If you’ve been following iGamesNews for a while, you know that I’m a horror fan. It’s my entire hobby, it’s the majority of my personal brand, and most importantly, it’s my passion. I don’t know what it is that draws me to horror, but exploring the deepest, darkest corners of people’s minds – both creators and characters – is deeply fascinating to me. This aptly named Dark and DeepOne of many participants this month Steam Next Eventwhich can definitely solve this problem.
Darkness and the Abyss takes you into a haunting world made up of Gustave Doré’s artwork, a phantasmagorical psychological story about a man named Samuel Judge; he’s deeply obsessed with a conspiracy-theory podcast, which you’ll witness firsthand, but there’s something even darker lurking beneath the surface. He’s clearly troubled by isolation and entrapment, and unhappy with how his life has turned out. In the demo I played, which contained most of the first part of the game and the beginning of the second part (three parts total, made up of multiple short installments), you play as Samuel, who’s going through a nightmarish dilemma: He’s trapped in an ever-changing world made up of the demons and demons we’ve seen in Doré’s artwork. They’re hungry for light, and will stop at nothing to get the light Samuel uses to traverse this hellish landscape. It’s a perfect blend of two mediums, elevating the quality of Gustave Doré’s artwork and using it to tell another story centuries after Doré’s death.
Samuel has to navigate these claustrophobic corridors—you should real By the way, check it out – using frames that show him different parts of the world, other frames help him to drive away the monsters known as the Crawlers. These frames also carry secret messages from an unknown character that we haven’t seen more of yet; but one thing we know is that they are taunting him. While this world that Samuel initially explores is very strange, there are also familiar moments.
One moment, you’ve finally escaped the hallway and made it to what we can assume is Samuel’s office, spending some time chatting with a mysterious online friend and listening to a conspiracy podcast that Samuel is obsessed with. Later, as you try to make your way through the tighter hallways where the creepers live, you can see his office in the distance, and the sounds of them scurrying around – and because of their invisibility, you never know where they actually are – gives you the creeps. The game itself is satisfying and puzzling, with an equally puzzling story to piece together. There are also some comedic moments to look forward to; going through a serious podcast moment about a missing girl followed by an ad for Dave’s razors is a commentary on the current climate of content creation, and had me chuckling at the ensuing craziness.
As you get into the second part of the game, things start to become clear, but we’re still a long way from the end of Samuel’s story and who he really is. Still, based on the source material that independent developer Walter Woods has worked on, it’s not hard to see where things are headed. Gustave Dore is credited as one of the creators of this game, even though he died before video games existed, and you can see why. The alien environments you navigate are based on his artwork, which are often dark, detailed scenes that depict knights, angels, and profound moments. Dore’s work has appeared in works such as The Bible, Don Quixote, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, among many others, but most importantly, he illustrated Dante’s Divine Comedy. I say most importantly because the haunting landscapes and mind-bending narrative of Dark and Deep feel like they could have been heavily inspired by the poem, which details a journey to the afterlife. This would certainly explain the bizarre but detailed world that Samuel inhabits; perhaps he’s been punished, but why? The demo for Dark and Deep will definitely leave you eager to play more and find out.
Indie developer Walter Woods also has a grand vision for what he wants to accomplish in the industry. As part of Here Below, he hopes to create a space for other indie developers to collaborate on a variety of horror games; a space where “fresh stories, bold aesthetics, and meaningful mechanics” go hand in hand. He wants to make meaningful and original games, inspired by the work of A24 and Mike Flanagan, and I think he’s absolutely succeeded so far with Dark and Deep. There are still some quality issues to be ironed out before Dark and Deep can be fully released, but overall it’s a refreshing experience that successfully blends modernity with traditional media. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Samuel Judge’s story unfolds, and whether his journey into the depths of the afterlife will yield more answers as to why he’s there.
Dark and Deep has been previewed on PC with code provided by the publisher. Expected release on PC in August 2024. Check out the demo for yourself on Steam.
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