February 7, 2015

Dark Earth

Kalisto Entertainment, 1997


A splendid action-adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world. You are Arkhan a temple guardian of Sparta, one of the few lands on Earth that still receive sunlight as most of the Earth is shrouded by the Dark clouds left by a passing meteor. In the beginning of the game, you get affected by a vial of darkness thrown at you by an assassin, trying to assassinate the sun priestess you were defending. Now, you must find an antidote and cure this gradually increasing illness of yours, which would finally turn you into a beast, and you must also bring back order and peace to the world.

Atmospherically, Dark Earth is a rich experience about a post-apocalyptic world where the sun is worshiped as God. The puzzles and arcade sequences are unbelievably frustrating and hard, especially the endgame action sequences, which can't be beaten without deep reflexes.