The Dark One

Stab my back and I’ll stab yours, I suppose. Betrayal (by Fieldmedic) is a very vertical mission, starting with a desperate ascent out of a mountain prison before sending the player up a haunted tower. Sadly, the end result is a bit clunky. Our hero begins locked up in a Builder prison courtesy of a backstab. As he’s resigned to being stuck there, however, a massive earthquake strikes, destroying part of the prison and apparently turning the Builders into haunts, as well as giving out hero a chance to escape. This early part shows the general frustration I have with Fieldmedic’s missions: The slow creeping through a foggy and recently wrecked and haunted mountain prison is exciting, and the creator does a good job of making the player feel helpless and vulnerable. But the mantaling and tight patrol routes result in the player having little room for error, creating a fair bit of irritation. Other little irritating bits like that pepper the level, making it hard to get immersed in the atmosphere at time. One example is a sin that Inn Business fell too: making ordinary items count as loot even though they aren’t counted as loot in most missions. Other than that and some irritatingly placed wine bottles, the loot is clear, but backtracking is difficult and often tedious. My main gripe is a poorly placed priest at the end, who stands on a staircase facing a room and never budges. You don’t have a blackjack, but if you don’t find one of two gas arrows (which are waaaay before this point), tough luck, hope you don’t mind the knock to your stealth score. The mission has this vague lack of direction to it, with the path in theory being clear but the actual route being muddled. It’s annoyed, because the mission does have some good bits, such as getting into a locked room near the top of the tower. Not hard, but I haven’t seen this method in The Dark Mod. All in all, a frustrating mission with some good ideas and atmosphere. If you can’t deal with the player unfriendliness, Not Recommended.

Wow, I've been falling behind again. I apologize, life has been busy. Just one more, then we’ll do someone else besides Jesps, I promise! The second of the Selis Woderose series, Rake-Off, presumes that you found that dang map from the first mission. The map leads our hero to an isolated island, home of Francis Rake III, the latest in the Rake family, but lord of a crumbling, snowbound estate. Don’t worry though, he’s a jerk and worth stealing from. This was made for a seasons contest, and this mission has a pretty large “winter” theme going through it, with snow-covered landscapes and a crumbling estate filled with snow. In some ways it reminds me of The Crown of Penitence and the rundown estate there, but here it’s shown far more successfully and naturally. The main gripe about the layout I have is that, compared to Flakebridge, it’s far smaller, though without the linearity in some earlier missions. Difficulty-wise, it’s easy enough. Once again, while there are plenty of guards running around, it’s usually simple to work your way around them, or just bash them over the head, barring a couple of tricky torch-wielding guards. The loot is mostly in plain sight this time around, barring a hidden room which requires a basic but interesting puzzle to access. It’s very simple, but to my knowledge has never been done in The Dark Mod. Also of note are the Easter Eggs scattered around the mission. As one commenter pointed out, they’re a little too “gamey” and get very little acknowledgement in the mission itself, but tracking them down is fun, if tricky. Although there seems to be a bug in which taking nine completes the objective on Expert, even though you’re supposed to get ten. There also a puzzle to solve in the basement, but a tad too easy, and I find it doubtful that no one in the place figured it out before our hero got there. All in all, while it isn’t as good as Flakebridge, it’s still a fun and atmospheric mission. Recommended.

Flakebridge Monastery (by Jesps) is, in contrast to the previous missions, a larger, more expansive one. Our hero, Selis Woderose isn’t after something as mundane as money, but a collection of songs from a famous musician who’s one of many who have vanished in the titular monastery. Oh, but the money is good too. As stated, this mission from the small, linear/semi-linear style we;ve seen in favor of giving the player access to a large, realistic building. Part of the enjoyment, for me anyway, comes from creeping around this huge place, digging out secrets and loot. Difficulty-wise, it’s not really hard. As you might have guessed, the place is infested with the undead, but they only tend to be in large areas and the occasional connecting hallway, so a bit of waiting will get the player though much of the mission, barring a few areas with plenty of haunts and light hanging around. In fact, there’s almost not enough light; you can crouch in most any room and you’ll be hidden. Loot-wise, it’s simple enough. Most of the loot isn’t hidden, and you can actually get enough to complete the mission without having to set foot into what’s meant to be the endgame area, which I thought was odd. The creator clearly noticed this, since the objective that takes you there is optional in the first place, but still. The loot that is hidden in that area though, it hidden well and tricky to get at even when you know it’s there, due to a nearby haunt. The mission is a horror-lite one, with a few creepy moments here and there (mainly around the guest wing), but nothing that will have you looking under your bed at night. Some of them (such as a certain portrait in an exorcist's room) are almost a little cheesy. But the atmosphere of the rest of place keeps it going, and the story is simple and good. All in all, a fun and large mission. Recommended.

