in each direction so when you do a 360 turn it looks insanely stupid. Like I said I could get past the animations if the game wasn't so boring and easy.
  8. robotdickens
    Aug 5, 2013
    2
    DARK does one thing right: makes all other vampire games look amazing in comparison. With a broken combat system, stupid morals (throwing away the easiest and most exploitable, yet intrinsic to the 'to eat or not to eat' question of morality for vampires), horribly linear levels and just overall boring. This to date is the only game I have ever emailed Steam to send me a refund of my $40,DARK does one thing right: makes all other vampire games look amazing in comparison. With a broken combat system, stupid morals (throwing away the easiest and most exploitable, yet intrinsic to the 'to eat or not to eat' question of morality for vampires), horribly linear levels and just overall boring. This to date is the only game I have ever emailed Steam to send me a refund of my $40, which I unfortunately did not receive back. It is now a blight on my Steam library. Every time I scroll up to 'D', I have to be reminded of what a horrible choice I made and the waste of money that occurred on my bank account. In short: worthless trite I wish never existed.… Expand
  9. Kirro
    Aug 14, 2013
    2
    I wish I could say the idea was solid but the developer couldn't pull it off. But no. Despite vampires being featured prominently, the main character has supernatural powers more befitting a jedi, with a distinct weakness for... pretty much everything, really. The stealth aspect is woefully mishandled, such that if you are spotted, you might as well commit suicide. It's hard, but not theI wish I could say the idea was solid but the developer couldn't pull it off. But no. Despite vampires being featured prominently, the main character has supernatural powers more befitting a jedi, with a distinct weakness for... pretty much everything, really. The stealth aspect is woefully mishandled, such that if you are spotted, you might as well commit suicide. It's hard, but not the sort of hard where you feel a sense of accomplishment.

    The worst thing about the entire game is that you don't feel like a vampire. Vampire Bloodlines remains the gold standard. Even the Elder Scrolls series did a better job handling vampirism, and it wasn't even a core part of the gameplay.

    I recommend this game only to masochists who love vampires. And maybe Twilight fans. They deserve some suffering.    … Expand
  10. LordBelialz
    Aug 31, 2013
    1
    The premise sounded very interesting. But an abortion is still an abortion. However, at least this vampire doesn't sparkle. That's the only upside. Period.
  11. Mavsynchroid
    Jul 5, 2013
    2
    I'm usually very fair when it comes to games, but this game is terrible. The ONLY thing decent about it are the graphics. Now mind you, I say the graphics. NOT the animation. The graphics would get a 6/10, where as the animation for this game would get a 1/10 without a doubt. You see half a foot of empty air between your mouth (which is closed like it always is when not in dialogue) andI'm usually very fair when it comes to games, but this game is terrible. The ONLY thing decent about it are the graphics. Now mind you, I say the graphics. NOT the animation. The graphics would get a 6/10, where as the animation for this game would get a 1/10 without a doubt. You see half a foot of empty air between your mouth (which is closed like it always is when not in dialogue) and the enemy's neck you're feeding off of. When walking forward, if you try to go left/forward or /right forward, there's no animation between going straight and the other two options, you just instantly switch from walking one direction to the other. This isn't 1995.

    Another horrible part of this game is the AI and pathfinding. Out of the first 10 enemies I encountered, 2 of them disappeared all together, yet were somehow still attacking me, then all of a sudden appeared infront/behind me again. They can't see you through glass walls, they get stuck A LOT on pretty much nothing as well.

    The gameplay itself is a VERY bad knock off version of dishonored. You don't feel powerful in this game. You feel broken. Turns out it matches the game very well, as this game can def be decribed as both broken and UNFINISHED. It's obvious they either gave up and shipped this crap product or wanted to meet some deadline and decided they'd try and snag your 40 bucks without letting any review sites get their hands on it first.

