00:00Before Darkness Falls is a tactics game about slowly dying in the dark, and that's the point.
00:05The other day, I found myself idly wondering whether anyone had made a colony sim set in the alien-style
00:11industrial nightmare genre,
00:12something where players proudly plant a corporate flag on a pristine new world that definitely, absolutely does not contain any
00:19parasitic lifeforms whatsoever.
00:22As it turns out, I had basically already seen the answer.
00:25Before Darkness Falls is a tactical survival game from former Frostpunk developers, and it very much lives in that same
00:32space.
00:33Industrial expansion, collapsing systems, and something very unpleasant moving around in the walls.
00:38Or as the game's Steam description puts it far more bluntly, the setting of Squagg is not some clean sci
00:44-fi utopia.
00:45It's a decaying mass of machinery, sealed-off sectors, toxic air, and infrastructure that should have stopped functioning decades ago,
00:53but didn't.
00:53Somewhere in all that darkness, something is still spreading, and is absolutely not rising damp.
01:01During a hands-on session at Digital Dragons last month, I came away cautiously optimistic.
01:06Optimistic in the specific sense that applies when you are talking about a game where survival means successfully not being
01:12eaten inside a collapsing industrial labyrinth.
01:15The structure of the game alternates between two layers.
01:19On one side, you manage your growing and very fragile base of operations, trying to keep systems online while everything
01:25around them slowly falls apart.
01:27On the other, you send squads into abandoned sectors to retrieve resources, repair failing infrastructure, or uncover what exactly caused
01:36the infestation spreading beneath your feet.
01:39Those expeditions are where the game really leans into in Aliens' Dark Descent-style inspiration.
01:45Missions unfold under a heavy fog of war, with visibility limited and danger rarely far behind.
01:50You control a squad of heavily armed, extremely expendable-looking soldiers, equipped with guns, grenades, and various tools for trying
01:58not to die immediately.
02:00You can issue commands to individuals, or move the squad as a unit, setting them to hold positions, cover each
02:06other, or push through hazardous zones.
02:08Precision matters a lot.
02:10In one encounter, I had to guide my squad through a corridor filled with flaming vents while hostile creatures stalked
02:16us through the darkness behind.
02:18It doesn't take long before you understand the game's core philosophy.
02:22Control what you can, react quickly to what you can't, and accept that things are probably going to go wrong
02:28anyway.
02:29That tension between careful planning and sudden catastrophe is where Before Darkness Falls seems to be aiming its identity.
02:35It's not just about surviving missions.
02:38It's about keeping an entire failing system from collapsing while something in the dark keeps pushing back.
02:43And yes, I did enjoy it.
02:45In the same way one might enjoy repeatedly falling down an elevator shaft, labeled,
02:49This is definitely going to be fine.
02:52Before Darkness Falls is still in development, but already shows a strong grasp of its tone and structure,
02:59oppressive, tactical, and just unpredictable enough to keep you on edge.
03:03This coverage was based on a press trip to digital dragons with travel and accommodation provided by the event organizers.
03:11Okay, so, this game is still in development.
03:15It's called Before Darkness Falls.
03:22I'm usually not one for tactics games.
03:26They're just not the game I choose to play.
03:37So, does this sound like a game that would interest you?
03:42You know, there's still no telling,
03:45there's still no telling what this,
03:48when this game is going to come out, how far in development it is.
03:59So, yeah, you're trying to keep a base of operations online,
04:03but everything's slowly falling apart.
04:05And then, you have to go get resources.
04:11And, yeah, so, I mean,
04:14if you wish there was a game like Aliens Dark Descent,
04:18where you had to survive in that world,
04:20I guess you would find this some,
04:23I guess you would,
04:24this would be a game that you would want to keep an eye out for.
04:29If more information comes out about it as it gets closer to release,
04:35then I'll definitely let you know.
04:38But what's your take on this game right now?
04:41Let me know in the comments.
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