Fall of Light: Darkest Edition (PS4)

Before you read further into this review you need to understand I gave up on it at the very first level/stage, and for a valid reason. This game, which boasts about being like Dark Souls, is made artificially difficult through the control setup. The control arrangement, which cannot be remapped, is so awkward in design that it makes the fights and tasks at hand difficult where they would otherwise not be if the controls were mapped differently. I think the developer knew this, and that's why they chose to not allow the player to change the controls ...

Fall of Light, for what it's worth, is a game published by Digerati Distribution and created by an indie development studio called "Rune Minds" in conjunction with 'Stage Clear Studios'. The game, in retrospect, seems like an amateurish indie trying to escape the quality standards of the indie scene to become something grander in scale, but ultimately failing at the attempt. Parts of it like the storytelling, the voice acting, and the premise behind the plot admittedly feel slightly above indie level while the gameplay itself plays like an older generation game. Something along the lines of a PS2 era RPG. The visuals are crude in some regards, and just alright in others. When it comes down to the controls they only serve to mask the game's several shortcomings. Were the controls assigned differently, for example, the gameplay might actually be considered good instead of purposefully complicated. Sadly the game as a whole falls short of being the engaging and attractive experience that the developers want it to be, and in the end comes off as a halfhearted attempt to copy the brutally unforgiving nature of games like Dark Souls, and the likes.

Story-wise, this action RPG which plays out in a near top-down Diablo-esque point of view is a tale about a fallen warrior named Nyx, and his daughter Aether who happens to have also fallen into the void in a battle against an evil sorcerer named Pain. It is a cliche light versus dark battle in which Aether plays the part of the light, and Pain plays the part of darkness, or evil. Within the tale Nyx acts as a guide, and protector for Aether. Holding her hand he leads her along place to place in the ruins of the light lacking void only letting go when actions need to be performed, or when engaging shadow people or creatures in battle. Nyx himself comes complete with an adjustable inventory of equipment, and accessories that can be changed according to your preferred style of combat. In regards to Nyx the game offers the gamer 10 weapon class options ranging from melee weapons such as swords to ranged weapons such as crossbows that can be chosen once obtained. Early on the weapon options are limited to a basic sword, and shield though, and it isn't until you best the boss-like bad guys, or loot the underbelly of the darkened ruins that you'll earn more powerful weapons and gear in true Dark Souls fashion.

When not engaged in combat you will lead Aether by the hand, and use her to consecrate statues for saving your progression (Think Dark Souls' bonfires) as well as to interact with certain puzzle elements that will open up the world further. Together Nyx, and Aether are strong, as the PR statement foretold. Apart from Aether, Nyx will find himself at the mercy of the darkness, and it's denizens. Thankfully upon falling to the darkness that he faces Nyx will revive at the last consecrated statue, and can travel back to revive Aether in what amounts to a Dark Souls souls recovery. Speaking of Dark Souls, the bonfire and souls recovery nod aren't the only things you'll notice that are inspired by such source material. Ground notes will have you reading hints in Dark Souls fashion while entering to certain areas is done through smokey veiled doors as well as gates that trigger the boss fights. The boss fights themselves are crafted with strategy, and scripted attacks in mind. Each boss behaves and attacks in a certain way. Thus making repeat tries more of a doable learning experience.

As you fight lesser enemies or bosses you'll have to mind your health cubes, and your extremely limiting stamina meter. For whatever reason the developer thought it good to not only make attacks deplete stamina, but also defenses as well. Compounded with the evasive roll which also quickly drains stamina it adds yet another layer of artificial difficulty to a fight that would have otherwise not been so difficult.

Something else I need to mention is the developers chose to add in 20 stances to the combat. If you know of Koei Tecmo's "Nioh" you'll understand where this combat option came from. Learning stances along the way supposedly allows you to approach the battles more strategically. As with Nioh. Unfortunately with the artificial difficulty stacked it only makes the gameplay more confusing, more frustrating, and less than fun. For those of you wondering where the "Darkness Edition" comes into play there is a bonus dungeon added to the game as an extra challenge. A little something extra for those adopting the game on the various platforms.

The Verdict ...

I feel that the developer tried hard to force someone else's ideas into his game without properly adjusting the controls, and mechanics to fit the experience. In saying that I also feel that if the controls were properly adjusted the game would lose the desired difficulty as well as identity, and be less of what it was intended to be. I believe if the developer had created enemies with more animation variation, a complimentary enemy AI, and had made the boss fights challenging in the right ways instead of wholly leaning on the stamina gauge it would have made for a good Dark Souls tribute indie. So much is functionally wrong with this game though that I cannot recommend it. As I said earlier I realized in the first stage, after many deaths (which in itself is a testament to the ridiculous nature of the setup), that the difficulty is artificially made, and to an extent that it ruins any fun to be had. Shortly, and bluntly I have to suggest that you do not buy this game unless it gets a serious overhaul. It's a poor attempt at copying something else while trying to make it into something new. I'd suggest to the developer that they assign base attack, defense and evasion actions to the four face buttons, and that they make the stamina less draining.