Darkest of Days

 PC
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 120 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 120
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 120
  3. Negative: 35 out of 120
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  1. tinpreacher
    Jul 1, 2011
    6
    I was utterly fascinated with the concept of a time traveling shooter and eagerly picked up Darkest of Days. Right out of the gate my hopes got a quick reality check.Darkest of Days tries to put you in the middle of the battle and does a good job when it forces you to play the part you've "jumped" into. Most notably, the first Civil War mission really made me feel like I was blending in toI was utterly fascinated with the concept of a time traveling shooter and eagerly picked up Darkest of Days. Right out of the gate my hopes got a quick reality check.Darkest of Days tries to put you in the middle of the battle and does a good job when it forces you to play the part you've "jumped" into. Most notably, the first Civil War mission really made me feel like I was blending in to not disrupt history and that I was really there. Unfortunately it goes down hill quickly from there. The plot begins to meander quickly with, and the level design becomes worse and worse. I found more invisible wall in DoD than in another game I've played, often in areas that seemed to suffer from serious "rail-shooter"-itis. Darkest of Day's concept is there, but the writing (especially the dialogue) doesn't do it justice. When you are told by a mysterious stranger literally "You are actually working for the bad guys" you can't help but laugh. Your partner's quips are forgettable and his ever present Australian Boony cap is always out of place and almost stands out for everything wrong with DoD. Yeah you (the developer) may think its cool, but does it make sense? I wouldn't mind a DoD2, but put a bit more thought into the story and level design next time guys.

