Dark and Light
The shattered remains of the mother planet Gaia float in stark contrast against the sky on nearby satellite planet, Archos, serving as inescapable evidence of the dark forces surrounding the world. As a lone explorer in the wilderness, you must learn to understand the terrain, natural resources, as well as how to domesticate the local creatures and build a home. You will need to harness and control the magical energy that courses through the planet, or you risk being consumed by the looming darkness that permeates throughout the planet. Every aspect of Dark and Light has been re-imagined, re-worked, and upgraded from the 2004 original. Gaia’s very existence is dictated by primal elemental forces, including wind, earth, water, fire, light, and darkness. These elements course through the world, sometimes clashing and causing earth-shattering changes.
Game Discussion
Steam User 24
sad to see so much potential flushed away especially when all it would need as a small smidge of new content and a good spit shine in the polishing and it would be a legendary game even more so if it calls back to the modding community for player crafted imersive servers like ark has or conan exiles or any other big name in the genre please snail hear the ones who still love this game and resuscitate this gamr
Steam User 22
This is an insanely good game. The devs abandoned it though and that is why the reviews are actually bad. No it is not barely playable, the game plays perfectly fine and is everything you could want from the genre that it is. If the devs would come back to it would be awesome.
Steam User 17
Picked up this game despite the negative reviews, and it's super good. Especially for a game that was Abandoned, This game is very much Playable.
Looks amazing, Plays Amazing, The Questing, Base Building and overall survival aspect of this is really good.
If you are or were a fan of Ark, You will definitely enjoy this game! It's just lacking a Player base.
10/10
BUY IT, Maybe we can bully the devs into updating it! xD
Steam User 7
Dark and Light is a game that dares to dream big — a massive fantasy sandbox where dragons soar, magic pulses through the land, and survival depends as much on your cunning as your spellbook. It’s an ambitious blend of open-world survival, RPG progression, and sandbox construction, set in a richly imagined world that almost overwhelms you with possibilities.
But ambition can be a double-edged sword — and Dark and Light knows this all too well.
First and foremost, Dark and Light nails atmosphere. The world of Gaia is enormous, lush, and steeped in mysticism. From snow-covered mountains to scorching deserts and eerie forests, it feels like a living, breathing realm — especially when you stumble upon a griffin mid-flight or spot a storm brewing on the horizon.
The game’s core concept — combining survival mechanics with fantasy elements — is genuinely unique. You can tame magical creatures, build sprawling fortresses, and wield elemental powers. It’s like ARK: Survival Evolved met Skyrim at a D&D table, and they decided to raise a dragon baby together.
There’s an impressive amount of depth here. Skill trees, crafting, cooking, building, spellcasting — you can specialize in almost anything, and progression feels rewarding when things are working properly. Want to be a wizard farmer with a flying wolf mount? Totally possible. The freedom is vast, and so are the systems.
Building mechanics are robust, allowing for creative structures and massive bases, especially in multiplayer. The creature taming and combat are serviceable, though they lack the polish of more focused titles.
Unfortunately, Dark and Light is a textbook example of a great idea held back by technical struggles. The game launched in early access and still carries that “unfinished” feeling — janky animations, performance issues, bugs, and inconsistent optimization. The UI is clunky, the AI is often unintentionally hilarious, and servers can be hit-or-miss.
Balancing is another issue. Some areas are unforgiving early on, while others are oddly empty. PvP can be brutal and unbalanced unless you’re on a private or well-moderated server. And though the world is massive, it sometimes lacks the density of content that makes exploration truly satisfying.
Despite the flaws, Dark and Light has a charm that’s hard to deny. It captures the feeling of adventuring in a fantasy world like few survival games do. It’s ambitious, yes, and sometimes messy — but also rich with potential and unforgettable moments. Flying on the back of a wyvern as a magical storm rolls in over your hand-built tower? That’s not something most games can deliver.
Dark and Light is the kind of game for players who enjoy systems, experimentation, and the wild unpredictability of sandbox survival. It’s not polished, it’s not balanced, and it’s definitely not for everyone — but if you can look past the rough edges, there's a sprawling, chaotic fantasy world waiting to be conquered.
A flawed but fascinating fantasy sandbox. It stumbles often, but when it works, it soars.
Rating: 7/10
Steam User 9
So far, yes, it is enough like Ark for former or even present Ark players to enjoy emmensely.
Steam User 9
Spent 484 Hours on the game and love every minute playing it. Sad story is that the game is dead but if you love Survival and taming this game is good and still playable! as of writing this there is a winter sale on the game and its deadcheap and i suggest you try it out even tho its a dead game. You will encounter bugs but most of them are nothing special. play on a single player 3-5x rate or join community server that have some mods on just to make your life little easier.
Steam User 9
if you like elder scrolls combined with riders of icarus this is the game for you!
toggle god mode ftw ;P