Darkwood

In Darkwood, players face the terror of an unforgiving survival horror experience set in a procedurally generated, open world. As the protagonist, they navigate the eerie forests of a mysterious land trapped in the late 1980s Soviet Bloc, where a plague transforms victims into monsters. By day, players scavenge, craft, and fortify their hideout, while at night they fend off terrifying intruders. With no hand-holding, players must explore, survive, and make difficult choices that shape the narrative, leading to multiple endings influenced by their interactions with NPCs and the unfolding mystery of the forest's origins.

• Release date: 08-17-2017
• Developer: Acid Wizard Studio
• Publisher: Crunching Koalas
• Platforms: Google Stadia, Linux, MacOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Triggers for this game

Animals & Wildlife

• Arachnids

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Human Spiders are a giant mass of human corpses, wandering around the Swamp using their multiple limbs & attacking you on sight. They’re fragile but fast, able to close the gap on you if you try to run while looking away. They can also spawn new ones with reduced health if they throw a severed torso at the ground. They’re one of the few enemies in game to have a ranged attack, ripping off one of their limbs and throwing it at you.

  • Can't be avoided

• Birds

  Chickens, crows

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  There are livestock bodies strewn about the game world and the player character has the option to kill pigs and chickens. Crows will sometimes show up near corpses, flying away if you get close. Banshees are revealed to have a human head buried within their beaks whenever they scream at you.

  • Can't be avoided

• Dogs

  Enemy dogs

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — You cannot play through this game without being forced to kill enemy dogs. The Red Chompers are giant canine-shaped monsters who have a jaw that splits across their midsection of their bodies. Highly aggressive, they are dangerous enemies who are later revealed to be former humans who suffered advanced stages of the plague. Wild dogs are territorial and will attack you if you don’t keep your distance. Prologue — mortally wounded dog, with audible sounds of pain. The player is given the suggestion to ease it's suffering. Full Moon — A dangerous night event causes Dogs and Huge Dogs to spawn en masse near your hideout, complete with howling at night as well as unique music to showcase it’s begun. Avoidable — Towards the end of the first chapter of the game, depending on choices, you have to meet a character at his camp in the Old Woods. It is surrounded by dead and dying dogs audibly whimpering and you will probably have to kill a few just to get through to the camp.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

• Insects

  Multiple enemy types feature insects

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Centipedes — The Centipedes of the Swamp are giant mutated bugs that take over a human corpse by replacing the corpse’s head with their top portion plus one of the arms with their bottom. They will attack you if you wander near a hole with a centipede burrowed inside, or randomly as part of a night event where it burrows from underneath the Protagonist to ambush you. They are one of the few enemies in-game with a ranged attack, slinging rocks from a considerable distance in a spray pattern, and are fast as well as willing to tackle you, making it difficult to escape their wrath. Fortunately, despite their speed and range of attacks they’re rather fragile.

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Animals & Critters

  Pigs, livestock, elk

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  There are livestock bodies strewn about the game world and the player character has the option to kill pigs and chickens. Elk are territorial and will attack you if you don’t keep your distance.

  • Can't be avoided

• Mutated Animals

  A devastating plague turns humans and animals into violent abominations

  • Can't be avoided

• Parasites

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Centipedes of the Swamp are giant mutated bugs that take over a human corpse by replacing the corpse’s head with their top portion plus one of the arms with their bottom. They will attack you if you wander near a hole with a centipede burrowed inside, or randomly as part of a night event where it burrows from underneath the Protagonist to ambush you. They are one of the few enemies in-game with a ranged attack, slinging rocks from a considerable distance in a spray pattern, and are fast as well as willing to tackle you, making it difficult to escape their wrath. Fortunately, despite their speed and range of attacks they’re rather fragile.

  • Can't be avoided

• Wolves

  Wolfman

  • Can't be avoided

Crime

• Being Held Against Will

  • Can't be avoided

• Explosions & Bombs

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Gas Bottles release a poisonous cloud that chokes enemies to death — and can kill you as well if you're too close. If you throw a lit match or flare at the cloud, it will explode dealing heavy damage to anyone nearby it.

  • Can't be avoided

• Fights

  • Can't be avoided

• Guns & Shooting

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  While you can reload your guns before the magazine is empty, you will lose the old magazine — and its ammo.

  • Can't be avoided

• Home Invasion

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The game explores the fear of not being safe within your own home. Homes and shelters are supposed to provide comfort and safety, protecting oneself from the dangers of the outside world, whereas monsters have zero problems invading your shelter at night. In the Silent Woods, you may (rarely) catch Villagers wandering your hideout.

  • Can't be avoided

• Kidnapping

  • Can't be avoided

• Murder

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  You must murder a variety of NPCs and animals throughout the game. There are some characters who you can choose whether or not to murder, and doing so heavily impacts gameplay later on.

