Platform: Abandonware
Genre: Adventure
Completed: 14/12/2023
This is a game I remember trying to play when I was a lot younger (I mean an alien baby bursting out of your skull tends to do that) but never got around to finishing it. Back then, I was not as good at working out the clues to Point & Click adventure games as I am now.
Dark Seed had eventually fallen to the wayside. With it not being available on any of the regular platforms, I didn't actively seek it out. Even though, every now and then, it would drift back into my consciousness.
It was years later (but before this challenge started) that I stumbled on the site called The Collection Chamber where they gather old games and fix them up to be playable on modern-day systems. I can't recall what game it was that led me to the site. But I do recall the excitement of re-discovering a lot of games I had wanted to pick up again (so expect to see a few more entries down the line).
When it was time to pick my D game for the challenge, I had no doubt or hesitation that I wanted to play this one.
Dark Seed was just as I remembered it. Gritty, eerie, and macabre. Honestly, how was I even allowed to play this as a kid? Definitely, as an adult, I could enjoy the aesthetic a whole lot more. Initially, I hadn't realized the significance of the name H. R. Giger, and it was only after I was speaking with my brother, commenting how the art style reminded me of Aliens, that he pointed out who he was. That revelation felt like a big "Duh" moment for me. I mean, it is so obvious I felt foolish for not making the connection sooner.
It didn't take me long to finish the game. It was shorter than I expected, but then again, I am older than when I first tried it. I recall failing a lot back then. Probably why the image of the alien bursting out is so ingrained in my memory. Overall I was pleased with the story but then I started to notice a massive plot hole.
That of the main character's motives.
You, as the player, know that you have an alien in your head and that you need to find a way to remove it and stop an impending invasion. But you, as the character, have nothing come your way to trigger you into doing all this. You simply wake up one morning with a splitting headache. And that's it.
Nothing from that is enough to encourage the guy to go search the attic or to go digging in the cemetery; or investigate the library. Obviously, at some point in the story, it does become clear as to why he is doing it and he becomes committed to see it through.
It was just something that I hadn't noticed at first but only became apparent after the fact. I still want to play the sequel - Dark Seed 2 - at some point. Who knows, maybe it gives an explanation. Or maybe the explanation is given in the manual. I do remember back then they loved giving detailed intros and backstories in them. Kinda miss that...
Next up will be - Eternal Threads
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