More Jesps! Mad’s Mountain was made for a vertical contest mission, which is obvious from the premise: A gang has stolen a valuable painting, and Not-Garrett’s client would like to claim it for himself, sending him to ascend the gang’s mountain hideout to claim it. I admit to a bit of weakness for vertical missions, and this mission delivers. Like the previous mission, it’s a short and fun romp through the caverns. It’s slightly less linear as well, though more in the sense that there are multiple ways to your destination they all end up in much the same place. The atmosphere and storytelling, while minor, are well-done,with hints about loot and some jokes scattered about, along with some mildly creepy implications (such as what I’ve dubbed the “Epilepsy Room”). The loot is fairly placed, though backtracking for missed pieces would be a pain. All in all, a fun, short vertical mission. No real complaints. Recommended.

For the record, this was also made by Jesps. Pandora’s Box is another short mission, but with added difficulty and an interesting local: an airship, which our brave hero has infiltrated to find the titular box and swap it with a fake. The airship idea is interesting, and Jesps incorporates some interesting uses of technology, such as makeshift “spotlights” on the deck of the ship. The layout is linear, but that’s the only real gripe. Difficulty-wise, it’s tricky. The highest difficulties forbid you from even been seen, much less killing or knocking out. The guards don’t choke you, but moving around the well-lit and exposed deck is tricky, especially because while you get the wind howling in your ears, the guards can hear you perfectly well. But that’s a minor hurdle. The loot is sparse and slightly tricky to find, not helped by the guards, but careful searching will turn it up. On the whole, this is a fun, slightly challenging mission. Recommended, especially if you want something short.

So, now it’s time for Jesps From what I understand, The Crown of Penitence was one of the first missions made for The Dark Mod. It’s interesting as a historical curiosity, but as a mission it’s somewhat lacking. The premise is simple, as Not-Garrett bravely infiltrates the home of a declining nobel to snatch his new crown. The mansion layout is simple enough and easy to navigate, which is good because the map you get is a tad useless. The mission does do a good job at giving the impression that the house is one in financial straits and falling apart, but a few more visual cues would have been appreciated. Difficulty-wise, it’s fairly easy, especially if you’re willing to inflict head trauma on the guards, since the early rooms are a convenient body disposal area. Most of the loot is in the open, and hitting the goal isn’t hard. All in all it’s a simple, to-the-point mission. First-time players will like it, but more experienced ones might find it too simple. ------- And now, a bonus! For an Unusual Gameplay contest Jesps made The Builder’s Blocks, which I can confirm is unusual gameplay. Because it’s literally Tetris. In The Dark Mod. Sadly, I was never a big fan of Tetris, and the controls; clicking on arrows to move your pieces, is a bit too clunky for me. But it’s certainly unusual, and I expect that some more technically minded person might be interested in seeing how it works. But it’s not my thing.

