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Best Game I've Played All Year

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 174 / 180
Date: August 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

For gamers who love pure first person adventure, _Dark Fall_ dishes up some of the best that the genre has to offer. With a spooky atmosphere, engaging story, absorbing puzzles and great sound and graphics, _Dark Fall_ will probably keep you playing far into the night -- but you might not want to be alone.

Your brother, an architect, is designing a resort and club to take the place of an old hotel and train station. In an opening movie, you receive a phone message asking you to come to the site as strange things are happening. When you arrive, your brother has disappeared and the place is deserted. You soon find out that the old Dowerton Inn has a history of disappearances. As you explore the hotel and station you uncover the frightening story behind these happenings. Soon enough it becomes apparent that it's up to you to put a stop to whatever it is that's going on.

Originally published by an independent designer, _Dark Fall_ is a treat to play. The graphics are wonderful and detailed. The sound is mainly f/x replete with spooky voices just beyond intelligible, giving you the sense that, though you are alone, you may find otherwise at any minute. The interface is very simple and easy to use, allowing you to get caught up in the story. I found the pace of this game ideal. Although there are numerous locations to explore, you never get the sense that you are wandering around looking at things to no apparent purpose; there is always some information to be collected or a puzzle to solve.

There is a nice variety to the puzzles: some inventory, some mechanical, some sound and a lot of putting information from difference locations together to come up with solutions. The inventory is minimal, which I appreciated; I'm a bit tired of games where you collect forty-eleven different pieces of inventory, many of which you use only once. Most of _Dark Fall's_ inventory has multiple uses. Once you have all the pieces you need, the puzzles are relatively simple and straight forward. There is no need for a walkthrough or strategy guide. If you get stuck, the game includes a built-in hint feature that is nicely presented as part of the plot.

There were a few places where you got close-up views of things for no apparent reason and a few things you could interact with that were merely entertaining, rather than adding to the story or helping you solve any puzzle, but these did not detract from the overall experience. There are no timed puzzles, no mazes and you can't die, although you can be quite frightened at times.

_Dark Fall_ reminded me quite a bit of AMBER, but I found it better thought-out and more engaging. It's also somewhat longer; I took about twenty hours to finish it. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 139 / 142
Date: November 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you are like me, you are more interested in an adventure game that has a good story, well integrated puzzles and decent voice acting than 360 degree panning and "beautifully rendered graphics". Those things are nice, but if you can't enjoy playing the game, who cares about the nice graphics?

Don't get me wrong, this is still a beautiful game with perfect mood enhancing sounds. What makes this game a treasure is the story line along with "puzzles" that fit into the story near seemlessly. I've played almost every adventure game out there and this game is on my top 10 best games along with some of the Zork games, Myst, Monkey Island, & Grim Fandango. The puzzles aren't so hard that you go away annoyed and irritated. There is no pixel hunting.

I think you will enjoy this game if you are the type of person who doesn't need flashy tricks to make up for a boring game with bad puzzles and lack of story line. This game is what all adventure games should strive to be. I enjoyed it and I hope you will too.

How about a good scare??

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 50 / 51
Date: August 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought Dark Fall from the man who created it, Jonathan Boakes, before Dreamcatcher Games realized it was a treasure and agreed to produce it for adventure game fans in the United States. I not only wasn't disappointed; I found one of my top ten games of all time (and I started playing games in college when Zork was a new text adventure).
The game is set in England. You receive a call from your brother and he needs help. He tends to dabble in the supernatural for a living, but you don't believe in that nonsense...right? When you arrive, the train station and beautiful but somewhat rundown art deco hotel are deserted. Except for the ghosts and the voices that may speak to you from nowhere. You may be exploring a room and find that a shadow has passed in front of you, but turn around to find nothing. There are clues in the old hotel and train station, and you've found your brother's equipment, right where he left it before...well, before something spoke to him and knew his name. Now it knows your name, too, and you have to solve the mystery before it finds you. Good luck, and remember to play with the lights off if you're brave enough. But you might want to be sure you aren't in the house alone!

