"What the hell is this?" you might ask. I know that before yesterday, I had no idea what Dark Fall was, and the only reason that I found it was because we were in the mood for something scary, but didn't feel like watching a movie. So, into Google went the phrase "scariest PC game ever" and on two consecutive lists that we found, this game was at the top. So, $9.99 and a digital download later, here we go.
You get a call from your brother, asking for your help, as something creepy is going down in the place where he is. Beyond that, you don't get a whole lot of help. Next thing you know you're in a train tunnel, being spoken to by, what we assume is, the ghost of a young boy. He tells you enough information to tell you which way to go but that "you'll find out more later." It seems kind of rude for this kid, who I've just met, to be withholding information, especially when he's asking me for help, but we'll ignore that for now.
So off you go, wandering around the train station, and eventually, a hotel, where you're encouraged to simply try to figure out what the hell's going on. This is where the game gets its most successful. Because you don't really know anything, except that the fact that people have gone missing (and, based on what the boy told you, they're being killed) all of the knowledge you have is that you're likely in danger, too. There's a lingering sense of threat and anticipation, so every time a light goes off or there's a creak in the floorboards, you figure that finally, this is when you're going to get it. This is where the big supernatural baddy is going to show up and yell "boo." So sure, points for atmosphere, but, regrettably, after about 3 hours of this, you start to catch on that nothing's happened so far, so why would it now? The creepiness dissipates into the back of your mind as you become more familiar with the looping sound effects as you visit and re-visit rooms since, without a walkthrough, you're going to feel very very lost.
The game is insanely unstructured, promoting a whole lot of wandering. Every so often you find a hint as to how you should proceed, but there's a good chance that you've already finished the puzzle it's trying to guide you toward. If you get stuck, chances are it's because you've missed a point-and-click hotspot, like, in my case, not giving any thought to a gap in a decrepit-looking fence. After checking (ie. cheating), I realized that there was a sizable chunk of information and scenery that I had missed which was intended to be found much earlier in the game. I certainly appreciate the ability to walk around and make my own decisions, but when I find out elementary information several hours in, I wonder why nobody pointed me in the right direction.
The again, most of the information that you get is supplementary and won't do you much good when it comes to finishing the game. If you're the type of person who loves to read and absorb all sorts of information in order to develop a deeper understanding of your situation, you will be pig-in-shit thrilled. But, if not, you'll play like me and, when something is going to be more than two pages long, skip past it and guess when it comes time to use any of the information you would have gathered.
The gameplay is a lot like Myst or 7th Guest, with the player able to face in one of four directions and carry a small amount of inventory. Focusing more on tone and sound, the game offers a very limited amount of animation. At times, when using inventory (like a key), you'll see it go into a lock and turn, but beyond that, and occasional flying specks of light, the visuals are pretty much fixed.
There's one other thing that I dug about the game, and that was the need to use a pencil and paper. It's been a long time since I've felt compelled to write down information or puzzles to solve, but, by the time we finished, there was a great-looking piece of 8.5x11 that was absolutely littered with words, substitution puzzles, and sketches of runes.
As for these websites claiming that this was the scariest game ever, I neither agree nor disagree. As mentioned before, the creepiness can get wearisome, although discovering new rooms always brings a refreshed sense of excitement. I was expecting a jump-scare or two instead of just atmospheric worry, but, I can't really think of any other game that scared me more.
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