Tokyo Dark

Published on PC by Square-Enix, Tokyo Dark is a horror adventure developed by Japanese Cherrymochi. The title is a part of Square Enix Collective, a programme which supports independent developers. Also, the title is a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Plot

The story of Tokyo Dark refers to the urban legend popular in the capital city of Japan. It says that if anyone crosses the door in Tokyo’s sewer system, never comes back to life. The main heroine of the game is Ayami Ito – a detective whose partner died in unclear circumstances. The protagonist conducts an investigation, but things become complicated – she has to face her past demons, and due to deteriorating mental condition, she experiences nightmares and hallucinations.

The narration is strongly inspired by the visual novel genre – the story takes the form of texts and static 2D pictures displaying the characters involved in the affair. The non-linear plot leads to one of eleven endings, depending on the player’s choices.

Mechanics

Tokyo Dark for PC features the side-view. Exploration, chatting with NPCs, collecting useful items, and solving more or less difficult puzzles play the key roles of the game. There is a number of diverse locations – starting with dark corners of the titular city, a metro system, picturesque temples, and ending with a psychiatric hospital.

The environment offers a multitude of interactive elements, and in order to push the action forward, you need to draw conclusions based on followed leads. Importantly, from time to time, the player needs to take important decisions, sometimes while having only seconds to do so. The path you follow shapes the attributes and the nature of detective Ito, along with the way she is treated by NPCs.

Technical aspects

The 2D visuals of Tokyo Dark employ the anime style. The gloomy atmosphere is intensified by the soundtrack composed by Matt “Bison” Steed, the leader of the trash metal band called Reign of Fury.

Last updated on 21 March 2017