DARK

DARK is a 2013 stealth-action game developed by Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media for Windows and Xbox 360. The game casts the player as Eric Bane, a man who awakens in a nightclub to discover he has become a vampire, and who must hunt down his maker and feed on other vampires before the transformation robs him of his humanity. Distinctively, DARK fuses stealth gameplay with supernatural powers in a cel-shaded comic-book visual style. Players sneak through guarded environments, using vampiric abilities such as teleporting short distances ('Shadow Leap'), turning invisible, seeing through walls and silently draining or executing enemies, while a feeding mechanic ties the protagonist's power to consuming blood. An upgrade tree lets players develop their preferred combination of stealth and combat skills. Marketed as one of the few games to combine vampires with dedicated stealth mechanics, DARK attracted interest for its concept but a disappointing critical reception on release: reviewers praised the ambition and the striking art direction but criticised clumsy stealth systems, weak combat, stiff animation, poor voice acting and technical shortcomings. It stands as a flawed but distinctive cult curiosity, more often remembered for its premise and style than for the quality of its execution.