When Zoetrope Interactive released Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder in 2007, the horror adventure from Turkey showed plenty of Lovecraftian promise, though it couldn’t quite sustain its lurking fear throughout its murder mystery backdrop, and a few design issues proved somewhat maddening – for the game’s protagonist Howard E. Loreid, quite literally so. But with The Dark Lineage now in full swing, the developers are right back at the second and now-final series installment, determined to fine-tune the experience and deliver on the full terrors of the darkness within this time. I recently had the opportunity to check out an early playable demo of the game, which does indeed look set to take some significant steps forward.

By “steps”, I mean actual steps, too. The most obvious change from its predecessor is the move away from node-based point-and-click to free-roaming direct control in full 3D environments. Still in first-person, now the player can manually guide themselves anywhere with the standard WASD keys with 360-degree camera control using the mouse. While the very thought of direct control is enough to horrify some adventure gamers, rest assured that the system is very smooth and completely intuitive, rarely requiring more than one finger for forward movement while your mouse hand does the rest. And since the things that go bump in The Dark Lineage’s night don’t need to be bumped back, no particular demands on dexterity will ever be required. The video below shows off the new engine, though for those prone to motion sickness, it should be noted that movement in the actual game is more comfortable in that regard.



The control changes aren’t merely cosmetic, however, as they’ve also allowed the developers to include a physics engine and some 3D spatial elements. For example, even in the demo, Zoetrope had alerted me to a locked compartment hidden under a table. I dutifully reported back that I could find no such thing, and that they were clearly as bonkers as the main character, at which point they told me I might want to crouch to find anything below eye level. So, uh… guess what? You can crouch! You can also climb ladders, knock various light objects around the room, pick up and move other items without adding them to inventory, and push or pull some things that are too heavy to lift. The controls are still being refined in these areas, but already the added sense of physical impact on the environment is a welcome one.

The other controls will be fairly traditional, and recognizable to anyone who played the first game. Left-clicking will perform all major interactions, while right-clicking brings up the inventory. The smart cursor changes over hotspots when an interaction is possible, and entire objects are highlighted to avoid meticulous pixel hunting, though you’ll need to be standing close enough to affect them. There will also be a hotspot highlight feature available for additional assistance, though this can be disabled through the options menu to prevent temptation. In fact, you’ll be able to tailor the challenge to your preference through the choice of three different difficulty settings.

The game will include a variety of puzzle types (among standalone types, I assembled a jigsaw during the demo), though many will involve the inventory to some extent. The “thought” system is returning, as clues and concepts can be collected much like inventory items and even combined to create new ideas. As before, actual items added to your inventory can be zoomed in and rotated for closer inspection, while books can be underlined for key points. The latter was a key puzzle-solving element in Loath Nolder, but proved a bit too abstract, so it will be optional this time, used only to expose additional secrets and gain added insight into the game, as well as increasing the player’s running point total. The difference isn’t insignificant, however, as new story items and even small branching paths can be opened up in this way, rewarding gamers who investigate thoroughly and offering a degree of replayability. The developers are even hoping to include multiple endings, although a final decision has not yet been made.

Visually, The Dark Lineage comes armed not only with its predecessor’s impressive bag of tricks, but has a few new ones up its sleeve. You can see snow falling through the windows outside, and particular attention has been given to lighting and shadows to match your ever-changing perspective, which you’ll notice most when you carry a lantern visibly in front of you. The game can once again be played with a “noise” filter on or off, adding a grainy appearance if desired, and such effects as motion and radial blurring will be used to simulate stress. In the most intense emotional moments, as a heartbeat audibly increases rapidly, the game will wrest control from you momentarily while sweeping side to side in a panicky fashion. It’s a gimmick, sure, but a clever one, providing a rare sense of identification with a first-person, otherwise-unseen character.

Players once again control Howard, a lucid-dreaming police detective who ended up in an insane asylum at the end of the first game (not a spoiler, as he begins there as well, telling the story in flashback). In that game, Howard was responsible for investigating a modern-day murder presumed to be committed by Loath Nolder, a once-respected private investigator whose disappearance for many years was rumoured to be linked to occult activity. In this game, which Zoetrope claims will answer any outstanding questions from Loath Nolder while being “newbie-friendly” for those who missed the first title, we’ll learn more about the terrible secrets of Howard’s own past.

As the game begins, Howard escapes the Wellsmoth Mental Institution and finds a letter from an unknown person that urges him to go to a town called Arkhamend to find the truth behind his afflictions. There he will also discover how and why he became personally connected to the events of the first game, and eventually meet Loath Nolder face to face. With Nolder’s help, Howard may finally find a way to end his nightmares. Along with Howard, there will be three returning characters as well as some new faces (though perhaps recognizable in name from the first game). Apart from the asylum, however, all locations in the sequel will be original, taking players through such environments as an old mansion concealing much more below ground than above, a family tomb, and an ancient buried necropolis, to name just a few.



The demo was limited to “only” one location, but there was much more to it than first appeared. Inside a remote “old stone building” I found a basic living quarters with a tower attic that revealed several disturbed writings. Unfortunately for the cabin’s previous occupant, I found him as well, but not nearly as well preserved: a frozen, disfigured corpse that managed to be grotesque without being overly alarming. Clearly, something was not at all right here. Sure enough, a creaky mechanical “elevator” submerged deep underground to a series of dark, creepy tunnels coated with rust, residue, and… insects! Insects everywhere were lining the walls, their wings quivering but remaining stationary – for now. The books and diaries I’d read had warned of these bugs, and the remains of another body “eaten bit by bit” served as further reminder of the danger, and it was clear that I’d need to prepare the correct scientific formula from elements back upstairs to get past them. Fortunately I was able to move through their midst, but the locked doorways beyond only hinted at puzzles and events the work-in-progress sampler didn’t include.

Unfinished or not, I was certainly anxious (in all senses of the word) to see what lay beyond, but although much more work has already been done since the version I played, I’ll have to wait along with everyone else for The Dark Lineage’s projected release, which is currently scheduled for March 2010. From this early look, though, it’s not a leap to suggest that any fan of the first game should gobble this one up as well, as it’s almost stifling with oppressive eeriness and conveys a disturbing sense of dread without relying on cheap scares or gory images. Meanwhile, those turned off by the perceived antiquation and limited mobility of the common node-based control scheme can warmly embrace the move to free movement here. After all, in Darkness Within, the real dangers could be hiding anywhere, and you may just have to go anywhere to find them.