Of note: This is a mission translated from Polish, I beleive! Which is neat. Crystal Grave (by ERH+ apparently with help from Bikerdude, at least in translation) is a mission that sets itself in a partially flooded fort. Not-Garrett has set out there to get his hands on some pure crystal, but gets shipwrecked nearby. Now he has to slip inside the fort, find the crystals, get some food and water for the long trek home, and open the gates to get out. This mission has a well-executed horror atmosphere, carried through the decrepit layout of the fort and interesting bits of atmosphere, such as quiet voices in certain locations, or the sound of Not-Garrett choking on the air in a room of bodies. Special note goes to the pseudo-lab in the depths of the fort, well-hidden and creepy. It’s well-done, but some sound effects for opening doors and windows are different than they are in ordinary missions, which could throw some people off. As expected, the fort is filled with haunts, leaving the player ducking through halls trying to stay a step ahead, though there is a pretty good balance: you can run into haunts in almost any room, but not in every room. Difficulty-wise, the main issue is finding the needed objects and trying to find your way around the place. The needed food isn’t obvious, and not easy to find. The thread had people asking for help, and while I found the food quickly, I admit there was a fair bit of luck involved. The fort also has a semi-confusing layout and in spite of the claim of the title screen the map is dang near useless. Keys are plentiful, but there are no real hints about what key goes to what door or chest. On a more technical complaint, there’s one door in a main room that seems to cause every haunt that gets close to have a small mental breakdown. All in all, this is a fun, but flawed mission, with most of the entertainment coming from the creativity, but the elements of hunting for small non-obvious objects might annoy players. Recommended, with caveats.

Lockdown : Part 1: The Key Out of Here (by GameDevGoro with help from Bikerdude) is part one of a series that never happened, as far I know. The premise is simple: Not-Garrett needs some cash to pay for some new equipment, but there’s a lockdown in progress due to bandit attacks. Thankfully, our hero might have a tip about the hideout of a bandit leader…. When I saw this mission on the download screen it said it was 3 MB, so I thought it would be a quick and small mission. Turns out it was a bit bigger, but it’s still a small city mission, though more complex than I thought. My second playthrough showed that the mission was a little straightforward than I thought, but there’s still a fair bit of ducking through houses and windows, scooping loot as you go. The main gripe I have is an area of the city that, as far as I know, can only be accessed by a window, and if you happen to end up there without rope arrows/didn’t set things up properly, you’re stuck. Lootwise, it’s pretty simple. On Expert, at least, just completing the objectives will get you most of the loot goal, and the rest is easy to find. There aren’t many diabolical hiding places, but a fair bit of exploration is needed to find it. There’s a basic enough story connecting everything, telling the tale of a hidden stash of loot which has a surprise or two for those who will look for it. The higher difficulties restrain your knockouts, but it’s mostly easy enough to evade the guards. The only bit that annoys me is a building near the beginning that is near impossible to get into without alerting someone, and there’s a fair bit of loot in there. All in all, a fun little mission. Recommended.

I seem to have issues with any mission involving rifts or ravines, considering how this is the second mission with that theme that I got frustrated with. The Ravine (by Spoonman) is a very...atypical mission. This time, Not-Garratt is being sent down into the titular ravine on a round of treasure hunting. Many years back, Bluemoon Prison had a mining facility where prisoners were put to work mining. All well and good, until a revolt forced the place to be sealed up, with the survivors inside. One of the acolytes from that time left a trophy down there, and now that there’s been a new entrance to the ravine discovered, our hero is expected to go down there at get it. The first thing that will strike you is that this mission is dark. Very dark. This intentional. The next thing that will strike you is that this place is tall and confusing. The Ravine will probably remind old-school Thief players of The Sword, with it’s odd and confusing layout. It isn’t all that big, really, but constantly overlaps and there are very few landmarks to help you get your bearings. It’s suitably creepy, mainly thanks to the well done sound. There are also a few interior locations which jack up the maze aspects and gives you more enemies to deal with. This is a harder mission than normal. The loot isn’t exactly hidden but the nature of the level makes it a pain to find at times, though thankfully there is a margin of error allowed. I do feel that the later portions of the mission throw a few too many enemies your way, and the layout and sound make it very hard to pinpoint where they are and how many you have left. It’s a clever use of layout and sound and is part of the point, but my first playthrough drove me to the brink of frustration. All in all, this is an unusual outing. Fans of the classic mansion heist may not enjoy it, but those who like a touch of the bizarre in their mission will greatly enjoy it. Recommended.

Also playing the latest version (as far as I know) and I got the same glitch.

I had the same issue with the paper, I'm not sure what causes it either. As for the blackjack...

