Shroud of Darkness

Being alone in an unknown place has to be a pretty terrifying experience, even more so if the place in question is dark and potentially full of dangers. Some video games manage to capture the essence of this feeling quite well through the use of clever level and sound design, but there’s more to it than just that. Hence, the overall atmosphere must be kept at an even level throughout the game.

The five stages of grief presented in a new light

Shroud of Darkness is a short jam game that features a pressing atmosphere and a depressing theme, given the fact that it puts you in the middle of a strange and dark place with no idea of who you are and how you got there. As you might have guessed, the goal is to find out more about yourself and maybe escape with your sanity from the dark facility that surrounds you.
The main character has nothing on him but a flashlight and a grappling hook, the two objects you’ll have to combine and use in order to solve the puzzles that lie ahead. Certain objects can be pulled using the hook, which allows you to activate pressure plates and even kill monsters by slamming spiked cubes into them from the right angle. It’s a very simple and intuitive concept, but it works wonders under the right circumstances.

Basic graphics and unforgiving difficulty level

Although the game itself is pretty straightforward and the mechanics are easy to understand and use, it’s worth noting that there are no checkpoints and no possibility to save your progress. Besides the fact that you have to restart the whole journey if you happen to die, you also have to sit through the dialog every time, which is pretty annoying, even if you can sort of skip through it.
As for the graphics, the game was designed in a matter of days, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it doesn’t feature state-of-the-art visuals. On the other hand, the designers used darkness to hide this fact, which adds a lot of depth to the atmosphere. On top of that, the soundtrack is pretty nice as well, even if it gets repetitive if you play for too long.

A worthy jam game that may have a future

In the end, Shroud of Darkness may be just a jam game designed in three days, but it has the goods to be transformed into a fully fledged production with enough work and dedication. However, even this short experience is quite engaging, not to mention scary.