  • Can't be avoided

• Theft

  Looting is vital to the game

  • Can't be avoided

• Torture

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  You are tied to a chair and interrogated by the Doctor in the Prologue

  • Can't be avoided

Death & Loss

• Death of Child

  Multiple

  • Can't be avoided

• Death of Parent

  Multiple

  • Can't be avoided

• Death of Wild Animal

  • Can't be avoided

• Drowning

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Killing a Centipede while standing in a body of water will cause the mutated insect to drown instead of burrow to safety. Even if the plague mutated it into a stronger and bigger form, it’s still not strong enough to detach from its human corpse host quickly enough to avoid drowning, plus the corpse would add to the weight. Red Chompers will similarly drown if damaged enough to cause them to detach from their lower half, as they can't lift their heads high enough.

  • Is avoidable

Disturbing Sounds & Sound Design

• Distorted Music

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Eerie Noises

  • Can't be avoided

• Wet Sounds

  Squishing

  • Can't be avoided

Drugs & Alcohol

• Alcoholism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Bike Man

  • Can't be avoided

• Casual Drug Consumption

  The main way to get abilities is through injections

  • Can't be avoided

• Drug Addiction

  Depending on interpretation (nontraditional)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Your character no longer needs to eat, but craves red pulsating mushrooms found in the area

  • Can't be avoided

• Forced Drug Use

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  At least one nightmare (involving the Church Ruins in the Old Woods) ends up being an acid trip, causing insanity.

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Drugs & Alcohol Content

  Pills, alcohol, mushrooms, and other substances appear as items or in images. Some are generally used for crafting other items, while others are used for healing or to gain abilities.

  • Can't be avoided

Genocide

• Misc. Genocide

  You can take a 'genocidal' route, murdering every NPC possible

  • Is avoidable

Gore

• Animal Violence

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — You cannot play through this game without being forced to kill enemy dogs. There are livestock bodies strewn about the game world and the player character has the option to kill pigs and chickens. The Villagers within the Silent Forest have kept themselves alive by eating pigs from their last remaining sow, which they fed with plague-infected food and later revealed to be human corpses that were plague-infected since they had nothing else. As a result, while the Sow does give birth regularly to pigs, it has mutated into a giant abomination that is constantly squealing in pain and can only be fed while it’s being electrocuted. Prologue — mortally wounded dog, with audible sounds of pain. The player is given the suggestion to ease it's suffering. Avoidable — Towards the end of the first chapter of the game, depending on choices, you have to meet a character at his camp in the Old Woods. It is surrounded by dead and dying dogs audibly whimpering and you will probably have to kill a few just to get through to the camp.

  • Can't be avoided

• Blood

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Blood splatters appear onscreen as you take damage

  • Can't be avoided

• Body Horror

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — One of the main enemies is a human whose head splits in half. Most of the characters you meet are mutated humans, abominations, or walking corpses. Avoidable — One of the endings (Burn Them All ending) involves many people burning alive. Upon entering the large barn in the Old Woods you’ll find the Wolfman has made it his den, which is filled with stuffed human beings.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

• Cannibalism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Odd Meat comes from monsters that used to be humans.

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Gore

  Floor Gore

  • Can't be avoided

Hate & Discrimination

• Ableism

  & sanism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  A devastating plague turns humans and animals into violent, often 'insane' abominations. At least one nightmare (involving the Church Ruins in the Old Woods) ends up being an acid trip, causing temporary insanity.

  • Can't be avoided

• Appearance Discrimination

  • Can't be avoided

• Dehumanization & Objectification

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Wolfman calls you "meat" and "corpse", and degrades you in relation to him.

  • Can't be avoided

• Eugenics

  Euthanasia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Euthanasia is a commonly explored theme throughout the game, and some of the biggest choices you make involve whether to do the deed with beings afflicted by the Plague.

  • Can't be avoided

Horror Themes

• Aliens

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Obscure tidbits of lore that can be found in-game mention a “bright light” that fell to the Earth from the sky during the night of August 1975. It’s all but stated that this was the origin of “The Being” who would go on to warp the Darkwood forest into its current setting, revealing the entire game was a Cosmic Horror Story all along.

  • Can't be avoided

• Ghosts & Hauntings

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Several night events feature poltergeist activity, doing mischievous actions like opening a non-barricaded door or causing the furniture in a room to shake and move around.

