Darkwood

 Xbox One
Darkwood Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 10 Ratings

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  • Summary: Darkwood is a game about survival, exploration and fear, set in mysterious woods somewhere in the territory of the Soviet Bloc. It is a top-down, free-roam, surreal horror experience with a randomized world, taking cues from classic games, where oftentimes you had to figure things out forDarkwood is a game about survival, exploration and fear, set in mysterious woods somewhere in the territory of the Soviet Bloc. It is a top-down, free-roam, surreal horror experience with a randomized world, taking cues from classic games, where oftentimes you had to figure things out for yourself. By blending RPG, roguelike and adventure elements together with a challenging difficulty, Darkwood aims to please players craving for a deep and rewarding experience.

    The fear of unknown is powerful and the unknown will try to remain unseen, forcing you to watch your back. Your senses will be deceived, your sight fooled, your smell tricked by Darkwood's surreal terrors. No answer will be given to you for free, yet somewhere in the woods lies the truth, an explanation to what has happened in this godforsaken place.

    Looking for your weakness, your inner demons, only to devour you. Welcome to Darkwood.    … Expand

Trailer

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Darkwood - Launch Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Generación Xbox
    May 23, 2019
    97
    Darkwood is a huge work to be the first of the studio, it is one of the best horror games of the generation. A masterpiece bizarre and magnetic in narrative, with an infinite personality.
  2. TheXboxHub
    Jun 4, 2019
    90
    Darkwood is a rare kind of game – an experience that is so cohesive and masterful in almost every way. Every time I played, it felt as though I was stepping through the screen to another world, one that is as twisted and dark as the wilderness that surrounds it. Honestly, the less you know the better, so just go play it and experience its brilliance.
  3. XboxAddict
    Jul 11, 2019
    90
    Darkwood is a purposefully deliberate survival game that forces you to explore, but at the same time punishes you for spending too much time and effort searching one area. You don’t want to spend too many resources building up your camps, but you need to gather enough to be able to survive your stay there. It’s a delicate balance that is really well executed but not overly explained. The survival mechanics can be learned very quickly, and once you are two or three game days in you will start to find a groove. Just remember to turn the generator off in the morning.
  4. Stevivor
    May 18, 2019
    80
    Darkwood is a very unique experience that relies on darkness and silence frequently, causing your own imagination to run wild and fill in the horrific gaps. There’s a bit of a learning curve to get comfortable with how the in-game world operates, but once things click, you’ll be enamoured. Survival horror fans definitely need to give this one a go.
  5. Windows Central
    May 23, 2019
    80
    Darkwood is a tense and challenging horror and survival game with superb atmosphere, great visual presentation, and a strong gameplay core, but it's marred by clunky movement and unintuitive combat mechanics.
  6. Xbox Tavern
    May 20, 2019
    80
    Constantly tense and surprisingly varied, Darkwood offers a new take on the tired genre, one that never relies on needless scares and cheap tactics to set its captivating, grim atmosphere. Here, you’re simply thrown to the unknown and left to fend for yourselves by any means necessary, with no hand-holding whatsoever, and no easy way out. Despite a few issues, Darkwood offers everything a great survival horror should, and more besides.
  7. XBLA Fans
    Jul 1, 2019
    40
    The character that you play is dull, so if he died no tears were shed. While some games get you hooked with “just completing one more quest” since you have none, there was no desire to continue. I know many people will disagree but I’m just being straightforward. It was hard for me to find anything within Darkwood that I truly admired besides the theme. Just because it’s not for everyone doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. Lots of people will love it. I just think that the majority won’t.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. Xbox_Alive
    May 19, 2019
    8
    Darkwood is a very challenging unforgiving game as the game warns, but as you survive and learn the ropes you begin to see just how good thisDarkwood is a very challenging unforgiving game as the game warns, but as you survive and learn the ropes you begin to see just how good this game really is. The sound design is absolutely immersive and it makes you feel uneasy throughout thanks to the terrifying atmosphere the sound design delivereds. Games that truly frighten you are very few and far between, because most of the time they can be a little predictable. Darkwood is completely different though because it manages to scare the hell out of you at every turn even if you try and prepare yourself for it. Darkwood's sound design is some of the scariest I’ve ever come across and it stays present throughout the game never letting you feel as your safe. Surviving then feels that much more important and there is a decent amount of strategy included because after all your main aim is to survive another night by any means necessary. Surviving the night isn’t an easy thing to do so prepare to die a lot and be challenged in many ways. In terms of content the game has a great deal for you to dive into and even though I was immersed and focused on survival, I think the story was one of the many reasons that kept me coming back for more because I wanted to see what the game was going to throw at me next. Darkwood is a horror masterpiece and it’s definitely one of the scariest and thrilling games in this genre. For fans of survival horror I truly recommend you pick up Darkwood and add to to your Xbox One library of games.… Expand
  2. Joellemm
    Jun 19, 2021
    8
    I hated Darkwood. I didn't find the gameplay engaging at all. It's the game that made me realise i don't enjoy survival games. Darkwood'sI hated Darkwood. I didn't find the gameplay engaging at all. It's the game that made me realise i don't enjoy survival games. Darkwood's gameplay leans far more into the "survival" of survival horror than i'd have really hoped.

    I wanted the game to be over quickly, however, to get the most out of the game you should really play on a higher difficulty than Normal. Otherwise, the repercussions for death, especially during the night, are not enough to maintain tension.

    Why did i continue to play and finish this 14 hour plus game, even on normal difficulty? Well, because the world is fascinating, the characters, withered and disturbing, capture the imagination too, and i really wanted the satisfaction and relief of finally getting out of those bloody woods! I should highlight the impressive sound design. I really liked the lack of direction the game provides. It's highly immersive for a game using a top-down perspective. It also has a somewhat procedurally generated world, thus, offering more replay-ability than most horror games

    Some people will love this game and I can see why.    … Expand
  4. DiegoTan
    Sep 28, 2021
    1
    This game is like an extremely small shard of a precious stone burried within a giant pool of feces. Do you really wish to dive into it justThis game is like an extremely small shard of a precious stone burried within a giant pool of feces. Do you really wish to dive into it just to look for that small shard?

    It took me around 40 hours of tedious, boring, uninspired gameplay.. to not even finish it and get glitched out at the end of chapter 2. It took around 6 hours of frustration and boredom for each small cool moment in the game (each lasting around a minute or two). Rarely I feel like I completely wasted my time with a game, and this is one of these moments. I am quite unhappy with the experience.    … Expand

Trailers

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best Xbox One Game of 2019

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