Dark Meadow iOS
Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
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  1. IGN
    Oct 6, 2011
    80
    The Dark Meadow is worth playing just to experience the game's huge amount of eccentric dialogue, and to experience the unfolding mystery.
  2. 148Apps
    Oct 10, 2011
    90
    I don't consider Dark Meadow a "copy" so much as a new entry in a young genre. A genre that it fits very, very well. Fans of gesture hack-n-slashers, gothic thrillers or both are in for a real treat.
  3. Pocket Gamer UK
    Oct 13, 2011
    60
    Worth a look if you're flush, but not quite as chillingly effective as it could have been.
  4. Multiplayer.it
    Oct 27, 2011
    84
    Dark Meadow combines a great atmosphere, an engaging storyline and awesome graphics into a single solution, giving you one of the most interesting experiences available on iPhone or iPad.
  5. Slide to Play
    Oct 6, 2011
    75
    Dark Meadow is what you'd get if you set Infinity Blade in a decrepit hospital and gave it a grim sense of humor.
  6. Destructoid
    Oct 10, 2011
    80
    Designed very well around the limitations of iOS and featuring some of the most disturbing creature designs this side of Silent Hill, Phosphor has created a very atmospheric and engrossing game with a delicious streak of dark humor coursing through its veins.
  7. AppSpy
    Oct 6, 2011
    80
    Dark Meadow a gorgeous and at times engaging take on the Infinity Blade style of gameplay, tempting players to delve ever-deeper, but quickly getting stuck in a rut all the same.
  8. TouchArcade
    Nov 1, 2011
    90
    A standout in almost every way. From look to setting to the touch-centric gameplay, it shines, and you can tell this title was crafted with much love from its developers. Any horror fan will be thrilled by it.
  9. Modojo
    Oct 6, 2011
    80
    The Dark Meadow has some warts, but it's still a hauntingly beautiful and intriguing game everyone should play, as it offers both a compelling adventure and a glimpse into the future of smart phone gaming.
  10. Everyeye.it
    Dec 21, 2011
    75
    Dark Meadow is an interesting horror twist in a well known formula.
  11. Gamezebo
    Oct 10, 2011
    90
    Until now, good survival horror titles have been a rare thing on iOS platforms. Dark Meadow is arguably the best title to come to the genre. It's gorgeous, it's creepy, and it's a blast to play. This is the perfect game to play during the Halloween season.
  12. TouchGen
    Oct 16, 2011
    70
    If you are looking for an intense thriller and have a lot of time (or money) on your hands then you may want to pick this up. For everyone else it's certainly pretty to look at and listen too, but I doubt you'll have the patience or enough encouragement to get to the end.
  13. Absolute Games
    Jan 23, 2012
    61
    Dark Meadow is the least milk-and-water clone of Infinity Blade that popped up in 2011.
  14. Impulsegamer
    Nov 16, 2011
    78
    Even though Dark Meadow had some combat issues, I still enjoyed this game because it's easily one of the most visually impressive titles on the iOS.
  15. AppSmile
    Oct 10, 2011
    70
    An interesting idea that just doesn't strike the proper chord.
  16. AppSafari
    Nov 7, 2011
    90
    A fantastic application . The playing experience is fluid, and the story gives you just enough to make you want to keep playing and finding out more.
  17. AppGamer
    Oct 21, 2011
    90
    Despite the odd control issue and a slight case of repetition, Dark Meadow is a fantastic horror mystery that straddles point-and-click adventures and the combat style Role Playing dynamics of Infinity Blade. If you're a Horror fan with an iPad or iPhone then you should sign up for your stay in the Dark Meadow hospital straight away.
  18. Tap!
    Oct 21, 2011
    60
    A game that's at odds with itself. If it had given either of its major components the attention they deserved, we'd be recommending the game without hesitation. But with both sides of it half-baked, it fails to excel.
  19. Pocket Gamer France
    Oct 17, 2011
    58
    Dark Meadow is an adventure game that delivers a brawny horror experience packed with exceptional graphics and atmosphere, but one that sins as a result of flawed pacing and redundant nature. It's therefore difficult to recommend it, particularly given its high price.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. slow_learner
    1
    There is much to like about this game, such as the really excellent graphics and storyline, both points that have been pointed out in other reviews. I would also like to emphasise the incredibly tedious grinding that this game makes you do. You kill the same dozen or so monsters, which are variations on half a dozen general themes over and over. It is beyond tedious, and surprisingly hard. However, there is a good reason for this. Although you are trapped alone in an abandoned hospital, you somehow have access to a store, where you can purchase more powerful items, with either incredible amounts of your tediously spent time, or cold hard cash. Who runs the store is totally unclear, and has nothing to do with the narrative. It has everything to do with inducing you to spend cash. By the end, when the game's difficulty really ramps up, and you have invested a lot of your time, you may be willing to fork it over, just so that you don't die and wake up in the accursed room where the game started, so that you don't have to work your way through the same tedious corridors to the boss fight. That is a dirty trick. The graphics are nice, but one you've seen them enough times, it doesn't really matter.… Full Review »
  2. karligula
    5
    I don't normally write reviews for games but I had to for this one. To stop people wasting their money. Now I'm not denying how much effort went into Dark Meadow. It looks beautiful, the animations are great, the sound is fine. But as a game it's awful.

    Ok so I wake up in a room somewhere, I step outside into a corridor, I get attacked by a monster. I beat that monster and take one step forward. And get attacked by another monster. Another step, another monster. Over and over again. Which wouldn't be so bad but the combat sucks.

    Wait for the monster to attack. Dodge it. Swipe furiously on the screen. Repeat till monster dead. Then wait while the game halts and counts up your result. Every. Single. Time.

    The crossbow sucks because the icon you touch to grab it is too small so it's easy to miss. Then when you pull the string back it aims the crossbow upwards so you have to make some stupid swirling motions to aim the damn thing. And the icons used to dodge are too fiddly. The icons themselves are big enough but you have to tap exactly the right spot or they don't work. Which in the middle of combat sucks because you're tapping the dodge icon and you don't dodge.

    So you've battled down a corridor. Go through a door. Oh another corridor. Battle through that, through a door. Oh another corridor. There's no map so you don't know where the hell you are in this mass of almost identical corridors. I must have gone around in circles for two hours. Battling the same monsters again and again, purely because I couldn't tell one corridor from another.

    Sooner or later you'll die. And it puts you right back where you started. And you have to battle through the whole thing again.

    Even the menus are confusing. And when you pick up something to read, the scrolling is slow and jerky and keeps stopping and starting whenever it feels like it.

    I have no idea how far I've gotten into the game, for all I know I've barely scratched the surface, but I just don't want to bother fighting through all the same monsters again for the twentieth time.

    I'm a veteran gamer, I've finished Doom3, Half Life, Portal, Modern Warfare, Bioshock, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid 4, Motorstorm, you name it, I've finished it. So I know how to get through games and I can tell a good game from a bad one. This isn't a good game.

    I gave it 5 because yeah ok, the graphics are nice.

    Disappointed.    … Full Review »
  3. Cobra007
    6
    The gameplay just doesn't work with the environment or the story. It's just ridiculous. If you want a copy of Infinity blade's gameplay with a kind of point and click adventure, then this game is for you... Just wait until it's on discount.… Full Review »
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