Pitch Black Demo

Horror does not necessarily imply jump scares and horrible images, because it is entirely possible to induce fear in the audience using far less graphic imagery. Naturally, it helps to have some sort of disturbed monster on screen every now and again, especially in movies and video games, but you can achieve great results with nothing more than the right combination of words.

Pitch Black is a top-down role-playing game that aims to make you feel uneasy, using creepy music, atmospheric environments and the occasional disturbing picture. On the other hand, this is nothing like Doom or similar games, because you are not constantly assaulted by demons. Instead, evil lurks in the dark and it rarely shows its shape, so you are constantly pressured by the unknown.

Story-wise, you play the role of a girl with a pretty regular life, as you can tell from the introduction. She goes to school, has fun with her friends and even participates in group activities. However, she gets kidnapped and trapped by something one day, and she must find her way back through darkness, while solving puzzles and avoiding danger.

Gameplay-wise, exploration and puzzle-solving are the two main ingredients. You don’t have to solve differential equations, but the riddles are pretty tough to crack in some cases. The horror elements make the experience that much more interesting, since you are always pressed by the thought that something horrible might happen to your character.

Given the fact that the game is developed in RPG Maker, you shouldn’t expect too much in the visual department. The top-down perspective does not allow for anything too fancy, but the artwork and the level design are actually quite pleasant and smooth. The soundtrack is worthy of a mention as well, because there are times when it holds the atmosphere together by itself.

Even if Pitch Black is still in development as of right now, the game has a lot of potential. The atmosphere has the proper ingredients to be memorable, and as long as the story doesn’t disappoint later on, this can turn into a fan favorite in the future.