  • Can't be avoided

• Monsters

  • Can't be avoided

• Possession

  • Can't be avoided

• Psychological Horror

  • Can't be avoided

Mental Health

• Hallucinations

  & nightmares

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  After injecting food serum, you will have visions of your past which quickly turn into nightmares. At least one nightmare (involving the Church Ruins in the Old Woods) ends up being an acid trip, causing insanity. If you enter the cellar near the Talking Tree of the Swamp and dive into the water using a filled oxygen tank, you will hallucinate & believe that you're in an underground bunker. After receiving a torch, you enter an eerie narrow tunnel that has human corpses lying on the ground as you continue further, revealing the fate of the villagers who invaded and locked themselves in the food pantry within the Swamp. Once you reach the end of the narrow tunnel you can try to move back, but it’s cut off with the darkness encroaching while you watch helplessly.

  • Can't be avoided

• Panic Attack

  While Banshees are looking at you

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  If they’re looking at you, your interface will flash violently and be partially blocked by a visage of its face. If you look at them as well, your screen itself will shake while it is screaming.

  • Can't be avoided

Natural Events

• Pandemic

  A devastating plague turns humans and animals into violent, often 'insane' abominations

  • Can't be avoided

• Storms

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Great Lake in the Swamp is afflicted by a strange storm that only affects that area in particular, making it hard to navigate.

  • Can't be avoided

Non-Sexual Abuse & Violence

• Altercations

  • Can't be avoided

• Assault

  • Can't be avoided

• Child Endangerment

  • Can't be avoided

Phobias

• Agliophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Arachnophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Human Spiders are a giant mass of human corpses, wandering around the Swamp using their multiple limbs & attacking you on sight. They’re fragile but fast, able to close the gap on you if you try to run while looking away. They can also spawn new ones with reduced health if they throw a severed torso at the ground. They’re one of the few enemies in game to have a ranged attack, ripping off one of their limbs and throwing it at you.

  • Can't be avoided

• Claustrophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  If you enter the cellar near the Talking Tree of the Swamp and dive into the water using a filled oxygen tank, you will hallucinate & believe that you're in an underground bunker. After receiving a torch, you enter an eerie narrow tunnel that has human corpses lying on the ground as you continue further, revealing the fate of the villagers who invaded and locked themselves in the food pantry within the Swamp. Once you reach the end of the narrow tunnel you can try to move back, but it’s cut off with the darkness encroaching while you watch helplessly.

  • Can't be avoided

• Emetophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Hemophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Blood splatters appear onscreen as you take damage

  • Can't be avoided

• Megalophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The plague mutates wildlife into bigger and/or dangerous animals

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Phobias

  Decidophobia (Fear of making decisions)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Electrophobia (Fear of electricity — sow is electrocuted to feed it), Hylophobia (Fear of wooded areas), Iophobia (Fear of poison), Nyctohylophobia (fear of dark wooded areas or of forests at night)

  • Can't be avoided

• Necrophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Corpses litter the landscape. Most of the characters you meet are mutated humans, abominations, or walking corpses. The Human Spiders are a giant mass of human corpses, wandering around the Swamp using their multiple limbs & attacking you on sight. They’re fragile but fast, able to close the gap on you if you try to run while looking away. They can also spawn new ones with reduced health if they throw a severed torso at the ground. They’re one of the few enemies in game to have a ranged attack, ripping off one of their limbs and throwing it at you. Centipedes — The Centipedes of the Swamp are giant mutated bugs that take over a human corpse by replacing the corpse’s head with their top portion plus one of the arms with their bottom. They will attack you if you wander near a hole with a centipede burrowed inside, or randomly as part of a night event where it burrows from underneath the Protagonist to ambush you. They are one of the few enemies in-game with a ranged attack, slinging rocks from a considerable distance in a spray pattern, and are fast as well as willing to tackle you, making it difficult to escape their wrath. Fortunately, despite their speed and range of attacks they’re rather fragile.

  • Can't be avoided

• Nyctophobia

  Fear of the dark is a prominent theme in-game

  • Can't be avoided

• Ommetaphobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Traumatophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Trypanophobia

  Abilities & leveling up

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The main mechanic for levelling up shows a syringe which you have to fill with an "essence" to gain new perks. Some food you find can be cooked at a hideout’s oven, which you then distill into a serum & injects into yourself as opposed to eating.

  • Can't be avoided

Physical Health & Body Issues

• Acquired Disability

  Plague infection

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Physical Health & Body Issues

  Memory loss

  • Can't be avoided

• Pain & Physical Suffering

  • Can't be avoided

Religion & Sects

• Religion

  Christianity; Paganism; Religious imagery/symbols & NPCs

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Christianity; Pagan symbols; Religious NPCs; depictions of religious buildings, symbols, and beliefs

  • Can't be avoided

Sexual Abuse

• Sexual Assault

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The sexual assault and death of a woman is heavily implied.

  • Can't be avoided

Traumatic Events

• Structure Fire

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Using molotov cocktails can light a variety of structures on fire. This is also possible to do in The Burn Them All Ending (avoidable).

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

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