    TLDR: If the concept of killing Prussians with a man portable MIRV launcher is your thing, its worth snagging if it ever goes on sale on steam. Bad level design and bad writing make DoD sadly forgettable.    … Expand
  2. BenK
    Nov 17, 2009
    7
    Although there are many many problems i enjoyed it. I liked the idea and a lot of the gameplay and there were moments where i had alot of fun. People cant get past the abysmal reviews they need too.
  3. MikeD
    Oct 27, 2009
    5
    For a very small team, maybe 10 devs, artists and programmers I think this is a decent first outing. Sure it's buggy and the AI is that of a margarita machine, but the idea was sound. My biggest regret was paying full price. If the game was launched with a 19.99 price point I think it would have done better.
  4. JoshC
    Sep 13, 2009
    5
    Despite the great Idea of time travel to different wars, the game just doesn't deliver. The gameplay is bad in the sense that the AI enemies are retarded. The storyline lacks flow and originality. The weapons are terrible to use and its just a boring game to the point where you just want it to end or hurry up. Graphics are weak .. but i look passed all that and still see nothing much Despite the great Idea of time travel to different wars, the game just doesn't deliver. The gameplay is bad in the sense that the AI enemies are retarded. The storyline lacks flow and originality. The weapons are terrible to use and its just a boring game to the point where you just want it to end or hurry up. Graphics are weak .. but i look passed all that and still see nothing much good. The main positive I get from this game is the gun lock idea. Its a good idea. poor gameplay though.… Expand
  5. SeanF
    Dec 23, 2009
    6
    This game is borne of a genuinely inspired idea. Even though it looked like it had low production value, I was intrigued enough to try the game based on it having a new backstory that wasn't a recycled "evil men trying to conquer the world with a bomb/virus/etc." There are some very fun parts of the game (the shooting tutorial with the red simulated soldiers, the period-specific This game is borne of a genuinely inspired idea. Even though it looked like it had low production value, I was intrigued enough to try the game based on it having a new backstory that wasn't a recycled "evil men trying to conquer the world with a bomb/virus/etc." There are some very fun parts of the game (the shooting tutorial with the red simulated soldiers, the period-specific weapons) but I'd have to say the laser guided 5-rocket launcher is some of the most fun I've had with any shooter. Who hasn't thought about what would happen if you introduced modern weaponry into historical battles? Mowing down Confeds with an assault rifle is glorious indeed. However, the game still needs a lot of refinement and polish. I'm willing to give the devs another chance; they clearly have good ideas. I hope they build upon them.… Expand
  6. 0235
    Jan 3, 2012
    7
    for start. as a technical achievement, this game isn't much. pretty much innovations on graphics, etc.
    BUT where this game looses points in numerous bugs, bad AI and voice acting that literally sounds like it was done over a phone, it makes up for in epic scale, that it almost achieves
    many war games don't fee like war. simply as you are in a narrow corridor shooting at about 10 people    for start. as a technical achievement, this game isn't much. pretty much innovations on graphics, etc.
    BUT where this game looses points in numerous bugs, bad AI and voice acting that literally sounds like it was done over a phone, it makes up for in epic scale, that it almost achieves
    many war games don't fee like war. simply as you are in a narrow corridor shooting at about 10 people max. in darkest of days you take part in battles where nearly 100 soldiers fight each other.
    that may be a bad thing, as the AI is so bad you usually end up being the one who kills th 100. as for story, its very interesting. no other game lets you play the same mission, but from the enemies point of view.
    i would recommend this game, definitely, but i would warn, its a bit short, follow the paths, and only if you can get it a bit cheaper than usual.    … Expand
  7. Fatal_Papercut
    Jun 11, 2011
    7
    This game is one of my guilty pleasures: I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I would also hesitate to recommend the game to any of my friends, at least at the current price that the game is going for at most online retailers. I wouldn't even debate the flaws mentioned by other reviewers, both professional and amateur. What I enjoyed most about the game were the Civil War scenarios; in fact, IThis game is one of my guilty pleasures: I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I would also hesitate to recommend the game to any of my friends, at least at the current price that the game is going for at most online retailers. I wouldn't even debate the flaws mentioned by other reviewers, both professional and amateur. What I enjoyed most about the game were the Civil War scenarios; in fact, I think the game would have been better overall if the plot had focused entirely on changing the outcome of the Civil War. For example, we know the North won, but what if they had actually lost "the first time around", and the game detailed the exploits of various time-traveling factions tying to influence the outcome? I think that would have been great. Nonetheless, playing as a Civil War soldier with both period-appropriate weapons as well as a futuristic arsenal was a lot of fun. I could have done without the WWI missions, as they just didn't seem as interesting to me. Another thing the game does well is rendering large-scale battles that have one-hundred or more soldiers on the battlefield at one time. As I'm sure other reviews have stated, the AI for all of those soldiers isn't all that great, but if it were, there's absolutely no way you'd survive the thick of most of those battles. Another flaw: nobody seems to notice when you're using one of the futuristic weapons, and this bothers me only because I think it would have been humorous to hear some of the other soldiers comment about the weapon you're using, or to see them run away in fear or call you the devil or something along those lines. I wish I could argue against all of the negative comments people have made about DoD, but the fact is that the game does have it's issues. Somehow, I'm just one of those people that managed to have fun playing the game despite those issues. If you ever see the game on sale, let's say around $10 or so, I'd recommend giving it a shot. Otherwise, DoD is one of those "love-it-or-leave-it" games that you just have to play for yourself to see which camp you fall into. If you enjoy shooters, keep an eye out for this one to be on sale; at the regular price, it's difficult for me to recommend simply because I'd hate to see someone spend that much money on a game that they may not like.… Expand
  8. Theguyoffire
    Mar 4, 2012
    7
    I know alot of people who like this game. I can't say for myself that its a game I would recommend buying. Unless you like interesting storyline, and plot. Check this one out. Otherwise... Don't buy it. The graphics suck with a horrible framerate. The gameplay is fun, but broken. This is a game that I kinda like, even though its broken. Still interesting, and enjoyable. Nice storyline.I know alot of people who like this game. I can't say for myself that its a game I would recommend buying. Unless you like interesting storyline, and plot. Check this one out. Otherwise... Don't buy it. The graphics suck with a horrible framerate. The gameplay is fun, but broken. This is a game that I kinda like, even though its broken. Still interesting, and enjoyable. Nice storyline. Alright setting. The plot is good. It has decent shooting. The rest of the game doesn't work well.… Expand
  9. Amigian
    Jun 6, 2015
    6
    Say what you want about Darkest of Days, most people do, but I didn't think it was bad at all, quite entertaining in fact.

    The game engine is quite impressive with the amount of stuff than can be rendered on screen at once, and the physics and particle effects are particularly good...I was running a paltry 9600 GT when I played this with gpu physX at 1400 by 900 and the frame rate was    Say what you want about Darkest of Days, most people do, but I didn't think it was bad at all, quite entertaining in fact.

    The game engine is quite impressive with the amount of stuff than can be rendered on screen at once, and the physics and particle effects are particularly good...I was running a paltry 9600 GT when I played this with gpu physX at 1400 by 900 and the frame rate was pretty solid. The weapon models look authentic and the swirling gunsmoke is so realistic you could almost smell it. You can blow chunks out of the ground with cannons and other explosives, and the ragdolls that go flying in every direction is quite spectacular and the way they slump against tree stumps brings the realism further. The sci-fi aspect of the story is neat even if a bit unfocused but it brings rise to some cool laser weapons and there are the key figures to rescue in order to change history & others to assassinate that have a purple glow around them...it makes for quite compelling stuff. The maps in the game can be quite large and you can wander a fair way off track, it sort of can feel like playing one of the alpha versions of s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in that respect. Something interesting, I just played Civil War Secret Missions the other day, and it is remarkably similar to this game but obviously it doesn't have the time travel fiction aspects which gives DoD an edge.

