Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil

This is my second Dark Fall game. I skipped 2 because of the hassle of getting a game that old to run, though I might go back to it. Both games have similar problems, but also similar charms.
The good part about both games is the atmosphere, which is top notch. This is a rare horror game where the locale, though not particularly large, actually gets creepier as you traipse back and forth to solve the puzzles. The sound design is mostly excellent, though sometimes the sound effects overwhelm the voices to the point of making them unintelligible, and there are no volume controls. But it's still fun to roam around the mansion, poking into library books and finding clues in every nook and cranny. This isn't a game with big expanses of nothing, you need to look EVERYWHERE and there's plenty to see.
The clues, though! Often times it would be clear what a puzzle was asking for, but fuzzy on how to solve it. I quit trying at the girls' dormitory and did the rest of the game with a guide. The puzzle is clearly laid out by a ghost recording: "rank games from fave to least." There are some score sheets and some games lying around, and you can match the kids' drawings to the games and the games to the sheets. For each game, each girl has a score made up of tally marks, asterisks, or X's. So...are they ratings of how fun the game is, or scores, as they first appeared? How can I use a bunch of random markings to rank four games for five kids? I still don't know. The boys' dorm puzzle was almost as bad. I hope these kids all grew up and became cryptographers for MI6. Or maybe I'm just dumber than a fifth grader.
The other ding I would give the gameplay is that the entire premise is built around recording ghost activity. You have a video camera, a tape recorder, and a tablet with a camera. But you can't take pictures with the tablet, even though it would be extremely helpful as you collect your clues. Many audio clues don't repeat or are inaudible, but you can't use your audio parser (an otherwise fun minigame) on them. You can't record or review any scenes you saw with the camera. When the final puzzle of the game involves putting together runes inscribed on the exterior windows of the house in an order dictated by paintings scattered around the interior, just let me take some damn pictures already!
The little ghost-hunting minigames were fun, and I loved exploring the mansion. The puzzles were frustrating, but that wasn't enough to make me dislike or even not recommend the game. It's still a spooky night in a very haunted house.

Steam User 0

Reviewed last year

It feels like an internship as a ghost-hunter, the work you have to do is mostly very annoying (watch out for the extremely loud noises), everyone keeps calling you all the time, nevertheless it felt really satisfying. Oh and Nigel Danvers ^^
Steam User 0

Reviewed last year

This is my second Dark Fall game. I skipped 2 because of the hassle of getting a game that old to run, though I might go back to it. Both games have similar problems, but also similar charms.
The good part about both games is the atmosphere, which is top notch. This is a rare horror game where the locale, though not particularly large, actually gets creepier as you traipse back and forth to solve the puzzles. The sound design is mostly excellent, though sometimes the sound effects overwhelm the voices to the point of making them unintelligible, and there are no volume controls. But it's still fun to roam around the mansion, poking into library books and finding clues in every nook and cranny. This isn't a game with big expanses of nothing, you need to look EVERYWHERE and there's plenty to see.
The clues, though! Often times it would be clear what a puzzle was asking for, but fuzzy on how to solve it. I quit trying at the girls' dormitory and did the rest of the game with a guide. The puzzle is clearly laid out by a ghost recording: "rank games from fave to least." There are some score sheets and some games lying around, and you can match the kids' drawings to the games and the games to the sheets. For each game, each girl has a score made up of tally marks, asterisks, or X's. So...are they ratings of how fun the game is, or scores, as they first appeared? How can I use a bunch of random markings to rank four games for five kids? I still don't know. The boys' dorm puzzle was almost as bad. I hope these kids all grew up and became cryptographers for MI6. Or maybe I'm just dumber than a fifth grader.
The other ding I would give the gameplay is that the entire premise is built around recording ghost activity. You have a video camera, a tape recorder, and a tablet with a camera. But you can't take pictures with the tablet, even though it would be extremely helpful as you collect your clues. Many audio clues don't repeat or are inaudible, but you can't use your audio parser (an otherwise fun minigame) on them. You can't record or review any scenes you saw with the camera. When the final puzzle of the game involves putting together runes inscribed on the exterior windows of the house in an order dictated by paintings scattered around the interior, just let me take some damn pictures already!
The little ghost-hunting minigames were fun, and I loved exploring the mansion. The puzzles were frustrating, but that wasn't enough to make me dislike or even not recommend the game. It's still a spooky night in a very haunted house.
Steam User 0

Reviewed last year

I enjoy these games very much. I'm not into shooting and hunting and freaking out kind of games. Dark Fall and all involved are for my taste in games. JUST WONDERING WHEN BLACKENROCK IS EVER GOING TO BE RELEASED. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SEVERAL YEARS.....WHAT THE HELL GUYS.

Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil

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