Last Half of Darkness is a point and click adventure horror video game franchise that began in 1989 with the DOS "early horror adventure"[1] video game Last Half of Darkness developed by SoftLab Laboratories.[2]
| Last Half of Darkness | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, horror |
| First release | Last Half of Darkness 1989 |
| Latest release | Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon 2011 |
Other games in the series include: Last Half of Darkness II (1992), Last Half of Darkness III (1993), Last Half of Darkness (2000), Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants (2005), Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye (2007), Tomb of Zojir: Last Half of Darkness (2009), and Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon (2011). The final game was published by Iceberg Interactive.[3]
Gaming Lives said that the franchise "has many fans and offers traditional horror adventure gaming with some innovative 'hands-on' puzzle features".[4]
Production
editThe 2000 game Last Half of Darkness was a remake that combined the first three games in the franchise.[5]
Gameplay
editThe franchise is based around adventure game mechanics; for example the first entry allowed the player to manipulate items using four verbs: Move, Examine, Take and Operate. It is very rare in the franchise for the player to interact with other human characters.[6]
Plot
editConsisting of an investigative[7] and horror-themed series of plots, the games are based inside locations such as a haunted mansion where cases must be solved.
Critical reception
edit- Last Half of Darkness received a 3/5 from Abandonia.[8] MyAbandonWare deemed it "one of the most obscure horror games ever made".[9] According to DocCollection, the game acquired a cult following.[10]
- Last Half of Darkness II received a 2/5 from Abandonia.[8]
- Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants received a B+ from GameBomers,[11] and 4/5 stars from Metzomagic.[12]
- Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye received 90/100 from AdventureLantern[13] and 4/5 stars from Metzomagic.[14]
- Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir received a 6/10 from Gamer.nl.[15] DiehardGamerfan wrote that "the atmosphere is spectacular, the music is chilling, the game is creepy as hell and it features some really innovative puzzles".[16] AdventureLanterm gave it 4.5/5 stars[17] while AdventureGamers gave it 3.5/5 stars.[18]
- Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon received 3.5 stars from AdventureGamers,[19] and a B from GameBoomers.[20] Adventure Classic Gaming called it "absorbing, thrilling, and enjoyable".[21] Diehard Gamefan deemed it "solid, [and] mostly stable".[22] It received 5.5/10 from CapsuleComputers.[23]
References
edit- ^ Cobbett, Richard (9 August 2014). "Saturday Crapshoot: Haunted Casino". PC Gamer.
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness for DOS (1989) - MobyGames".
- ^ "Iceberg Interactive To Publish Latest Last Half Of Darkness Game - GamingLives".
- ^ "The Great GL 2011 Adventure Roundup - GamingLives".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness (Game) - Giant Bomb".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness Society of the Serpent Moon review for Windows". 5 July 2012.
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness returns in Society of the Serpent". 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Last Half of Darkness II, The".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness".
- ^ "Last Half Of Darkness - #1 Place To Download Last Half Of Darkness".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness review".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants Review by metzomagic.com".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Beyond The Spirit's Eye Review - Adventure Lantern".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye Review by metzomagic.com".
- ^ "Tomb of Zojir: Last Half of Darkness". gamer.nl. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
- ^ "Review: Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir (PC) - Diehard GameFAN".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir Review - Adventure Lantern".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir review - AdventureGamers.com". 26 October 2009.
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon review - AdventureGamers.com". 26 August 2011.
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon review".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon - Review - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums".
- ^ "Review: Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon (PC) - Diehard GameFAN".
- ^ "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon Review - Capsule Computers - Gaming & Entertainment News, Reviews, Interviews & Competitions". 28 July 2012.