2Dark

(English_Français review)
My Curations
ENGLISH:
A game not to be put in all hands, due to the themes covered. A dark and bloody game. A game... that I could never finish because I'm too bad at it. XD But that I recommend anyway, just for its concept.
FRANÇAIS:
Un jeu à ne pas mettre entre toutes les mains, dû aux thèmes abordés. Un jeu sombre et sanglant. Un jeu… que j’ai jamais pu finir car je suis trop mauvaise. XD Mais que je recommande quand même, rien qu’à son concept.

After Mission 1
This game is a must-buy for fans of horror genre. It is not a full-blown AAA game. It is not the most polished title on steam. But if you like the resident evil vibe and you are okay with the art style of this game, go play it. May not be at full price, but definitely a great buy at 70% or more off.
After Mission 2
Finished another mission. The puzzles are a bit confusing at time, but that is may be because I didn't take the game seriously enough(Partly because of the art-style). And the worst (or probably best) thing is that you can not get a lot of info from the internet. May be the game is not known enough. You have to figure it out by yourself. And that makes the feeling even more rewarding.

I recommend this game based on it's price point. I got it on sale, so for a couple bucks spent, not a bad 12 hours of entertainment. That said, the game is a bit rough around the edges. I love the survival horror genre in general, so props to the dev for being the originator of the genre back when alone in the dark was the only game of it's kind. I also dig the top down horror perspective, as I was a HUGE fan of Darkwood. What this game has going for it is a dark, creepy story line that had me constantly shouting 'SAVE DEM CHILRENS! WE GOTTA SAVE DEM OL CHILRENS!!' mechanically speaking, the game has some good ideas, but certainly not the cleanest execution of said ideas. The ai is a bit clumsy, as is combat, and the inventory is an absolute nightmare as you start to accumulate a bunch of items that are there for unfolding the story, cluttering up the items you need to get to quickly for combat etc. In stealth games, I seldom have the patience to wait around for the opportunity to silently strike, and usually end up just going balls out til Im the only thing left moving... this game, for me was no different... The stealth mechanics are pretty unforgiving, making it often easier to just kill everything rather than sneak past it and leave the chance to get spotted later while your saving dem ol chilrens. The environments, music, atmosphere and story telling were pretty good though, making this one worth is overall. I'd like to see what these devs can do with some more resources at their disposal, for even though the head of this team is a legendary pioneer in gaming, this game still had all the roughness of an indie title. If you love the genre like I do, you'll likely enjoy a play through of this title, then likely put it down after you beat it once. If you don't dig the genre as much, and would rather just be runnin and gunnin, you probably won't get so much out of it... All in all, good times.

This game seems to get a really negative rep, for reasons that I don't entirely understand.
I genuinely love 2Dark.
It's a horror/stealth game in a style that I've never seen before, and for that alone, I love it.
And, especially these days, I'd argue that creativity is more important than polished gameplay.
That being said, the gameplay is far from perfect. The combat is kind of clunky, the U.I. is unintuitive and needlessly inconvenient, and the "come on" voice line sounds like it was ripped directly from a web browser flash game.
HOWEVER, 2Dark shines it's true light in other ways.
The art style is unique, the story is very good, and the music compliments the game perfectly.
It also offers opportunities to play the game in the way that you want to play it. Will you slaughter everyone in the building so you can save the kids without interference? Or will you play stealthier and sneak around everyone as to not harm innocent people? When you're forced to fight, will you go in guns blazing, or will you wait for the right moment and hit them when they're distracted?
It's up to you to figure out the plan, and adapt accordingly when it doesn't go your way. And believe me, it won't go your way.
I know one of the biggest complaints about this game was that it really was too dark. Pun definitely intended.
But I find that ridiculous, because it's a HORROR game. It's meant to make you feel uncomfortable.
The only notable difference in this game as opposed to other horror games is that it involves a child kidnapping ring, and there are some pretty clear insinuations about it.
But, that's a horrifying subject, so it makes sense that it would be in a horror game, right?
My biggest complaint about 2Dark would have to be it's price. I wouldn't say $25 is a fair price for this game, considering that it's not extraordinarily long. I have 35 hours in it, but that's due to having to replay it to get the collectibles and all the achievements. If the price dropped by at least five dollars, then it would be appropriate, in my opinion.
Although considering that this game has actually become one of my top five favorite games, I'd pay full price for it.
But it's not for everyone, so if you're not sure, maybe wait for a sale.
Also, the Pool Hall King achievement was annoying, as it pretty much requires you to play with a controller, because you need to control your movement speed in a way that you can't achieve with a keyboard. As an achievement hunter who did not own a controller at the time of playing this, that was extremely tedious.
So let me sum up my thoughts on 2Dark with a pro/con list.
THE GOOD:
- Unique art style
- Creative gameplay
- Horrifying story
- Playable with different strategies
- Relatively challenging
- Good soundtrack
- Fun achievements(Except for pool hall)
- Chapters are replayable
THE BAD:
- Clunky combat
- Inconvenient inventory system/U.I.
- A little expensive
- Content not suitable for everyone
But, as I said before, 2Dark is one of my all time favorite games, and I think it will be for a long long time. I'd absolutely love to see a second game in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.

