Battlefield Blunder- Darkest of Days Review

While the notion of time travel is a popular motif in gaming, only a handful of titles have effectively exploited the concept. For every game like Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask or Braid, whose central gameplay mechanic is built upon the ability to manage time, there are a handful of diversions that use temporal travel as a way to artificially add environmental variety. Most would agree that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ journey into the past and future was no more compelling than their contemporary exploits.

Developer 8Money Lab’s recently released, Darkest of Days certainly spins an absorbing time-bending narrative. Just as protagonist Alexander Morris faces an imminent death at the Battle of Little Bighorn, a soldier appears from an enigmatic bubble. Morris leaps into the sphere and is jettisoned into the future. There, he is introduced to the executives at KronoteK, a corporation whose goal involves fixing any potholes in the time-space continuum.  Darkest of Days narrative is delightfully pulpy science-fiction, constructing a steadfast impetus for Morris to explore a variety of distinct epochs.

Within the confines of KronoteK headquarters, players may select their next destination. Initially, only the dank trenches of World War I, and the battlefields of the Civil War will be available, but later early Rome and World War II stages are unlocked. For the first hour of gameplay, Morris’ weapon loadouts are faithful to the time periods, with muzzle loaded rifles and six shooters during the title’s nineteenth century combat. Gamers accustomed to the full-auto bursts of contemporary titles may find tedium in Darkest of Days simulation of antiquated weaponry. However, players that preserve are rewarded with a contemporary arsenal for historical settings. In these moments, Darkest of Days narrative possibilities are nearly realized. Using a sighted SMG to mow down a team of sword-wielding Centurions is pure fanboy fantasy. 

Sadly, Darkest of Days graphical engine prohibits these rapturous set pieces from becoming wholly immersive. The game is continually plagued with framerate problems, pop-in, and screen tearing. Players accustomed to the fluidity of first person shooters like Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 will surely be dissatisfied with the sputter and pop gameplay Darkest of Days presents. While the title made an admirable attempt to recreate epic historical battles with hundreds of on-screen characters, the game’s visuals fail to incite any sense of awe.

Beyond the game’s lackluster presentation, other problems are brutally apparent. Melee attacks will occasionally fail to make contact with an enemy combatant standing in front of the player. Neighboring friendly and unit units will sporadically ignore each other during heated battles. Snipers will eliminate the player from a location beyond the reach of the player’s weaponry. While each of these quirks is intermittent, they each contribute to the game’s overall frustrating execution.

As an avid history buff, the thought of being on some of the most prominent battlefields in the world in dazzling. While the developers of Darkest of Days expressed an interest in recreating these moments in “eerily accurate detail”, the results are sorrowfully disappointing. Both friendly and enemy A.I. move and fight unconvincingly, and players are confined to unrealistically alleyways on the battlefield. Darkest of Days is a fascinating premise locked inside a fractious shell. Sadly, history will most likely recall this battle as a humiliating defeat.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

23 comments

  1. Dark Days indeed. I don’t think a kind word has been said about this one.

  2. Story is the same on this one. Cool idea, lousy execution. Too bad.

  3. I got to admin Future weapons taken to the past is a great idea. It need to be done right.

  4. I don’t think they’ll ever make a good Civil War game.

  5. Not surpized with the score of this one.

  6. Firing muskets just isn’t very fun. I doubt there will ever be one.

  7. Seems like the game are either real good or real bad this time of year.

  8. War? What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

  9. Those balls look like the time things from the Terminator movies.

  10. I have a friend who got this. Said it was horrible last-gen graphics and really bad gameplay.

  11. Yeah, WWII and beyond is where weaponry gets good. I guess they could make a WWI air combat game.

  12. Review seemed pretty fair, and was more interesting that some of the bash-fests I’ve read.

  13. Was it actually made by monkeys?

  14. The PC demo was pretty damn bad.

    For those interested: http://www.worthdownloading.com/game.php?gid=3316

  15. Dude from D-Toid called it one of the worst games of this generation.

  16. Funny, the screenshots look more than decent.

  17. Yeah, I can’t imagine making musket firing interesting. Maybe they should have given you an AK from the getgo.

  18. Looks like Halo ODST has some competition 😉

  19. I might just have to try this out to see how bad it really is. I love to torture myself.

  20. I’ll rent this one, if I get a chance.

  21. Bought this, and I played for about an hour. Sold it on Ebay for a $10 loss, which I’m alright with.

  22. Who hated it more, you or Shipwreck?

  23. I found a used copy today, so know the 7 day policy I deceived to take a chance.

    First, I totally agre with the review- great story, really sloppy execution. This is one of the jankiest FPS’s I have played- last gen shooters are smoother than this.

    I don’t find the firing rate. You can fire run away and fire again, but I don’t know why they just didn’t give you modern weapons through the whole game. Anyway my two cents.