It’s been days since the crash now and things haven’t gotten much better.  Thankfully, the makeshift shelter I was able to construct is able to keep those things out. During the day they are nowhere to be seen, but at night they seem to spawn from the very darkness itself and I can hear them crawling on the outside of the walls, tapping, scratching, testing for ways to get in. The easiest way to describe them is to call them a “spider” but that term is about as fitting to these creatures as “cuddly mcsnufflekins” would be to a rabid mountain lion. One had managed to sneak in through a hole I had inadvertently left in the wall when building my shelter and I’m still nursing the wounds from that mistake.  Thankfully, they seem sensitive to light so I used the few glow rods that survived the crash and have them hung around the shelter and that seems to keep them somewhat at bay. I do have to emerge at some point. Staying here is driving me crazy, and I’m running low on resources. The fact that the combinator survived the crash is truly the only sliver of silver lining to be found in this situation, but the combinator (as amazing as it is) can’t make something from nothing, so tomorrow with my few remaining bullets, I will venture out and see if I can gather some resources so I can at least make some weapons to fight off the never-ending onslaught of these creatures.  Who knows what other dangers I may find out there though.

Welcome to Darkout, where you’ve crash landed on a mysterious planet with no instructions other than “survive and explore” with the second aspect being more implicit than any concrete instructions the game gives you.  There is no prologue or introductory story, you are just basically dumped on the surface of the planet and should you so choose, subject to a brief tutorial. The world is procedurally generated, and its size is determined by you the player before starting a new game (as is your gender and color of clothing).  There are many things Darkout does right, and a few that it does not so right so let’s get into it.

Sandbox is the most apt description to describe the world in which you will find yourself in Darkout. A procedureally generated world with an atmosphere that is absolutely captivating. The background artstyle, dark environments, creative use of color and lighting effects and moody and atmospheric music all combine to make a world that is equal parts creepy, scary, and interesting. The world is threatening enough to convey the danger your character will face, but no so overly emphasized that it turns into a horror game. This is a dangerous world you have been stranded on and you will quickly learn what dangers lurk around the corner or deep within the caverns. In order to survive these dangers, you will have to craft all manner of devices, ranging from simple wooden blocks to complex electronics and machinery. Of course there is progression to the crafting and the complex machines, armor and weaponry will only be available as you further explore the planet and discover higher quality raw materials. And while crafting and exploring are the name of the game in Darkout, there are also occasional (and I mean occasional) pieces of story that find their way to you in the form of data log entries left by previous colonial inhabitants. It’s not exactly a robust narrative and leaves a lot for the player to piece together themselves using contextual clues and good ol imagination as they plumb the depths of their procedurally generated space but it’s something.

However.

It can take quite a bit to warm up to Darkout. There can be long lulls in action as mining your way through long stretches of underground rock can become tedious. The game also lacks accessibility as the crafting, while robust, can also be confusing and feels like it could be streamlined better. The crafting also feels like it hinges too much on a single resource at certain points, which can really slow down gameplay while you desperately search for the raw material that is used multiple times in the same chain of crafting. I found myself frustrated multiple times and at a complete work stoppage in my crafting because of a severe lack of iron ore. Compounding this frustration was the fact that I was practically drowning in other (basically useless) metal ores. Of course resource gathering is a large part of any crafting game but when hours upon hours are fruitlessly spent mining and spelunking for one specific raw material when just about all other raw materials are for the most part either readily available or are found with a moderate and reasonable amount of exploration it becomes somewhat of a problem.  This problem may be partly due to how my particular world was generated, but I must make note of it as it can serve as a severe point of frustration.

Also some other things of note is the fact that the game could be a bit more intuitive. The user interface takes a lot of getting used to and isn’t explained very well. Neither is how to use some of the items that are crafted (such as using wall sockets and power lines) or the fact that you must use your combinator as your initial power source (your welcome) so that you can power your workbench so that you can craft a generator to use as an actual power source. One other thing that really needs to be explained is the fact that you can pick up accidentally dropped items (it will happen, and for no explainable reason) or purposefully placed items by holding shift and right clicking (you’re welcome again). Also the game could use a bit more polish. The controls are a bit wonky, but once you get used to them they are serviceable enough. The tool tips that are supposed to change to the tool that is to be used on an object doesn’t always change to the correct tool (small but confusing sometimes). And as I alluded to before sometimes when I am attempting to move items around from my inventory to my hotbar, items would just randomly drop to the ground even though my finger remained firmly depressed on the mouse clicker.

Closing Comments:

The world of Darkout is top-notch. With an excellent art style, the environment oozes atmosphere and there is plenty to do and keep you occupied as you explore the depths of your custom generated world. However, there are some issues that have to be overlooked to fully enjoy Darkout. The lack of a story (at least an introduction of some sort), or any external motivation can lead to a situation where the player is mining just for the sake of mining, and crafting just for the sake of crafting, which can be fine for some, but not for all.  Also it takes quite an investment to fully learn just what it is you are doing with all the things you are crafting and scavenging. Those that are a fan of this style of gaming will find a robust crafting tree and a lot to explore, where hours will melt away without you even knowing it. Others, however, may not be quite so forgiving of Darkout's shortcomings.

 Platform: PC