Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder
Explore disturbing corners of the human psyche. Delve into a dimension of nightmares, the occult and a tense psychological world created in classic Lovecraftian style. As police detective Howard E. Loreid, you are tasked to solve the murder of Clark Field, a wealthy man involved in the occult. Your number one suspect is Loath Nolder; a highly respected private investigator. After mysteriously abandoning his last case and abruptly resurfacing five years later, one wonders how venerated P.I. Loath Nolder has turned fugitive murder suspect. Your seemingly routine investigation takes a dramatic twist as terrifying happenings begin to plague your psyche. Horrifying dreams and paranormal experiences torment your very being and the line between sanity and insanity becomes frighteningly blurred. Face dire truths hidden deep within the recesses of your mind, as you embark on a surreal adventure.Key features:A chilling point and click Puzzle Horror Adventure inspired by the Works of H.P. Lovecraft, now brought to Steam for the first time as a slightly enhanced edition with Chromatic Aberration and cinematic effects applied to the game's graphics.
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My pros: the constant eerie atmosphere. The sounds and mood made me on edge nearly the entire game. It felt like there was someone watching me. The sound design was excellent; background noises to make you unsettled. The graphics appear aged; not a "polished" game. But that adds to the moody environment. There are a few animated cutscenes, usually showing simple things like you driving your car to a new location. I did appreciate that the ending had a cutscene. The puzzles were challenging at times. You do have a notebook in the game and you will use it. A lot.
The negatives: The game is eerie and dark. But some locations were D A R K. To the point where I couldn't see a bloody thing. I was stuck and scummed to a guide for a clue I was missing - it was in a poorly lit room. A bummer, but a minor issue. The voice acting wasn't too bad, but sometimes it was lacking. Certain characters just didn't feel real because of the voice. Since you don't really see them, you rely on hearing them.
I'm personally not a fan of main protags not being able to tell the truth in their story. Our protag here will sleep for days and have vivid nightmares. Was it real? Was it fake? Who knows? I'm not a fan of that narrative, so for me that's a negative. I beat the game not knowing...was he actually Howard? Was he involved? Maybe that's just me.