    If you are even remotely interested in Darkest of Days give it a go, I haven't finished it myself yet, maybe the Pompeii levels are completely awesome for all I know    … Expand
  10. Klewer
    Nov 14, 2012
    7
    I found this game to be very unique and interesting to play. While not a AAA title and in some parts this is obvious the game offers something different and I think they have done this quite well.
  11. sixthfleet
    May 3, 2013
    6
    A nice $10 title. Allows you to use futuristic weapons against Civil War and WW1 troops. Many opportunities to man machine guns in nests, zeppelins, towers, etc. Then you are faced with waves of attackers. One scenario gave the ability to call in artillary against waves of Germans. I don't like having to press the Tab key for the map all the time to see if I am heading towards myA nice $10 title. Allows you to use futuristic weapons against Civil War and WW1 troops. Many opportunities to man machine guns in nests, zeppelins, towers, etc. Then you are faced with waves of attackers. One scenario gave the ability to call in artillary against waves of Germans. I don't like having to press the Tab key for the map all the time to see if I am heading towards my objective, a simple compass in the corner like everyone else would have been a big help.… Expand
  12. Yakinrossa
    Jun 13, 2013
    5
    This game..it has very creative ideas, but failed to perform well..It is quite fascinating when think about the fact that you can play in different history periods using the weapons of that era..So far so good..but the glitches and poor feeling of shooting ruined this game..The instructions were not clear either..
  13. frederik1478
    Jul 11, 2023
    5
    A good shooting games that has some really interesting time travel and gunplay but sad it just mostly dumb fun.

    Get the gun place really fun when you play it on now using really old timey guns and you can see that they just fire out a lot of smoke when you shoot it and when you use the future guns to just mow down lots of people so it almost feels like a Dynasty Warriors game. The story    A good shooting games that has some really interesting time travel and gunplay but sad it just mostly dumb fun.

    Get the gun place really fun when you play it on now using really old timey guns and you can see that they just fire out a lot of smoke when you shoot it and when you use the future guns to just mow down lots of people so it almost feels like a Dynasty Warriors game.

    The story is okay to find the later halfs of the game gets really weird when there are future soldiers and a cliffhanger to sequel that never come.    … Expand
  14. SpringZulu
    Dec 28, 2021
    7
    This game is not the best game you can get the plot of it is really interesting but it just fall short with the ending they want to make this game more dramatic which is a great thing but just ultimately fall short the ending tried it hardest to make it more mysterious and dramatic but it never happen the ending just felt funny for me the game is just to short only 3 different time you canThis game is not the best game you can get the plot of it is really interesting but it just fall short with the ending they want to make this game more dramatic which is a great thing but just ultimately fall short the ending tried it hardest to make it more mysterious and dramatic but it never happen the ending just felt funny for me the game is just to short only 3 different time you can enter WW1 Civil War and Roman empire age the game would be much better if they add more varieties of time you can enter and completed i think and my biggest problem with the game is just a fricking amount of invisible wall i GUARENTE YOU TO STUMBLE ACROSS AN INVISIBLE WALL AT LEAST ONCE you maybe think that im making this problem like super big problem but it is a big problem taking a shortcut? NO there is invisible wall taking a wrong turn? Invisible wall for you ok thats all to be honest the graphics of the game is really good tbh if you set the setting to max… Expand
  15. NyanFish
    Apr 20, 2022
    5
    Сама задумка очень даже не плохая, но игра баганная и кривая, играть сложно от того что везде невидемые стенны и врагов не видно из за растительности (пройдена на сложном)

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
92
#92 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 20
  3. Negative: 6 out of 20
  1. PC Zone UK
    50
    It's got too many issues to recommend it. [Oct 2010, p.]
  2. PC Gamer UK
    80
    A few clever mechanics and great weapons against a backdrop of surprisingly immersive Civil War and WWII battles. [Oct 2009, p.87]
  3. IGN
    40
    Darkest of Days indeed. This first-person shooter from 8monkey Labs fails on nearly all fronts. A promising narrative setup is roasted over a bonfire of mangled mechanics, poor presentation, and sloppily implemented missions and objectives.
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