A Walk in the Dark Is No Walk in the Park

[Andy Chalk]

A Walk in the Dark Is No Walk in the Park

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The A Walk in the Dark extended gameplay trailer looks incredibly beautiful and viciously difficult.

I loved the look of the A Walk in the Dark debut trailer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/4997-A-Walk-in-the-Dark-Trailer] that came out last November. I'm not really a fan of platformers but indie studios have been doing amazing stuff with the genre for awhile now, and that whole "dark fairy tale set to a brooding piano" thing is right up my alley. The few gameplay bits on display looked like they might go hard on me - my fingers are basically The Ten Stooges - but I'll put up with a lot for the right kind of ambiance in my games.

But now the first actual gameplay trailer is out, and I've gone from "a little concerned" to "I will punch my cat if I try to play this thing." It's gorgeous, if perhaps a tad Limbo-like, and I love the music, but just watching all that crazy jumping and floating around makes little beads of sweat pop out on my brow. I'd probably have more luck performing a self-appendectomy than I would trying to get to the end of this game.

But I might try anyway. I just might.

A Walk in the Dark is currently expected to come out later this year, exclusively for the PC. (And for the record, I would never punch my cat. Gritty Kitty knows where I sleep.)


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[josemlopes]

Limbo and Super MeatBoy had a baby lol.

Looks ok but there is some lack of polish

 

[Shinsei-J]

I would like this game more if it wasn't a silhouette art style.
It looks good though.

 

[Kargathia]

Some very nice music there. Just too bad I sincerely doubt I'm going to finish even the first level if I tried.

 

[game-lover]

I flinched so hard watching this. I refused to believe they didn't die playing those parts. The deaths were just cut off.

 

[Azuaron]

Limbo and Super MeatBoy had a baby lol.

Ninja'd by the first comment...

I'd probably play it. I have a weak spot for games that make me want to punch something...

I flinched so hard watching this. I refused to believe they didn't die playing those parts. The deaths were just cut off.

Well, it's like Super Meat Boy. Sure, you died ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TIMES, but the last time (where you won) was GLORIOUS.

 

[Andy Chalk]

One of the Flying Turtle guys said (after the post went up) that the levels on display in the trailer are from near the end of the game, when the challenge does get rather stiff. But he also said that the escalation in difficulty is pretty smooth, so by the time people get to that point, they should be able to handle it.

I remain doubtful, but we'll see.

 

[Frontastic]

Anyone else find the Rayman Origins Tricky Treasure music start to automatically play in their heads while watching this?

Looks interesting. Although the little girl floating up to the roof is pure nightmare fuel.

 

[greenice]

Limbo and Super MeatBoy had a baby lol.

Looks ok but there is some lack of polish

I would say it's more of a combination between Super MeatBoy and VVVVVV on the gameplay and when it comes to aesthetics it looks like a steampunk Limbo, with maybe a bit of Alice in Wonderland(the cat and the girl) but maybe I'm just reading to much into it.

P.S. I swear I wasn't trying to be a douche, I was just making an observation.

 

[Therumancer]

I'm not a big fan of platformers, and am unlikely to try this unless I get it as part of a bundle with other games I actually want. That said my experience with the genere has been that what a game looks like has very little to do with the actual difficulty of the game. With platformers it comes down to the control scheme and how balanced and responsive it is in letting you do what you want to do, likewise a lot has to do with the timing windows and actual size of the safe areas you need to hit.

Over the years I've seen platformers that look very easy, but are actually insanely difficult due to needing sequences of absolute perfection with a less than ideal control scheme, and a few of them that look amazingly difficult and dazzling, but are actually very easy to play and succeed at. Which extreme this is (or a middle ground) is impossible to say without actually playing the game.

To my uninformed eye, even the cat seems to get a decent amount of "hang time" for course corrections, it seems like the biggest problem for some of those sequences is figuring out where to go, rather than getting there.

I'd imagine dedicated fans of games like Mario or Kirby or whatever will probably beat it like a drum regardless.

 

[nik3daz]

The thing that really stood out was the dodginess of the fox or whatever's animations, particularly on wall jumps.

Might be alright.

 

[wolf thing]

so it super meat boy crossed with VVVVVV, okay iliked those games so i may check this one out.

 

[roushutsu]

Anyone else find the Rayman Origins Tricky Treasure music start to automatically play in their heads while watching this?

Yep. I was getting some serious Rayman flashbacks while watching it. I might give it a try when it comes out. Love the music!

 

[joshthor]

limbo + supermeatboy + VVVVV - polish = this game. they need to work on the animations

 

[Mark Bloomer]

any1 else noctice the jumps where timed with the music? that might make it easier

 

[sethisjimmy]

Seems to "borrow" a lot from Limbo. In fact, almost everything, from the silhouette forest background, to the clockwork gear style levels, to the gravity changing puzzles, to the spikes and deathtraps everywhere.
And then you have the Super Meatboy-esque walljumping, platforming and rotating spikes.

Might be a great game, but it looks incredibly unoriginal.