![darkwood hideout 3 darkwood hideout 3](https://www.dualshockers.com/static/uploads/2019/05/Darkwood-Review-2.jpg)
It’s a nightmare that draws you ever deeper into its roots. It has a depressing and dreary atmosphere, going from incredibly violent to downright disgusting at moments but you just can’t look away. There are many horrors though and Darkwood is disturbing and truly macabre. The day to day activity of fighting, managing resources, discovering new places, meeting new people and defending the hideout at night combine to create a gameplay loop that is incredibly addictive.
![darkwood hideout 3 darkwood hideout 3](https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/023/856/104/large/ali-saffari-lvl-3.jpg)
There’s a clear growth in capabilities and understanding as you go through the game and it really feels like you begin to conquer the horrors put in front of you. The more you mutate yourself through using resources on the oven, the more you feel like you can take on the woods.
![darkwood hideout 3 darkwood hideout 3](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2ZxMSXVkAUaH8q.jpg)
It also helps that the progression system in the game is incredibly satisfying. It’s undeniably hard but never feels unfair, in fact Darkwood does a wonderful job of slowly teaching the player more and more. Some of the most unnerving scares come from these encounters in the dark, and it’s an utter relief when the sun rises and you can begin a new day. Often you will have to fight to see the night through. Creatures will start to bang on the doors, the mind will start playing tricks on you, and paranormal activity is common. The sections in the hideout at night are intense – you must barricade doors and set up traps, waiting for the sun to rise. See, if you’re caught away from your hideout by sunset, a spirit comes and kills you. Eventually night will come, at which point you must return to the hideout and buckle in. You set out, hoping to fill places on the map, gain resources, and not die. You are never overtly told what to do but given just enough direction to figure it out yourself, making the whole experience feel like a mysterious search for the way forward. The hideout has a small amount of supplies, an empty map, and a whisper in the right direction. Don’t expect any tutorials here.Īfter a creepy and gripping prologue, the player starts off in a hideout, this is your base of operations where you can store items and cook on the “oven” which lets you gain new abilities. The player is on their own, and rules and techniques are learned through doing. As it says in the loading screen, “respect the woods,” – this experience is a punishing one and it demands intense focus. It is very possible to stick yourself in a corner and that’s part of the constant tension that it puts you under. Everything is of some value and everything can be misused or lost. It is a horrifying audio visual trip through the twisted rabbit hole.ĭarkwood is a survival game first and foremost you have to manage resources and fight carefully. Rarely has a title shocked me as often as this game has, and fighting through the woods is a tense and difficult challenge, but an endlessly engaging gameplay experience. An experience that connects emotionally and mentally, it never lets you go.
![darkwood hideout 3 darkwood hideout 3](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/darkwood/images/3/32/Hideoutremains.jpg)
It’s a world that will stick into your conscience long after you have stopped playing. It’s undeniably magical, unquestionably disturbing, and often terrifying. Playing Darkwood feels like stepping into some dark twisted Eastern European fairytale.