    I can't say this enough. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME! The other guy who put a 10/10 for this game is high out of his mind. It's garbage. I play most known games out there, and I wouldn't want to see anyone waste money on this. HEED ME!    … Expand
  12. gravy1958
    Jul 6, 2013
    4
    I can only suggest anyone wanting to buy this game to save their money and find a copy of Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. Although Vtmb is older the music and storylines are better even if the graphics and animations are on the same level.... There are mods which improve gfx for VTMB and maybe future patches will better DARK but I'm not sure it will. To echo others here... the hype isI can only suggest anyone wanting to buy this game to save their money and find a copy of Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. Although Vtmb is older the music and storylines are better even if the graphics and animations are on the same level.... There are mods which improve gfx for VTMB and maybe future patches will better DARK but I'm not sure it will. To echo others here... the hype is more than the game, the animations are poor, lip synching... poor. Good idea but it lacks the content, creativity and control to be worth more than £10.99 or $15… Expand
  13. andreinick05
    Jul 6, 2013
    3
    Don't waste your money on this trash. It's boring as hell, full of bugs, animations suck, lip sync is terrible, controls are terrible and it feels like it's unfinished, like there is a lot of stuff missing.
  14. Frager659
    Jul 13, 2013
    0
    This game is a rushed horrible excuse for a stealth game I am serious there is nothing good about this game. If you want a good stealth game just go buy Splinter Cell or Thief or even Hitman just don't let them steal 40$ from your pocket by buying this garbage. Its sad to I was looking forward to this game it was a good idea but executed terribly
  15. PatVersion
    Jul 5, 2013
    3
    A very poorly made game. It's unpolished, badly thought out and very difficult to squeeze any enjoyment out of. The gameplay is dull, the animations are borderline unfinished and the voicework is mediocre at best. The main character is especially unlikable, all he offers in the way of personality is edginess and his deep, gruff voice gets bland and annoying really fast.

    It's not a    A very poorly made game. It's unpolished, badly thought out and very difficult to squeeze any enjoyment out of. The gameplay is dull, the animations are borderline unfinished and the voicework is mediocre at best. The main character is especially unlikable, all he offers in the way of personality is edginess and his deep, gruff voice gets bland and annoying really fast.

    It's not a horrible game, it's just bland and boring in every single way. I could barely finish the first mission before I quit in disgust.    … Expand
  16. xkdksk
    Jul 4, 2013
    4
    Good sneak game. But there are so many trouble in control n motion. I got a lot of problem to play although I don't have any responsibilities. also, the way to make tactics is too short. If you already play 'Hitman' or 'Dishonored', maybe you can punch your monitor. So my advice is two kinds.

    1. Find other sweet infiltration games.

    2. wear boxing gloves when you play this.
  17. Diablo92
    Jul 5, 2013
    1
    *YAWN* only thing i see in this game is stealth... you go sneaking around corners and junk. Stealth is pretty cool but throughout the entire game though? That IMO is terribly lame.. Game is pretty much a failure since there is pretty much no mixture of anything. Don't think about comparing this with dishonored either, dishonored is an FPS this game is a 3rd person shooter so two completely*YAWN* only thing i see in this game is stealth... you go sneaking around corners and junk. Stealth is pretty cool but throughout the entire game though? That IMO is terribly lame.. Game is pretty much a failure since there is pretty much no mixture of anything. Don't think about comparing this with dishonored either, dishonored is an FPS this game is a 3rd person shooter so two completely different games and dishonored was so much better than this crap. Gonna give it just a 1 since the GFX are'nt half bad.… Expand
  18. hiddenreason
    Jul 4, 2013
    2
    The game has fantastic concept and potential, pretty much like vampire version of Dishonored where you get to use many special powers and tricks. However the engine of this game is horrible, I tested this game on can you run it and the result is fast but when I actually run the game the performance is terrifying, I can sense my graphic card trying so hard to maintain the FPS even after IThe game has fantastic concept and potential, pretty much like vampire version of Dishonored where you get to use many special powers and tricks. However the engine of this game is horrible, I tested this game on can you run it and the result is fast but when I actually run the game the performance is terrifying, I can sense my graphic card trying so hard to maintain the FPS even after I preset graphic option to low. And the gameplay isn't so good either. You get bored pretty soon, partly because of the graphic performance.… Expand
  19. GeneralJGaming
    Aug 10, 2013
    3
    My review says it all. Horrible game. The plot contradicts itself. You don't care for any of the characters, it's unbalanced. However they do have some interesting gameplay elements.