Wow, I've been behind. I've been busy the last month or so and haven't really played many missions, so I've been behind on my reviewing. Let me throw a bone, at least: Briarwood Manor (by NeonsStyle) has more production values than a normal Dark Mod mission, as shown by the opening cutscene and voice over, which give the plot: Our hero has been hired to deal with the head of Merchant’s Guild Morgan Crowley, a complete jerk who everyone wants to stab for one reason or another. Sadly, most of the assassins are in his pocket, forcing our hero to step in himself. He can’t kill Crowley himself, since that would leave links back to the clients, so he has to arrange it himself. And steal a crown. The manor is quite well-designed and logical, with little touches like the grimy servant and guard wings contrasting with the more opulent family wing. The whole place has a feeling of a rural manor with hints of decadence lurking in the wings, and I admit I like that sort of touch in a mission. When this was first uploaded, the outside had a risk of causing some grinding, but that's been fixed in recent updates. There were a few other bugs, such as scripted events breaking, when I first played, but my replay seemed to show that they had been ironed out, barring deliberate and out of your way attempts to break it. Difficulty-wise, it’s fair. You start out with little, not even a blackjack, but plenty can be found in the manor itself. I completely missed most of this on my first run, and found the results difficult, but not overly unfair, barring an opening hallway with guards going in and out. The loot is mostly in plain sight, and easy to get, but some of it is tricky to get at if you’re trying to avoid knock-outs. There’s one tricky bit with a secret passage that might stick some players. There’s more of a story to this than in most missions, and some have murmured about the subject matter. It’s handled about as tastefully as it could, and I personally didn’t have much of an issue. I was more annoyed at how one dimensionally evil Crowley is; I don’t mind “evil for evil’s sake” villains, but they should at least be entertaining. The voice acting during the climactic scene is also a tad weak, the actor for Corbin didn’t do a good job of expressing genuine sympathy, in my mind. Good job on the intro, however. All in all, a pretty solid mission, and the creator’s work in fixing bugs and glitches is worth applauding. Recommended.

If I recall correctly... That should be where those two pieces are, though I could be wrong.

I was waiting to see if I needed to mess with the newest version of DR/trying to get slightly less busy before I dove back into it.

Man, took a bit to get to this. A New Job (by Springheel) is the first mission of the official Dark Mod campaign which inverts normal trilogy creep by being planned for three and then becoming two (for now anyway). Our hero, Corbin, has been hired by a client for an unknown job, and while on the way to the meeting, decides to slip into a nearby inn and swipe some rubies belonging to a nobleman. A New Job is designed for newer players to The Dark Mod, and is also an exercise in showing off those sweet sweet new models and textures. To the mission’s credit, they look quite well, looking sufficiently grimy and claustrophobic to give the impression that the player is crawling around the back alleys of the city. Little touches fill the mission, such as an NPC interacting with a facut to get water. It sounds petty, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in this game. Little touches of worldbuilding and short puzzles are also well done. The mission isn’t overly hard, with even the loot goal being optional. Considering how some of it is tucked out of the way, this is a good thing, giving players a chance to be challenged without being jammed. I played on the highest difficulty, so I didn’t get much in the way of help, but I’m informed that lower difficulties provide hints to help the newbies along, which is appreciated. All in all, a short, satisfying introduction. Recommended. ------ And now, a bonus! The Tears of St. Lucia, which I reviewed way back when, has gotten an update for the new release, but I found myself mildly disappointed. It’s mainly a graphic overhaul, which looks quite good and looks like it was done by the same guy who did Lords and Legacy. I admit, I wished that a little bit more had been added to the mission. There were some additions on higher levels, such as a few more guards and spiders, as well as an alternate route via an outside duct. It’s also worth noting that on the easiest difficulty, you can get through the front gate, which you couldn’t in the original. A hint about those blasted water arrows has also been clarified on all difficulties. Most of my complaints come from the fact that I’ve played it before and wished for something new, but in all honestly it’s still a very solid and worthwhile mission, and new players will definitely enjoy it. Older ones who don’t have the expectation of something brand new will also enjoy.

