Review | Eyes In The Dark: The Curious Case of Victoria Bloom - Light In A Bottle

The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom is a gothic twin-stick shooter roguelike platformer set in a world populated by vicious beasts, mysterious characters, and a cryptic narrative. It mixes together features from the roguelike genre to create something entirely unique and special, we can't help but recommend you give this game a try if you're looking for something challenging and different; indeed, a game you don't want to be kept in the dark about. 

Welcome to the family.

The plot has young Victoria Bloom arriving at her family's Manor. She finds that it’s been entirely consumed by darkness and is now inhabited by monsters. To save her grandfather Victor and solve some secrets regarding her family history, Victoria must survive the perils of the semi-randomly produced manor.

Although there are a few stunning hand-drawn cinematics in a monochrome style to highlight significant plot points, the story itself is somewhat weak. However, what matters most, at least to me, is that the setting is endearing and has a quirkiness that children will find appealing. For example, when Victoria runs out of health, she doesn't even literally "die"; instead, the protagonist learns from experience and from the mistakes she makes, and she keeps trying.

We’re going to need a bigger blub.

Eyes in the Dark is a roguelike dungeon crawler with randomly generated levels and rooms. Each area has its own exceptional level design, enemy groups, and boss. The levels and enemies work together to create unique action challenges; There's also a pseudo-challenge room in each area, which rewards you with upgrades when you complete it. The fact each is randomly generated and the bosses are actually quite challenging definitely keeps the game feeling fresh. 

Although you begin with a simple flashlight and a light-slinging slingshot, you'll encounter improvements along the road, forcing you to choose the option that best suits your current build while forgoing the other possibilities. In true roguelike tradition, you lose all of these treasures when you begin a new loop, but you save at least one currency that powers your subsequent runs, ensuring that even when you lose, you still earn something. 

Totally not intimidating.

The three core types of items in the game are Bulbs, Projectiles for the slingshot, and Gadgets. While some of these items may seem similar, they all fulfil different purposes. For example, Victoria's shoes can allow you to fly or hover in the air, slow down, stop your fall, or even change direction mid-fall. As a result, Victoria's shoes feel repetitive with negligible differences. Despite the game requiring a particular item be used in each circumstance, it is somewhat disappointing that several items feel similar to another when used; for instance, jetpack propulsion feels similar as it also slows your falls. To complicate things further, many extra items purchased with your retained knowledge currency to find them in future runs often feel underwhelming compared to what the game supplies players with to start.

Honestly, Victoria is way braver than me.

Eyes in the Dark avoids linearity or feigned control by allowing players control over how they go through the Bloom estate. To complete a loop, nine primary rooms must be finished, but the player can choose how to move through them. The top three rooms of the square are always the same three, but they appear in varied orders as you progress from room to room. Rows two and three share the same characteristics; thus, if you know the boss you despise is on the top row, all you need to do is tackle it earlier on to avoid a more challenging fight later on. 

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 after a failure.