In case you missed it, the spy platform Eyes in the Dark: The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom was launched last week. The exposure of the game caught my eye thanks to the prominent art direction and its unique gameplay. I spent the last two days battling the dark as Victoria Bloom, an early young girl searching for her ancestral home for her missing aunt after being conquered by shadow monsters. Armed with a powerful flashlight, you will fight the living darkness in an ever-changing mansion, steeped in mystery and secrets.
I enjoy the game, but it took longer than I would like to get used to its strange control program. Eyes in the Dark plays like a twin stick shooter, with players using the left stick for movement and the right stick to aim their automatically striking flashlight beam. When the thumbs are engaged, the jump is on the right trigger. The left trigger fires a slingshot slingshot, and hitting the left bumper performs evasion.
This is an unconventional setting that feels like patting my head and rubbing my stomach, mainly because I am conditioned to press a face button, i.e. A, to jump. However, this is probably the best approach, given how the intention works, but expect to feel like you are grabbing the controller while you skip awkwardly over stages in the first few runs. Even after settling into things, I still have moments of wanting to treat the jump button like I turn on the flashlight, making me jump anywhere like an idiot.
The navigation and progress of Eyes in the Dark reminds me of the early years of A serpentine-like renaissance, like The Binding of Issac or, for a deeper cut, Our Darker Purpose. Players traverse parts of the house, such as the foyer, attic or garden, each of which contains a rough maze of shops, upgrade rooms and a boss battle, which provides a key to opening the next area. Victory over enemies rewards Sparks, a coin used to upgrade the flashlight, slingshot and maneuverability. These improvements are reset after each run; Purchasing regular upgrades requires spending knowledge, a resource accumulated after clearing an area, based on your achievements and performance.
If you’ve played roguelike in the last decade, Eyes in the Dark is pretty simple, making it easy to jump into but also more repetitive. Fighting those bosses and reactivating the small areas lose their luster after a few hours, and I have already seen recurring instances of randomly arranged rooms. However, I’m still opening parts of the mansion, so I did not see any location that the game has to offer. Fortunately, Eyes in the Dark is easy on the eyes with a charming black-and-white art style that is sharp despite its limited colors. The chiptune soundtrack, with an upbeat arcade vibe, feels surprisingly appropriate given the Victorian-inspired backdrop.
In a typical rugal way, swinging the flashlight to burn monsters and clear mists of darkness feels solid but limited at first. The business grows as you gain more upgrades. For example, placing the flashlight in different bulbs changes the nature of its output. So far, I have equipped bulbs that will produce a spot-like beam that slows down incoming bullets, one that focuses the beam like a light sword, and in a similar tone, one that emits light at the opposite end to make it a dart. Maul-style two-blade flashlight. In a game that makes imaginary use of a flashlight, I almost feel bad for saying that my favorite light bulb so far is one that quickly fires lightballs like a machine gun. But I love the whip bulb, and something in its behavior vaguely reminds me of Cave Story’s main weapon. it’s a compliment.
Your slingshot serves as a limited-use projectile weapon that leverages illuminated projectiles that vary depending on what you are equipping. It’s a useful backup for crowd control, and my favorites include cherry bombs that undermine targets and firecrackers that explode into smaller bullets. Traffic upgrades include the handy double jump forever, boots that allow you to slow down and navigate your descent (another good one), and more general amateurs love increased speed.
Opening more upgrade slots to carry multiple upgrades can turn Victoria into a fun killer that turns off shadows, which is why I’m upset she still lost everything after finishing the first episode of the game. I guess that will be the case in every new episode, which makes me fear that I have to start over and over again from scratch after working so hard to put together my ideal abilities.
Despite these shortcomings, I still have a hard time putting Eyes in the Dark. It has an old-school arcade charm in its design, and I felt the undeniable urge to start running after running, even if it means enduring the slow rise of ability again. Sure, these games are my bread and butter, but I enjoy the creative approach to fighting. Although it may be relatively simple, avoiding shadow spots in art and skillfully removing monsters with my light feels satisfying, and the challenge has enough bite to make the action fascinating. I plan to stick with it and I could see myself committing until I finally find the sleepy uncle in the shadow of Victoria.
Give Eye in the Dark a look if you’re in between big and itchy games for a solid roglite experience. Unfortunately, the game is only available for PC (both Steam and Epic Store). Eyes in the Dark will rock on the Switch, especially, so Steam Deck owners will do well to check if it can be played on the device. I will continue to travel in the meantime and look forward to seeing if Victoria’s journey shines brighter.