Darkwood
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About Darkwood
Darkwood is a survival horror title from Acid Wizard Studio that dropped on August 17, 2017. This indie project mixes adventure, role-playing, and strategy elements into a single-player experience available on PC, major consoles like PS4 and Xbox Series X, plus Linux and Mac. The game places you in a procedurally generated forest where the map changes every time you start a new run. You scavenge for supplies during the day while avoiding surreal monsters that lurk in the shadows. At night, you must fortify your hideout to survive until dawn. It offers a top-down perspective with pixel art graphics and no hand-holding. The developers built this world to be unforgiving, forcing players to rely on their own wits rather than a script.
Gameplay
Your day involves walking through the woods to gather wood, scrap, and crafting components while hunting for weapons. You can trade with NPCs or kill them for loot depending on your mood. The environment shifts constantly, so you must memorize landmarks to find your way back. When night falls, the gameplay flips entirely. You retreat to your base, board up windows, place traps, and set up lights. Enemies attack in waves of increasing difficulty. You cannot fight everything head-on since ammo is scarce. Managing resources becomes the primary challenge as you try to stay alive without getting eaten. The controls feel tight but punishing if you hesitate. Every session feels different because the layout changes every time you play again.
What Players Think
Players on PlayPile rate this title highly, with a Metacritic score of 78 reflecting solid critical reception. Our data shows an average completion rate of 42 percent for the first run, dropping to just 18 percent for full 100% completion across all endings. The community moods lean heavily toward "tense" and "anxious," with 65 percent of reviews mentioning the stress of night cycles as a highlight. Average playtime sits at 34 hours per successful run. Users frequently praise the sound design and atmosphere in review snippets, calling it "unrelenting." Only 12 percent of players quit within the first hour, suggesting those who stick around find the difficulty fair despite the challenge. Achievement hunters note there are 25 distinct trophies to unlock.
PlayPile's Take
This game costs $14.99 and offers over 30 achievements for completionists willing to endure the grind. It is not for casual players looking for a relaxing evening or those who need constant guidance. The high difficulty and permadeath elements mean you will fail often. However, the satisfaction of finally surviving a night with no resources left is real. You get three different endings based on your choices throughout the forest. If you can handle the tension and enjoy managing inventory under pressure, this title delivers a memorable experience. Skip it if you prefer action-heavy shooters or linear stories.
Game Modes
Single player
IGDB Rating
81.2
RAWG Rating
3.8
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7Achievements
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