If you have ever wondered what happened to the dinosaurs, then wonder no more. Well at least, in the eyes of Team Junkfish. Wilderdark is a horror survival, set on a mysterious island where a ectoparasitic organism is causing some funky things to happen to the animals and fauna of the island. So if that sounds like something you can get stuck into, then join me on a journey into another world.
Something goes RAWR in the WilderDARK
Being a fan of Team Junkfish’s previous single player, horror survival Monstrum, I was very excited to get some hands on time with this one. So, lets put on our adventure pants, which just happen to be brown, and head off on our journey into the unknown.
Gameplay
The gameplay element of Wilderdark is one that is focused on two things. Survival, and exploration. If you are expecting a game where it is constantly moving at a high pace, then Wilderdark isn’t for you. However, if you enjoy games where you are rewarded for exploring the maps, opening up new areas and taking time to notice everything going on, then it will be incredibly rewarding. Starting up the game you are greeted with a introduction video that gives you a bit of forewarning of what’s coming. Basically your parents travelled to the island as part of an expedition, tasked with searching for immortality. Unfortunately, things happened and you are carrying on that task.
Throughout your time with Wilderdark, you’ll be flicking between two main tools. The Camera and your Scanner. Your main task while on the island, aside from avoiding the dinosaurs, is to document the ecosystem as well as collecting samples to upload at the computer station at one of the many camps. This then unlocks more information to read and digest about just what happened. This mechanic is great, it makes you slow down and take your time, exploring all the uncleared areas of your map to make sure that you’ve found everything.
As you come across the dinosaurs, there are some that don’t bother you, and some that definitely don’t want you around. If you want to run through open areas without a care in the world, then go for it, but you can expect to have a line of Triceratops behind you. Its probably better to stick to the long grass, just to help your survival. If you happen to die, whether it’s from a dinosaur, from falling from a height, or even drowning, then you will be reborn to the island. Just be careful as the more times you die, the more infected you become, who knows, next time you might not come back.
Graphics & Audio
The graphics throughout Wilderdark are incredible. The people at Team Junkfish have made an incredibly beautiful game. The rendering of the dinosaurs is incredible, having them visibly infected brings a certain beauty to them. Just don’t get too close. The graphic settings are no joke either. Unless you have a top of the range graphics card, your machine will be tested. I was playing this on high settings, but there was an option for Epic as well as Cinematic. Honestly, in the winter months, just pop Wilderdark on Cinematic for 15-20 minutes and you’ll warm your entire house nicely. It does look incredible though.
All isn’t positive, there are a few little bugs and glitches around. Thankfully, these never really made me want to stop playing the game. I fell through the map once where I was trying to get into a dinosaur spawn point, I guess I shouldn’t have done that. Now and again the dinosaurs might shake slightly, it’s not game breaking, but it’s there. You can sometimes have the equipment bug out, thankfully there is a day 1 patch that should sort the majority of these out though. All in all, its a gorgeously looking game.
Onto the audio, and this is where I feel that Wilderdark shines brightest. The environmental sounds are incredible, and in a lot of cases gave me the chills. The squelches when you are walking in certain areas, to the guttural roar of some of the dinosaurs. Everything marries together in a glorious cacophony of immersion, bringing the island to life in all it’s glory and ugliness.
Longevity
If you are into horror survival games, and you want to be a completionist there is a lot to cover in the game. Main quests pile up as you explore further into the island, alongside disks full of information to read and collect. There are also a handful of side quests for those that fancy it. With so much going on you can spend plenty of time exploring the island, uncovering all it’s secrets, and then maybe finding one of the endings. Oops.
Final Thoughts
Wilderdark scratches that itch for a visceral horror survival, and it’s something that Team Junkfish are great at doing. Thankfully they’ve returned to what they do best with this one. Its not all positive, but the little bugs can be overlooked, especially when you can see the level of detail that has gone into the environment.
Wilderdark receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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