Part three of Vengeance for a Thief is live. The Art of Revenge takes place a year after part two, and our hero has returned to Bridgeport to take some sweet sweet vengeance against the one who set him up by re-stealing the Angel’s Tear and a valuable painting donated to a museum by the backstabber. This is probably the most balanced mission in the VfaT series. It starts out as a small city mission before moving into the museum for the actual heist. The difficulty is balanced, with a fair few guards patrolling but giving you the room to maneuver around them, and making the ambient lighting far less strong outside (though the same can’t be said for the inside, lighting-wise). The loot goal is also more relaxed, to the point where you don’t even have to take any from the display cases lying around to get to it...which is good, because the guards will notice if any are missing. The mission also assigns you to track down five golden lions belonging to the Order of the Golden Lion. This is optional, but isn’t too hard if one is willing to explore a bit. The mission continues the trend of gigantic buildings, though a little more controlled than in part two, with most of the massive size being saved for the museum itself. It makes the place look very impressive, though it can make guards hard to see from across the room. The interior is nice and varied, with multiple exhibits to search through. One thing that I liked about this mission was being able to take certain arrows from one exhibit to use, which I only found out you can do in my second playthrough. On the whole, this is a good conclusion to the VfaT series. Recommended.

And now for part two of Vengeance for a Thief: A Pawn in the Game. Which was created first. When we last left our hero, he had just stolen the Angel’s Tear and was making a clean getaway, but it turns out he was instantly set upon by the City Watch and arrested. Our humble hero, realizing that there’s no way a Master Thief(™) like him could mess up, decides that he’s been set-up and aims to break out, find out what happened, and dig up a little more info on the mysterious “Order of the Golden Lion.” This is a much better mission than its predecessor, if just because the environments look different. You start in the City Watch building, and after getting your stuff and getting out, have to hit the city streets. Where Taffsalot shines is in the scale of the buildings you wander around, with good, appropriate music, especially in a local chapel. It’s all quite impressive, and makes up for the straightforwardness of the mission. Difficulty-wise, it’s fair. There are quite a few guards walking the halls and streets, but they can be maneuvered around, with the difficulty mostly coming from the strong ambient light that makes it suprisingly easy to be spotted. The main problem comes from remembering that the guards can see the rope arrows that you will end up scattering all over the place. I do have to comment a bit on the coincidence that some of the random houses you end up breaking into have important plot information. The loot goal is also fair, with you having to get a vast majority of it but most being in plain sight. All in all, this is much better effort that it’s predessor/created-later prequel. Recommended.

Time for a min-campaign, of sorts. The odd thing about SirTaffsalot’s Vengance for a Thief campaign is that part one was the last to be created, kinda like Star Wars only not. The Angel’s Tear, our intro, is a basic mansion mission. A merchant is in possession of a valuable jewel, go steal it. The jewel is protected by a security system, forcing your to track down three keys to get your hands on the jewel. The main problem I have with this mission is that I feel like I’m suffering from hallway hypnosis. The mansion is very sameish with very little to differentiate one hallway from the next, resulting in one getting lost easy. There’s a lack of map, which makes navigation even more of a pain. Also of irritation is tracking down the lord’s wife, who has one of the keys you need. She walks at a snail's pace, and the large mansion size makes tracking her down a pain. The loot goal is fair, and while it does require you to get the vast majority of the level’s loot, most of it is in plain sight. As a bonus, the guards will actually notice when pieces are missing. All and all, I don’t feel as if I can recommend this. It reminds me of Lord Dufford’s or Deceptive Shadows, in that the good bits are buried under tedium. For what it’s worth, the other two missions in this series are much better.

I’m finally about done with my replays! Though I still have a few to go, such as SirTaffsalot’s Let Sleeping Thieves Lie. Jack Blackthorn used to be the feared leader of the Unseen Thieves guild. Used to be, because our hero put an arrow in his heart. However, it seems that Jack has come back from the dead, forcing our hero to investigate. And steal a dagger, just for good measure. This is a rather small city mission, mostly taking place on one street, with a divergence into the sewers to slip into the Unseen Thieves’ hideout and the tombs beneath the chapel. It’s not visually stunning, barring the outside of the chapel, which is appropriately massive. I heard complaints that the sewer area didn’t look that good, but I felt it was fine, if a little basic. I enjoyed the more atypical story for the mission, as well as a creative objective you get after your sewer travels. The main gripe I have is with the loot goal, as you have to get the vast majority of the level’s loot for expert, and a few pieces are quite small and hard to notice. That’s a bit of a petty complaint, I admit, but it brought my playthrough to a screeching halt. All in all, a decent, but slightly underdone mission. Recommended, but with caveats.

