Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness: The Boy Who Faced His Fears

Heart of Darkness, released in 1998 for the PlayStation, is a cinematic action-adventure game developed by Amazing Studio and published by Interplay Productions. It is not based on the novella of the same name.

The game’s story follows a boy named Andy, who is afraid of the dark. While at a park during a solar eclipse, his dog, Whiskey, is kidnapped by a shadowy creature. Andy, in his homemade spaceship, follows the creature to a dark and mysterious world known as Darkland to rescue his dog.

Gameplay and Features

Heart of Darkness is a side-scrolling platformer with a strong emphasis on puzzles and cinematic cutscenes.

• Exploration: You’ll guide Andy through a series of stages, each with multiple levels and increasing difficulty.
• Puzzles and Abilities: Andy has a variety of abilities, including walking, running, pushing objects, and climbing. He can also use a “magic” power, which can be used to create light balls to combat enemies.
• Combat: You’ll face a variety of enemies and bosses, which you can defeat with your magic or by using environmental objects. When defeated, enemies can drop items such as weapons, potions, and hearts to replenish your health.
• Health and Lives: Your health is represented by a bar, and if it runs out, you lose a life. The game is known for its “trial and error” gameplay, where you will die often and must learn from your mistakes to progress.
• Boss Battles: At the end of each stage, you will fight one of the minions of the game’s main antagonist, the Master of Darkness. Defeating these bosses can grant you better rewards.