    http://youtu.be/iKfR2_qdQPc
  20. hollowfication
    Jul 15, 2013
    1
    this was most worst piece of rubbish i am sugar coating term of rubbish it polite terms for it. none the less game sucks could they not use better a.i and making the game more cartoonish like the darkness 2 no matter the game they used is like dragon age talking function.

    which is repetitive action with term of vampire powers is the worst and trying to lv up ur powers with rpg style.    this was most worst piece of rubbish i am sugar coating term of rubbish it polite terms for it. none the less game sucks could they not use better a.i and making the game more cartoonish like the darkness 2 no matter the game they used is like dragon age talking function.

    which is repetitive action with term of vampire powers is the worst and trying to lv up ur powers with rpg style.

    why was this made i thought the trailer they gave us look alright then game play sucked ass

    trust me dont buy it    … Expand
  21. urieaal
    Jul 25, 2013
    3
    this game starts off with a decent story base, but with out spoiling anything for anyone.... the first 3 missions are incredibly repetitive there literally the same thing just with a different skin..

    The powers/ability's are neat some of them once leveled up make getting thru the levels alot easier other wise i recommend you play on easy, normal difficulty seems way to hard and    this game starts off with a decent story base, but with out spoiling anything for anyone.... the first 3 missions are incredibly repetitive there literally the same thing just with a different skin..

    The powers/ability's are neat some of them once leveled up make getting thru the levels alot easier other wise i recommend you play on easy, normal difficulty seems way to hard and incredibly frustrating.

    the controls are for lack of a better word lose... they really need tightening up it was incredibly frustrating trying to kill something from a corner crouching position.. oh and god forbid you run up on humans and try to hit them with your vampire awesomeness..... each levels really only about 10-15 minutes long.

    you'll likely spend many frustrated hours. this game could have been such a great game if they just put some polish and thought into it.    … Expand
  22. Raverlily
    Jul 22, 2013
    1
    The game concept is not bad and it had the potential of being a really good stealth game with a vampire envioroment. However, this game, take my word for it, is really not worth its money. In my opinion, the photoes and trailers of the game shows its few and only good sides, almost tricking you to be intrested in the game.

    After playing it for a couple of minutes, you realize how little    The game concept is not bad and it had the potential of being a really good stealth game with a vampire envioroment. However, this game, take my word for it, is really not worth its money. In my opinion, the photoes and trailers of the game shows its few and only good sides, almost tricking you to be intrested in the game.

    After playing it for a couple of minutes, you realize how little time the developers put into the game. It have the graphics of a fair 2008 game, and the programming of a 2003. Way after in my opinion.

    To make it short, because I dont want you to waste your time reading all about this game, because its probably not something you want, unless you like glitchy, buggy, bad animated games.    … Expand
  23. GameFan365
    Aug 12, 2013
    3
    Dark is a stealth based game by Kalypso Media where you play as Eric Bane a vampire with several powers who must use his abilities defeat his enemies human and vampire alike. This is a game that seeks to mimic the styling of Assassins Creed and the darkness of Dishonored, but unfortunately due to several major flaws fails to live up to the fun or polish of either game.

    Dark is a stealth    Dark is a stealth based game by Kalypso Media where you play as Eric Bane a vampire with several powers who must use his abilities defeat his enemies human and vampire alike. This is a game that seeks to mimic the styling of Assassins Creed and the darkness of Dishonored, but unfortunately due to several major flaws fails to live up to the fun or polish of either game.

