Ludography
40/100
Players19 ratings
42/100
Critics7 reviews
More scores
Metacriticcritics
41/100
Metacritic usersuser score
42/100
GameFAQsEasy-Just Right
2.57/5
Player reviews
54% positive745 reviews
Steam Deck
Unsupported
Runs on
Windows
Price
US$2.99

Where to get it

Dark cover

2013 · Realmforge Studios · Adventure · Role-playing

Dark

Xbox console exclusive

DARK is a unique stealth-action game with RPG elements in which you take on the role of the ultimate hunter: a vampire. Ambush your enemies from the shadows, roam the darkness and use powerful vampire skills to dispatch your opponents.

Released
4 July 2013
Platforms
WindowsXbox 360
Genres
AdventureRole-playingStealthStrategyVampire
Developers
Realmforge Studios
Publishers
Kalypso Media
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third personVirtual Reality
Themes
ActionHorrorStealth
Engine
Vision
Country
Germany
Age ratings
PEGI 16ESRB M
Languages
English, French, German, Russian
Time to beat
7hmain story13hcompletionist

About

Dark (stylized as DARK) is a stealth game developed by German team Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media in 2013. Players control Eric Bane, a vampire suffering from amnesia who seeks to recover his memories.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The gameplay of Dark is based on stealth combat. The protagonist Eric Bane has many supernatural vampiric 'skills' at his disposal; he can use Shadow Leap to quickly teleport to different areas and to perform stealth finishers, make himself temporarily invisible, see in the dark and slow down time. His abilities are linked to a certain number of 'blood points' which are used up each time Eric uses a skill. He can drink blood from his enemies to restore his health and blood points.

Story

The game follows the story of Eric Bane (Doug Cockle), a newly turned vampire suffering from amnesia. He learns that his transformation is not complete and that, if he does not drink the blood of his sire, he will mutate into a mindless ghoul. In order to avoid being such a foul creature, he receives missions to drink ancient vampires' blood. However, an angel in Eric's view appears to guide him to the righteous path, and ease intolerable pain that comes from not drinking appropriate blood as it disappears. With a question of this vision, he tries to recover his deleted memories and his true self.

Reception

Dark received "generally unfavorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Much of the game's criticism was aimed at the poor melee combat, camera, script, and lack of interest in the game's protagonist.

In a mixed review, Jon Blythe of Official Xbox Magazine UK stated: "DARK is frustrating, because that initial feeling of being a zippy blur of a vampire in a world of neon-lit night never leaves you. It's just swamped in frustrating design decisions, a script that lurches from passable to laughable, weak enemy AI, and a vortex of a lead character who's impossible to like or hate."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows4 July 2013Worldwide
Xbox 3605 July 2013Europe · North America 9 July 2013 · Australia 18 July 2013

Editions and related releases

Downloadable content
Dark: Cult of the Dead

Games like this

Collections3 collections

Platform libraries

Years

Genres

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.