2Dark takes its name seriously lol. If being a vigilante detective that goes around infiltrating hide outs to rescue kids from child trafficers, canibals, and cults is your thing its an alright game.
If pixle-gore of fictional child characters and the grim theme of child trafficking bothers you this may not be the game for you.
gameplay: you basically just sneak around. you have the option to be pacifist and no-kill or be a total dirty-harry and trick/trap, sneak/stab, and gun down anyone/anything in your way while searching for clues and the kids that are hidden all through out the levels.

Gritty, ugly and morally decrepit top-down shooter/sleuther here from the creator of original Alone in the Dark. It has a fairly down on the luck, gum on its shoe reputation but 2Dark was a fun, messed up experience despite the fact that it could use a fair amount of troubleshooting in the "bugs" department. The game is equal parts horror, stealth action, adventure and mystery when it comes to reducing it down to genre, which is what some of us fly by night Steam reviewers do in our intro.
You play as ex-hard-boiled detective Mr. Smith who has arrived straight out of a 50s noir movie; raincoat and all. On a camping trip his family was besieged brutish murderer/kidnapper types and in the wake of his lost family Smith has taken upon himself to bring to justice every child thief from every dark corner in the lil' hamlet of Gloomywood. The presentation here is top-notch with detailed SNES-hewn graphics that showcase a cartoonish style mixed with a tragic layer of almost VHS grime and shadows covering nearly every inch of your journey. Solid audio mixing only further adds to the creepiness of this strange gem as innocence meets a cold steel end in the process.
Most missions start with Smith's house, the local bar, etc. acting as a hub type location where you solve a few rudimentary fetch quests, puzzles and congeal information/clues to find the next seedy locale on the map. You'll interact with some characters, take in a cat, shoot pool...it's actually a really fun interlude mechanic that acts as a nice breather between the tense missions and yields further character to Smith and his plight. Once you're ready to exit through the front door, there's nothing but trouble waiting for you.
Your former detective has to sneak, silent kill or even shoot his way across several sinister, ill-lit and challenging locations. You'll rescue children, take down one of the game's many sinister boss enemies, avoid traps and gather as much equipment as you can in order to stay alive. Smoke a cigarette when needed to save (man this is some hard-boiled stuff, move over Mr. Payne) and do your darndest not to get caught because even though Smith's a tough guy, he can't take too much of beating. The cycle of gameplay, finally taking out that pesky routed foe that's blocking your path, getting kids to safety and seeing if you can either brute force (or environment achievement kill) your way past the bosses. This dark, dreary yet energetic rhythm kept me in the fight even when 2Dark started getting pretty darn tough and unfortunately reared the ugly head of its flaws (which made the game even tougher).
Ugh, where do I begin? I had a save delete once that made me have to start over, a small handful of crashes, got stuck in objects on the map that prevented me from progressing and even had important items/objectives not trigger which would be cause for a reload. As good as the game looks and feels to play, it certainly could have used more time in post-production. Add to that some unfair traps that can instantly kill you and control commands for leading the children to safety that are at best serviceable and at worst infuriating...you sure do have a timebomb of trouble. It is these issues that would make me light up a cigarette to save and scoff at you for spending full-price on 2Dark. I sure didn't, so therefore half cost didn't burn me up as much as paying the whole $25 would have.
Still with these negatives 2Dark is fun and it's certainly an engaging challenge. Something about it pressed me onward to victory and forced me at gunpoint to have one more go. I always wanted to get one more child to safety and put down one last nasty, disgusting criminal. Maybe it was the desperation of the stakes Smith is faced with but I put a decent amount of hours into the game to complete it and got as many achievements as I could stomach (some of them are pretty tough...and one or two have some bugged elements. Happy hunting).
I'd never herald 2Dark on a "classic" pedestal level that I hold the original Alone in the Dark games on but if nothing else I smell a stagnant, musty whiff of "cult classic" in the air of this experience. I can't see this one as anything other than a love it or hate it affair. So take that for what it's worth and just let it be known that I surprisingly enjoyed this visceral oddity.

Really dark, can't see, Help I'm blind.