    Dark is a stealth based RPG that promises a deep and engaging story with unique settings and abilities all of which is set in the dark and forboding world of vampires. Your abilities are fueled by the energy you consume from your victims and your objective is to use your powers to make your way through the areas and reach your goal. Unfortunately there are more than a few problem this game has when attempting to make good on these promise of a deep and immersive world with challenging gameplay.

    Visit www.GameFan365.com for the full review    … Expand
  24. geca7a1
    Jul 18, 2013
    2
    1.Funny running animation.
    2.Horrible voice acting.
    3.Many bugs
    4.First person view when draggin a body is horrible.
    5.Combat system is a total letdown.

    Total waste of 40$

    I like Stealth games because of that I will give 2.
  25. CosualPlayer
    Jul 22, 2013
    2
    Pluses: guys, i realy tried to find some pluses, but i didn't...
    Minuses: game is very hard, bad animation, bad graphics, bad stealth, bad plot, bad controll, very low budget...
  26. Teckor
    Jul 28, 2013
    1
    There are a lot of similarities, though. Poor graphics and CGI in both (the animation quality is particularly bad in this game), both have a terrible story, neither feels like something actually based on vampires, they're just generic media with vampiric reskins. Neither is good at what it tries to do as generic media (really bad stealth in this game, btw guys). As something vampire themedThere are a lot of similarities, though. Poor graphics and CGI in both (the animation quality is particularly bad in this game), both have a terrible story, neither feels like something actually based on vampires, they're just generic media with vampiric reskins. Neither is good at what it tries to do as generic media (really bad stealth in this game, btw guys). As something vampire themed it's better than twilight.. barely.… Expand
  27. Evilcalyptic
    Aug 31, 2013
    3
    This game tries extraordinarily hard to be vampire: the masquerade. Don't get me wrong VTM had its own flaws and bugs but Dark was no where in the ballpark. The number one concern in my opinion that should have been an easy fix is the dialog acting like its being skipped, this gets very agitating at times. The gameplay is also a bit shoddy. Honestly this is a game no one will even rememberThis game tries extraordinarily hard to be vampire: the masquerade. Don't get me wrong VTM had its own flaws and bugs but Dark was no where in the ballpark. The number one concern in my opinion that should have been an easy fix is the dialog acting like its being skipped, this gets very agitating at times. The gameplay is also a bit shoddy. Honestly this is a game no one will even remember a year from now. It will not go down in the books. Avoid paying for this game and skip onto the next, If you want an immersive and fun RPG/FPS vampire game than play bloodlines. Its almost 10 years old and can whoop dark's arse.… Expand
  28. Demon2017
    Jun 10, 2022
    1
    Самый настоящий ужас, а не игра. Не понимаю, как её вообще умудрились выпустить, ведь это абсолютно неиграбельный кусок говна
  29. PortalToH3LL
    Dec 16, 2018
    4
    It would be better if the game were more action packed with elements of secrecy, and not vice versa. Still. A good idea, and the implementation of the failure, and in addition sad. Only for those who buy stealth, but even in this respect it is doubtful, because the quality leaves much to be desired. On the "special" fans in short.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
41

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 13 out of 21
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 19, 2013
    40
    Initially a terrible thing that becomes a relatively entertaining stealth action game, if you manage to (literally) bite your way through. Unfortunately, excellent ideas are screwed up by their problematic elaboration. [Issue#232]
  2. PC Gamer
    Sep 13, 2013
    43
    A work of sulky blandness that does itself no favors by latching onto better games and cooler vampires. [ Nov 2013, p.68]
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Aug 28, 2013
    35
    There are some mildly satisfying moments in Dark, but most of the time you’re stuck between boredom and frustration. [CD-Action 10/2013, p.67]
See all critic reviews »