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The Church in the Darkness

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The Church in the Darkness
Developer(s)Paranoid Productions
Publisher(s)Fellow Traveler
Designer(s)Richard Rouse III
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
ReleaseAugust 2, 2019
Genre(s)Action-adventure[1]
Mode(s)Single-player[1]

The Church in the Darkness is an action-adventure video game. It was originally announced in 2016 to ship in early 2017,[2] but was finally released in 2019 for Microsoft Windows,[2] macOS,[1] PlayStation 4,[3] and Xbox One.[2] It was designed by Richard Rouse III under the name Paranoid Productions.

Gameplay

The Church in the Darkness is an "action-infiltration" game[4] set inside a religious cult in the 1970s.[3] The game revolves around an ex-law enforcement officer named Vic who attempts to get inside an isolated religious colony called "Freedom Town" to check in on his sister's son, Alex.[4][3] The leaders, Isaac and Rebecca Walker of the "Collective Justice Mission", preach socialism and sustainable agricultural living in a Christian society. They are voiced by the couple, John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain.[5][6] The story unfolds through Isaac and Rebecca's regular updates on the camp's public announcement system.[5]

Some elements of the game are procedurally generated, with each start changing people's allegiances, beliefs, and camp layout.[6]

Development

The game's premise arises from Rouse's lifelong fascination with cults. Rouse has been a fan of "open-narrative" games since the mid-'80s and he was "stunned" to see the many popular games of 2016 with fixed narratives.[7] The game has been said to have "very obvious echoes of Jonestown".[4] Rouse was particularly intrigued by the Source family, a spiritual commune in the late 1960s which was situated in the Hollywood Hills.[5]

Reception

As of August 18, 2019, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions have metascores of 56/100 and 59/100, respectively, at Metacritic.[8] The Switch and Microsoft Windows versions do not yet have enough reviews to give a meaningful score.

References

  1. ^ a b c Store, Steam. "The Church in the Darkness on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c O'Connor, James. "The Church in the Darkness will let you infiltrate a cult next year". VG247. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Rouse III, Richard. "The Church in the Darkness Coming to PS4". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Chalk, Andy. "Infiltrate a 1970s religious cult in The Church in the Darkness". PC Gamer. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Conditt, Jessica. "Uncovering the glory and gore of a 1970s South American cult". Engadget. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b O'Connor, Alice. "Procedural Cult Infiltration: The Church In The Darkness". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  7. ^ Tach, Dave (15 March 2016). "The Church in the Darkness is about God and guns and socialism, but mostly it's about you". Polygon. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  8. ^ "The Church in the Darkness Xbox One". Metacritic.
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