I’m not one to get engrossed in a virtual world unless the narrative and worldbuilding are extremely captivating. While I have my go-tos when it comes to indie horror, there’s one dev in particular that always gets me excited.
From the horrifying IT STEALS and the hilarious Lethal Company, Zeekerss has gone and done it again—and this time I’m all in. Released on Oct. 25, Welcome To The Dark Place is a text-based choose-your-own-adventure horror game. After falling from the Cloud following what I can only assume to be a devastating car crash, Welcome To The Dark Place literally throws you into the darkness, where you must get on a distant train that may never reach its destination.
I’ve welcomed the Dark Place as if it’s my own internal struggle. The intro is effortlessly cool, like I’m looking directly into Zeekerss’ mind. It wasn’t until I landed repeatedly in the Dark Place that I started to believe something could change for me personally, that there is a way out, even though the game makes me repeatedly question whether escape is truly possible. At times, the main menu communicates as if some omniscient force is testing my knowledge or mocking my futile attempts.
Welcome To The Dark Place is proof that Einstein’s Theory of Insanity isn’t true, that doing the same thing over and over again isn’t madness, for trial and error makes this indie horror work so damn well. It’s got to the point where I’m recording my gameplay, taking notes, and making a map of the Dark Place just to see which gaps need filling. The world is like a bestiary of creepypastas, where the darkness consumes the sanity of most caught brazenly traversing the forest until eventually losing sight of why they arrived, becoming just another shape against the sea of trees.
I honestly don’t know how Zeekerss does it, but there are moments of genuine terror that penetrate my very soul and make me crave more like some twisted mind desperate for feeling. The effective use of spatial audio keeps me on edge, and the occasional but extremely creepy pixelated visuals of a door opening or when I plunge into the stressful Undergoing makes me hold my breath like submerging into water. You’d be surprised how creepy Welcome To The Dark Place actually is, and it’s all because it has Zeekerss’ signature pixelated aesthetic that worms its way into your mind.
Lovecraftian both its narrative and design, my imagination runs wild to fill the black screen with images and color, just to try and make sense of this surreal and unforgiving world. The Dark Place feels equally full of life, hopelessness, and dread, where wandering around the seemingly infinite forest pulls you in with an investigative and curious eye.
Like listening to a Stephen King audiobook, the sound design makes me panic, squirm, and talk aloud as if I, too, fell into the Dark Place. There are rules to follow, yet curiosity had me often ignoring them—after all, over 100 endings await. Certain moments left me in awe, in disbelief that I could be this captivated by a black screen and directions. It’s addicting to go back in and try something new, or revisit a location to pick up whatever dignity I had left behind from failed attempts—yeah, there might be something wrong with me.
It’s consuming my every thought like I’m transported back to SOMA, Funeralopolis, Who’s Lila?, and SIGNALIS. I’m thankful Zeekerss dropped this passion project after eight years of development, and I would have gladly paid money because I’m having too much fun in this bizarre, terrifying world, and I know Welcome To The Dark Place will be one of those games I mourn when it’s all over.
The post Forget Balatro and CloverPit—I’ve found my new obsession and it’s spookily awesome appeared first on Destructoid.
