The mixture of dungeon crawler and extraction shooter lets you loot an underground fortress. This idea is apparently attracting a lot of interest.
In addition to many blockbusters, smaller titles such as Wallpaper Engine or Unturned can be found in the most-played games on Steam. But it is really unusual that a demo of an indie game makes it into the top 10: Today, about 100,000 players ventured into the depths of Dark and Darker at the same time. At this point, that was more than CoD Modern Warfare 2 (about 90,000) and Elden Ring (about 57,000).
But what is this game anyway, and why is it so successful even before its release? We give you a brief introduction to the mixture of fantasy role-playing game and extraction shooter.
A dark adventure
The title says it all: Dark and Darker not only throws you into a dark fantasy setting, but also lets you descend deeper and deeper into the vaults of an ancient fortress as a treasure hunter. You will have to face the dangers of darkness alone or as a group of up to three brave warriors: Skeletons, ghouls, spiders and other monsters lurk around every corner.
Once you have finally discovered a treasure and filled your pockets, it doesn”t get any easier: Now you have to escape the labyrinth of corridors, rooms and halls by discovering secret escape routes. At the latest then, you should also beware of other players who envy your riches. Because if you die in battle, everything you have achieved is lost. A first gameplay trailer also shows you what the whole thing looks like:
As you can see in the video itself, Dark and Darker is unlikely to be a polished blockbuster. The graphic quality, animations and level of detail don”t exactly knock our socks off. It”s probably more the ideas and features of the game that many are so excited about:
- Inspiration from the classics: Dark and Darker can”t just be abbreviated with D&D by chance. The developers want to capture the spirit of classic fantasy adventure games and offer a world in which great dangers lurk, but courage and adventurousness are rewarded with great riches.
- Class selection: Just like in a classic role-playing game, you choose familiar classes such as barbarian, cleric, thief, wizard or bard and then use different skills and weapons.
- Hardcore experience: Dark and Darker wants to be anything but beginner-friendly and easy. You have to take high risks here to be rewarded and die quite easily if you make a mistake. On top of that, there are players who want to get at you.
- Darkness: In the depths of the fortress you can often barely see your hand if you don”t have a torch or lantern at hand. But this can also be your advantage: You can hide from attacking enemies or dare an ambush.
Of course, it”s too soon to tell whether there”s more to Dark and Darker than just exciting ideas. Players have a lot of praise for the game, but some have also expressed clear criticism. But the title has certainly touched a nerve.
Does the principle of Dark and Darker appeal to you too? Have you already tried the game and can you tell us what you think? Feel free to write it in the comments!
