A Dark Room +12

I just finished a Journey And got lots of new stuff like iron swords and steel swords and after I embarked I decided to review this application even though I haven't played it in a while. It's... it's like... so real. In this very unique Story, I had a theft in the village. Just today, this evening, The villagers, my slaves, found the bad guy and killed him and I got over ten thousand of my supplies back. Get this and go far into this story and You'll get to the guts of this incredible story. The best thing about it is before long, you're kinda combining a bunch of things together. I first bought this game because I was going on a very long trip to upper peninsula of Michigan and it first was this boring game where all you could do is stoke this fire you have lit. The cool thing about it is when the fire isn't lit, it will show it's title, a dark room. If the fire is lit, the header will show a fire lit room instead. I've beaten the game several times. But after upgrading to iPadOS 13 every time I try to listen to one of the parts of the commentary of secrets the app will crash. I am a voiceover user which makes this game a lot slower but I like it anyway.

update: sound now saves! Sound sensitive folks beware— the new version starts at 100% volume every time. There’s no way to permanently adjust or disable sound.

I started playing this in 2014 when it was new and was fascinated by the simple set up and rich storytelling. Once every few years I’ll come back to it. It’s fun to play with different goals in mind - how quickly, with or without huts, cover the whole map or just get what you need, etc. The new interface roll out for the 10th anniversary is overall a big improvement. As with any UI change if you’re used to the old way, it takes a while to get used to the new way. For me, the hardest thing to get used to was the fact that some of the timing and features are actually different. So some strategies I used before don’t really apply in the same way. That does add to the fun to have new challenges though. I would give this five stars if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t disable volume in the 2024 version. Assuming they adjust that in an app update, I’ll give the fifth star then 😁

I’ve had ADR since it first released and I’ve played The Ensign and A Noble Circle too. Many many many times. At this point, I’ve completed the game so many times and I’m so used to it that I can beat it in about an hour start to finish. Somehow, even…what? A decade later? I still enjoy playing the game even though I know precisely what will happen. It has become my bed time mantra. Somehow, playing this game, stoking the fire, running through the motions, has given me a way to quiet my mind and go to sleep. I literally play it every night before bed. The small lines of dialogue have become even more relatable and this game now truly brings me a sense of solace.

When I first started, I had a sense of wonder and horror and imagination strike through me when I played the game. It’s a brilliantly done story. Done perfectly with so little. I have loved it from the start and hope to have it for years to come. Please play The Ensign too. It’s worth it. Enjoy the little Easter eggs that were planted in there. Question your morals. Embark in chaos. Go forth and conquer.