In yet another one of those moments that make you go "Well -that- figures.", Joystiq ran a post today sort of introducing 'Dark' after a press release from the publisher, Kalypso Media, went out today. The press release is a fairly good read, since it gives a little insight to the game that I've only known of for just over a week (Nothing really new from then, however), but it also sheds a little light (haha, no I'm not proud of that) on something a little unfortunate for me: The game is only in development for PC and 360. As you might see, I was actually pretty hopeful for Dark at first sight and was all-aboard, but this little hurdle means that I can probably comfortably drop it off my radar completely. I'm interested in its development and how the end product turns out, of course, but not too much so; I won't be able to experience it unless I buy into a 360 at some point in the future which honestly is not in the cards.
Now, this is a bit annoying for me as it was just a couple months ago that I was saying what the industry really needed right now were games just like this. Or if not what the industry needs, then certainly what I want, because, without rehashing my argument from the linked post, there just aren't enough actual supernatural games right about now. It's all futury and high-tech or super fantasy with not a whole lot in between, the lot of them shooters or isometric romps. On top of being a modern day attempt at vampire lore (without trying to put too much of their own 'stamp' on it, in the vein of Twilight sparkle, True Blood's brand of awful, etc. that I can see) trying to take it at least somewhat seriously, it's also a third-person stealth affair which I'm sure we'll all agree there are far too few of. (Hitman and Thief rank here.)
What also stings is that the game looks really good in that it just has a lot of things that make it sound tantalizing. Which is the point, clearly, and it requires on the actual execution of it to see just how it works out, but it is set up to succeed currently. The cel-shaded graphics, as you see above are quite nice if a bit overly green (though it will give it a certain identity at least), but they'll likely have to be seen in motion to appreciate fully. The RPG elements will likely allow you to give the main character 'your' own spin on him, depending on how you decide to grow him and what you focus on ala Deus Ex or Alpha Protocol. I imagine as such, we could possibly expect the story to branch a little depending on how you handle matters, but that sort of remains to be seen.
Something I am curious to, as I'm curious with every sort of vampire piece is how they suggest the vampires blend in with society. The bulk of the time, it's as simple as that; simply slipping into situations where they don't have to be out in the daylight, generally working the underworld and such. It does seem like that may be the way it goes here in Dark as well, given the scenes shown. Lots of indoor places, lots of artificial lighting, not a speck of sunlight to be seen around. From what I can tell, our main character is freshly bitten as well, so that might weigh in on the gameplay some as well, in more ways than being a blank slate and/or at 'level suck' as it were. Like, perhaps he's sensitive to even regularly lit areas to start with, thus necessitating the stealth in a big way at the start to ease you into making good use of it.
Whether or not the game will ever see a Playstation 3 release is iffy, but I'd be more than willing to imagine that it won't, unfortunately. Unless it's a smash hit, of course, and the developers only omitted a PS3 version because of lack of funding, considering I imagine making a PC and 360 version of a game are fairly similar processes, where the PS3 is a whole other matter entirely. So unfortunately, there's a good chance that I'll just be interested in the game without being able to do a whole lot about it. It wouldn't be the first time, and I can only hope that it won't be the only thing to attempt something full-heartedly supernatural in the coming months, where I'll be able to partake in the others, but we'll just have to see. If not, well, it's not like I'm hurting for games now or in the future to buy and play.
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