Dark Place 4 | Single | Author: Taivo Maripuu | Download 144Kt

Description: Fourth 'darky' with lots of darkness, lightning and nasty monsters.

Design: Quite a 'copy' of Red 3 and that'd be okay if Taivo had credited Red 3 in the txt file but NO! Still similarities are so obvious that the level itself credits Red 3. Design is divided in three parts - Huge outdoor areas, a factory and some spooky town. The town looks good with lots of spritework, destroyed houses and some good 'city' elements. The factory is detailed and uses a lot of spritework as well. Outdoor areas are good with tons of interesting plants and atmospheric lightning (and rain but no water drops - for obvious reasons). It's dark of course so either keep your curtains closed or play it at night.

Textures: Grayish level with reddish indoor textures. Not that they're completely red - just that the palette is red at times. Look is of course dark and there are many textures mixed together and the results are good especially when combined with the rich spritework (take a look at the town area).

Gameplay: When it comes to puzzles it's a bit tough. Make sure that the sunlight doesn't bother you or you might lose some things. Also read the txt because it mentions these pickable 'cubes' and especially where you should put them. I was completely lost after I found the first 'cube'. The town might be a bit confusing and puzzles aren't so logical but there's nothing too difficult - Enjoyable in fact. Enemy/ammo balance is good and the amount of monsters is low (as is the amount of items).

Innovations: The first thing you'll notice are those strange looking plants on the outside. They're made of using several sprites (idea seems to come from Alien Planet X64-2 level) and they really look cool. A lot of innovations come from levels like Red 3 but Taivo still maintains his own original style.

Conclusion: If I judged levels by design I'd say Dark Place 3 is better but this one makes you happier - once you finish it.

Rating: 93