Dark Fall: The Journal

A thoroughly absorbing and satisfying adventure, all the more remarkable given its humble origins. Don't play it to finish, play it to savour.

Proves that gameplay and story can (and always should) supersede flash and that a game does not need a big budget to tell a great story.

It has lots of style and substance.

Not a huge game, taking about twenty hours to finish in all, but is packed with some of the scariest moments I have encountered in my gaming life.

This game's perpetually unnerving ambience, interesting puzzles, and unique ghost story may very well help you forgive its graphical flaws. [Nov 2003, p.129]

It offers superb storytelling and a very engaging gameplay. Almost all puzzles are tough, but logical. Unfortunatelly, it will never appeal to a large audience; it’s not challenging enough for veteran players, it doesn’t offer enough eye candy for people spoiled by titles like Syberia, and it’s too low-key for the general gaming population.

Despite all my griping, Dark Fall really is an impressive first effort for the one-person design team and is actually better than some recent big-company releases. I'm not sorry I played it but neither am I gaga over it. How's that for decisiveness?

If you love a good mystery and want to feel your skin crawl, Dark Fall is your game.

It won't change the way adventure games are designed, like Myst did, but it is gripping and well-crafted.

A very well-designed ghost story from a very promising developer, and well worth the purchase for suspense and first-person fans.

Does a great job in captivating its audience in a rich storyline and direful locales. However, with its slow-paced game play and unpolished effects, it fails in its attempt to raise adventure PNCs from the grave.

Delivers good, slow-boil tension wrapped around an interesting mystery in an atmospheric setting. [Dec 2003, p.95]

Eschews the normal audiovisual glitz in favor of something truly rare in computer games: a deep and compelling story that is worthy of a good novel.

It's driven by the sort of maddening adventure game logic that had a hand in killing the genre. But there's no denying this is part of what defined the genre: clever (and often implausible) solutions from some weird corner of the brain most of us never exercise.

Breaks no new ground and puts too much emphasis on puzzles, but its meticulously detailed world and paranormal detective story generally keep things entertaining.

Hardcore adventurers will undoubtedly seek out Dark Fall, if only for the atmospheric journey. No surprise there - nor is there any in the game. [Nov 2003, p.119]

Most of today's crop of gamers will be left disappointed by the point and click game play, static environments, and the overwhelming amount of text to read.

The crucial fear-factor is missing, the sense of fight, flee or die that makes survival horror so effective.

It's full of puzzles, investigations, exploration and the supernatural but there's a lot less action in it than you would expect for an action game.

The repetitiveness of the locations is where it falls apart. The audio doesn't have any excuse however but is in desperate need of one. The sound effects are low quality and even distract from the game.

Even the most die-hard adventure fan would be hard pressed to find much entertainment in Dark Fall. The game feels like it’s subpar from front to back.