Eyes in the Dark

The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom asks that you fight with light, against the dark.

Eyes in the Dark is ultimately a unique and very distinctive entry in the rogue-lite genre. It certainly won't resonate with everyone, but it's well worth a look if you're in the mood for charming rogue-lite that looks like it just jumped out of a Tim Burton movie.

Eyes in the Dark feels incredibly fair, which is its most endearing aspect, most of my deaths were the result of carelessness. The monochromatic art style and art design make it incredibly simple to identify opponent projectiles and other threats even in the midst of a chaotic scenario. The game excels at giving various enemies whose behaviours you have to rapidly learn and adapt to. You will always feel in charge of the action when combined with the game's relatively forgiving controls and the option to enhance Victoria. You should never feel frustrated and always be willing to try again afte...

My only issue with it goes back to my earlier comment of the game taking a while to ramp up. Using the currency you gain from finishing manor runs, you can use that to add additional perks to the pool available to you. This is fine; the issue stems from the fact that unless you forsake the other two upgrade categories and focus entirely on perks, you’re going to be seeing the same perks a LOT. Many times I’d enter a new zone, be given my three perks to choose from and all them would be the same. Early in the game it feels less like you’re making logical choices on what perks to choose dependin...

Eyes in the Dark doesn’t exactly reinvent roguelites or twin stick shooters so much as it simply takes good parts of those things and ties it up neatly in a darkly humored style, both charming and creepy. The black and white art style, quirky soundtrack, and unique light-vs-dark elements are quite enjoyable. RNG can and will cut your runs short, and I think its permanent upgrade system is a bit too stingy to keep things moving along, but it’s still quite an amusing roguelite romp that will keep you cutting through the darkness on your way to discovering the mysteries of the Bloom family.

Eyes in the Dark: The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom is a gothic twin-stick shooter roguelike platformer that mixes and matches a lot of features from previous exemplars in the roguelike genre to make something quite unique and special. While its monochrome art style and challenging degree of RNG might not be for everyone, the intricate setting and deep customisation options make Eyes in the Dark a game worth keeping your eyes on.