Darkout is the latest release of games along the Terraria theme. They had the guts, or perhaps poor fortune, to be released at the same time as the StarBound beta. Is it a strong enough contender in this now crowded market? Find out here.
The Darkout Gameplay
Most of it is exactly the same as in other games such as Edge of Space, Terraria, etc. You dig, you gather and you build while fighting monsters. You have your normal tools, torches etc. You won’t see very many new ideas here.
Darkout, Alan Wake with Terraria
The one area where it does stand out is how you have to use light. Enemies and even bosses react to light and are weakened over time by it. It is a very nice touch that shakes things up a bit. You need to keep light in various areas of your home in order to keep yourself safe.
Darkout-ness and Light
In many ways this game is caught between two extremes. It has some excellent crafting ideas hampered by a lackluster tutorial and poor indication of where to gather materials.
In the same way the art fluctuates between stunningly beautiful landscapes and hideous character models. For example, the sleeping animation sprawls you out with a lack of frames and sometimes has you floating near the top of the bed.
The Final Verdict on Darkout: 3/5 Average
Keep in mind that they are still working on the game and it should improve over time. However we’re reviewing it as it is now, not as it will be later. Some beautiful visuals don’t make up for the fact that the game has little innovation and a lot of sore spots.
While not terrible it doesn’t stand head and shoulders above any of the various games in the genre. It is just another face in the crowd really. Will it stand out when everything is finished? Perhaps, but then we’d need to do another review.
