Dark and Deep review

Games developed by one person always amaze me. I have no understanding of games development, but I always find it impressive how something can be build from scratch by one individual. Dark and Deep is impressive in what it is trying to achieve. It’s a cosmic horror that tries different mechanics to keep the gameplay feeling fresh while using horror as a tool to make you feel uncomfortable and on your toes. While it isn’t particularly scary, I appreciated what Walter Woods has done, offering up some puzzles that try new things, even if some of the controls don’t always work as well as they should.

Dark and Deep starts off with Samuel, the game’s protagonist, in the back of a van listening to a conspiracy podcast. Suddenly, the van plummets off a cliff, the back doors burst open, and a dead body wrapped in bin bags flies out, all as you go down with the van. What’s more, you see a mysterious woman with white hair staring at you as you descend. It’s an intense beginning that ends up leaving you alone in a dark cavern, with nothing more than a mirror and little to go on.

Throughout the course of Dark and Deep, you’ll find notes and images scattered around, environmental puzzles to solve, and various mirrors that can be used for different things like vanquishing the creepy monsters and finding hidden messages and items in the dark. There are also pools of embers that allow you to reach in, grab these embers, and use them to manipulate the ancient machinery you find along the way. It’s all an interesting premise at first, and the visuals have some flair at times, although some areas are far too dark and unappealing.

When it comes to the puzzles, some are smart while others are downright infuriating due to the way movement isn’t fluid. Jumping is floaty which makes traversal frustrating, and there are certain places that remain obscured bydarkness for far too long. These periods of annoyance are outweighed by the writing, or at least the story which can be engaging, especially as you see Samuel’s real world collide with the nightmare he finds himself in. Horror isn’t always about terrifying the player with blood, gore, and jump scares, especially the cosmic kind. Walter Woods has a great grasp on the cosmic horror, building creepy worlds that unnerve rather than downright traumatise you.

There’s plenty of potential with Dark and Deep. Fending off enemies with your frame and moving around provide the more annoying parts of the game, but some of the environments look amazing. You can see the effort put into making the world stand out even if the gameplay lets it down at times. The episodes of the podcast you listen to add a great element to the storytelling, and many of these sections give you breathing room to the exploration and problem solving. It doesn’t push the boundaries in the genre, but it does try to do something different which is always applaudable.

Dark and Deep might not be everyone’s type of game, but it’s still worth trying if you’re a horror fan. My main issues were the movement not being responsive and the darkness being too much at times, so that it ruins some of the puzzles. There are some smart ideas especially as you progress further, and it looks fantastic at times. Walter Woods has managed to make an interesting horror title that doesn’t grasp to the tropes of the genre, but rather do something different within them.