A perfect game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 40 / 40
Date: January 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I loved this game! Unlike some of the others who criticized this game, I don't mind taking notes when I play a game. I didn't find myself writing down a lot of unnecessary information - mainly what stood out in each of the rooms that were explored and the names and symbols that are needed to solve the final puzzle. By taking my time in each location I really didn't have to run around from place to place. I liked the fact that I had to explore all the little details in each locale and take note of important clues.

The navigation is really easy - just point and click. This is the best type of navigation because it allows the player to take their time. One writer criticized the fact that one has to place the cursor in the correct place to open a door - come on! How hard can that be? Another person said that the puzzles had nothing to do with the story - I think we must have played different games since most of the puzzles reveal the names and symbols that are needed to finish the game. To me that means that the puzzles have everything to do with the story. Another reviewer said that the graphics looked like something from the 1900s. Since this was a ghost story taking place in a hotel from the 1940s, I wasn't bothered by the graphics. In fact the "grainy" look made it seem like an old movie or photograph.

I cannot think of a single bad thing to say about this game. It was a great way to spend a Sunday while the rest of the people around here (Door County, Wisconsin) were watching the Packers play football.

Gripping Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: January 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed this game on so many levels: graphics, originality, plot, ease of interface, puzzle challenges.

The scary atmosphere set by the creator is top-notch. Playing the game at home alone in the dark increased the thrill factor. The various time shifts and layers of puzzles kept my attention throughout. The level of detail & backstory is astounding & really contributed to the gaming experience. I wanted to solve the game, not just for myself, but for all the characters who had become almost real by the end.

There were a few huh? spots where I had to check hints & walk-throughs, but not too many. One or two spots that required frantic pixel hunting, but not too bad.

I got so involved in the game and taking notes & making diagrams, that I stayed up till all hours on more than one occasion. Also, my main worry became "what if I get hit by a bus & someone has to get into my apt and finds my Dark Fall notes about ghosts and demons & strange runes and thinks I'm completely cracked?" :-)

I 'm a big fan of the series. Dark Fall: Lights Out is wonderful as well!

Great Spooky Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: August 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game just to try something different. It installed easily and has (knock wood) never locked up or crashed. There are lots of locations to explore and the haunted atmosphere is great fun. This is a great one to try with a candle burning and all the lights off. It's easy to get started, but the puzzles are still challenging. A great buy for anyone who enjoys a mystery. It's like stepping into an old fashioned thriller. No blood & gore just lots of thrills & chills.

best darndest thriller i've ever played!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: August 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

GREAT ANIMATIONS, GREAT CHARACTERS, GREAT STORY, GREAT EVERYTHING!!!!!!!! I love to get scared out of my witts and if yiu like to do that too, BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!! I've played all of the nancy drews and sherlock holmes games but this one is truly scary! I was playing it by myself in the daytime in a room with 6 windows and was still petrified. You get a message from your brother that is researching ghosts at and abandoned train motel that was abandoned and claimed to be haunted ever since 7 guests mysteriously vanished. It has an extremely large setting with 4 floors, a kitchen, a bar, a dining room, and the train tracks, and the whole outdoors too. Plus, there is a train station. You can go in about 96% of the rooms and on one floor, the lights start going out one by one, on another, you hear a violin playing, and in one of the 7 guests' rooms, a ghostly voice starts talking to you!!!! SCARY!!! When you get there, you hear the voice of a young boy, but you can't see him!!! And, you can't find your brother. One of the ghostly voices talks about and evil that has taken over the dark and deadly train station. This is a must-have. BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!

Scary and Engrossing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game was great!! The storyline was engrossing - more facts as you explored about the missing people, including your brother. Ghosts, noises, visions. If you like character interaction, this is not the game for you. This is - explore, read, take MANY notes. Normally I get annoyed taking a lot of notes but in this game it was like being a detective as you had to piece information together to solve the variety of puzzles. I thoroughly enjoyed it and understand that a DF2 is in the works. Recommend this game!!

Absorbing puzzle adventure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: October 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Kept me very busy for a couple of nights. Lots of good puzzles that are, on the whole, very logical and therefore solvable. Good atmosphere and voice acting, beautiful graphics.

Ghost Story set in creepy Victorian train station.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Fans of the classic ghost story, old abandoned buildings and dark tales will enjoy wandering the derelict hallways and haunted hotel rooms. It's a classic point and click adventure, with easy mouse controls. Great for cold winter nights, or Halloween.

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