'Dark Meadow' Puts You At The Center Of A Haunting Tale

Dark Meadow by Phosphor Games Studio, LLC is an enticing first person horror mystery game with gorgers graphics rendered by Epic Games’ Unreal 3 technology. The game provides an exhilarating yet haunting experience exploring the dilapidated Montclaire Hospital and interacting with its inhabitants, many who mean you harm. Dark Meadow puts you at the center of a haunting tale, one so remarkably scary that you might be tempted to sell your soul to escape it. Dark Meadow begins with your character waking up in a broken down room in a hospital with a man in a wheelchair. The two of you form a pact to help each other escape from the abandoned hospital before he wheels off muttering a warning about a witch (there is a witch, and yes, be afraid). He comes back as a disembodied voice over intercom speakers available in certain areas of the hospital. The majority of the game is spent exploring the different floors in the hospital gathering gems, bags of gold, weapons and newspaper scraps outlining the dark history of Montclaire Hospital and Dark Meadow. In-game movements are fixed with your character going from point to point while panning the camera around. When not exploring, you’re fighting off monsters lurking in the dark shadowy hallways. Never fear, you don’t die in the game but when you lose a battle to a monster, the screen becomes red and you will reawaken in a hospital bed with the faint smell of eau de toilet. Choosing to reawaken instead of going to the main menu after losing a fight maintains the current level, experience and any weapons or items collected. A great mechanic Phosphor Games added to offset the potential boredom of retracing hallways after dying is respawning gold and gems in each area coupled with the evolving witty, yet dark, humor of your nameless friend. I’ve died over five times (don’t judge me till you’ve fought the witch) and every time I reawaken new dialogue is supplied commenting on different aspects of the game.

The combat dynamics are a bit hack ‘n’ slash using gesture based controls. The game arms you with a crossbow and some form of short sword. Long range weapons provide time for you to get in a few head shots to wound your enemy while staying at a safe distance. Most monsters have a pattern to their attacks that you can use to your advantage. When a monster is close, you can either dodge or block and then wait for the top screen to let you know when it’s safe to finger swipe the screen for combos. Paying attention to when its safe to go on the offensive is particularly important when fighting higher level monsters or the witch, who will use fake out maneuvers to take you down. Weapons are accumulated by finding or purchasing them.

After every encounter a Combat Summary page appears tallying up experience, gold, combat level and any item gained from the fight. One minor complaint is this page breaks the eerie trance the game has so carefully built. My recommendation is to integrate it into Player Vitals and Equipment menus instead.

The Unreal Engine really brings the artwork of Dark Meadows to life. It’s a darkly beautiful atmosphere of contrasting sunlit rooms with peeks through broken windows of a beautiful meadow outside. The hallways are dark and grimy littered with decomposing items of the past. Even the creatures trying to eat you are a treat to look at given the extraordinary creative detail put into their creation. Dark Meadow stands out among other iOS games because of its stellar storyline, brilliant graphics, dark humor and immersive experience. Apps like Dark Meadow are proof positive of the high potential iOS games can achieve. Priced at $5.99 the app is worth every penny as you work to unravel this Gothic story tale. AppPicker Rating: 5 / 5 Star Pick It Up in the App Store: Dark Meadow Other apps by Phosphor Games

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1og1bg0FwI