There’s an Indiana Jones joke, just on the tip of my tongue…. Thief’s Den 2: The Chalice of Kings, is Fidcal’s next round in the Thief's Den series. This time, Not-Garrett is after a tomb robber who shamelessly stole some valuable artifacts before our hero could get at them, the selfish pest. Now, the artifacts; a crown, a death mask, and a chalice, must be stolen. The mission is obviously larger than it’s predecessor, and more of a straightforward mansion mission. It looks quite good, with nice dark textures. The mansion layout is plausible, which I liked. I admit, the mission is a bit on the liner side, especially when it comes to the path to getting the chalice. I don’t have much of a problem with that, but I’m aware that some frown on that. Still, I enjoyed it. It reminds me of Briarwood Cathedral (which I reviews back in the days of old), in that there’s nothing to really set it apart aside from being very solidly done. I supposes I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoy room escape games: the idea of starting out confined and slowly but surely solving puzzles and clearing your way though. Or it’s just good. Recommended.

Now we’re hitting some classics. Thief's Den might not have been the first mission ever made for The Dark Mod, but as far as I'm aware, it’s up there. The mission was made by Fidcal, but Bikerdude apparently tweaked it, to what extent I’m not sure. The plot is simple: Our fair-play loving hero has stolen a scepter for a certain Mr. Creep, but got backstabbed, as should have been obvious by the name. Now Not-Garrett intends to slip into Creep's hideout and steal the scepter and anything not nailed down. I know that Bikerdude worked his magic on this mission after release, but if what we have is anything like the mission was before then it’s quite impressive. It’s a short mission, but there’s a fair bit of parkour and knowledge of the mission as a 3D space, if that makes sense. The loot is well-hidden/difficult to get to in some places (curse that vase), and there’s a bit of searching that needs to be done to complete the objectives. All in all, it’s a pretty good intro to The Dark Mod, even if it seems painfully short nowadays. Recommended.

This mission was made by Railgun, but Springheel did the story. He did a dang fine job of it too. The Builder’s Influence moves the action to the city of Breaden, where our hero is hiding from the law and assisting a group of smugglers. Sadly, the Inquisition, which no one expected, has come to town and is bringing down the hammer on the local criminal scum, including certain members of City Hall….much to the detriment of the smugglers, as they have a bribed man on the inside who’s been fudging tax records for them, forcing Not-Garrett to slip in and steal them. Layout wise, it’s quite good, not fancy, but giving off the vibe of a government building. There are a few alternate routes around the place, which is appreciated. The guard presence is heavy, but doable to get around, which good, as the highest difficulty forbids knockouts. The only real trouble spot is a set of offices facing each other in a hallway which require pretty good timing to duck between or out of. Where the mission shines is in the story: There are quite a few readables lying about to tell you about the progress of the Inquisition and the resulting witch hunt. Personally, all of this was my favorite part of the mission, not only interesting but giving you tips to proceed on in the mission. Though I do question the wisdom of leaving such incriminating notes on one’s desk. All in all, a solid mission with good storytelling. Recommended.

I'm with Sotha on this one. I loved this mission for what it was doing, but I was in mild screaming rage by the end of it all so I can't say I liked it.

Trapped! By Railgun is a short prison break mission. Our fair-play loving hero is hired to infiltrate a hideout of a gang of thieves, but he bungles the job and gets himself knocked out. Now, he must escape, which is pretty easy considering how shoddy the construction is. The mission is more stealth focused, as your equipment is hidden deeper in the hideout. You can find some arrows early on (and in my case resulted in a first playthrough with lots of bodies), but your blackjack is only found near the end. The mission looks good, giving the impression of being some long abandoned building turned into a makeshift hideout. The loot goal is fair, with most being in plain sight. All in all, a solid, if short mission. Recommended.

Just finished a day or so ago, some brief thoughts.