With Christmas fast approaching, we’ve all spent too much money and we’re fed up with buying things. However, there is always room for a little treat. Moreover, whenever I hear the words “free upgrade”, I smile. Consequently, developer Acid Wizard Studio and publisher Crunching Koalas want to treat you this festive season. As such, they have announced the release of Darkwood for the Xbox Series X/S.
This survival horror title is free to upgrade for anyone with the original Xbox One title. However, if, like me, you don’t own it at all, you can pick it up for around £13. Now, that is extremely good value for a title that has consistently been recommended by reviewers on the Metacritic website. Furthermore, this latest update takes full advantage of the Xbox Series X and you’ll be thrilled by the excellent gameplay and the lack of clichéd action.
What is Darkwood about?
Craft weapons, prepare traps, fortify hideouts—players explore and scavenge the eerie forests of the Soviet Bloc by day, then hunker down in their hideout at night. With nightmarish forces corrupting the woods, waiting—and praying—for the sun to come up the next morning.
The world of Darkwood is procedurally generated, the locations and events will vary for each playthrough and player. There’s no linear path in these woods, and each decision will impact the players and the inhabitants of Darkwood.
Key game features.
- Horror without jump scares: Darkwood is an atmospheric, psychological horror that creates a feeling of tension without the usual horror tricks. No creaking doors here!
- Day and night cycle: explore the world during the day and try to survive the night by hiding from evil forces in your shelter.
- Randomly generated map and events: the world will not change during your adventure with Darkwood, but it will vary for each playthrough and each player.
- Crafting: scavenge for materials to create weapons, traps, health potions, or your hideout upgrades.
- Skills and perks: learn new powers by extracting a strange essence from mutated fauna and flora and injecting it into your bloodstream.
- No hand-holding: test your skills and figure things out on your own!
- Impactful decisions: decide on the world of Darkwood, its inhabitants, and the story you experience.
Is it worth it?
I have yet to install my copy, but watch this space for my review. However, if other reviewers’ experiences are to go by, this is well worth your time. Moreover, Xbox players can enjoy this dank and seedy world with native 4k resolution. That’s not all, as your original Xbox save file will be imported without issue.
If you fancy a break away from the holly jolly energy of Christmas, why not give this a try? If this article has piqued your interest, click each link for more information.
- Xbox. (Rating: PEGI 18 Extreme Violence, Strong Language Release date: 17/05/2019 Price: £12.99)
- PlayStation. (Rating: PEGI 18 Language, Violence Release date: 14/05/2019 Price: £11.99)
- Nintendo Switch. (Rating: PEGI 18 Release date: 16/05/2019 Price: £12.99 or £6.49 until 23:59 December 29th 2022)
- PC. (Rating: n/a Release date: 17/08/2017 Price: £11.99 or £3.59 until 23:59 January 5th 2023)
(More information on Crunching Koalas can be found here!)
