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[hops]

Darkwood is a survival horror game about a Polish village surrounded by an impenetrable, rapidly growing forest. Cut from the outside world, something nefarious is happening to the villagers. And something terrible has happened to the outside world as well. Trapped within the Darkwood, I must try to get out, or at the very least, not die horribly.

Assuming I don't lose interest in this game really fast again, I want to figure out the lore and strategies of this game without needing to resort to spoilery guides. I will be writing my speculations on lore and strategies in a semi-in-character voice, but this isn't much of a traditional Let's Play in that I won't be completely detailing my journey, not unless prompted. If you are curious about the full picture, I suggest buying the game yourself. It doesn't have any jumpscares, apparently. Needless to say, spoilers abound from here on out. I will be treating (applicable) comments on here as voices inside my character's head, giving advice and suggestions. If you're knowledgeable about the Darkwood, please avoid spoiling me and limit your advice to subtle nudges like "I don't think trying to fight Wolfman is the best idea...", 'I'd rather be well-equipped before I venture into the cave," or "I bet there's something interesting in that house up north."

I'll playing with permadeath for now, since it's not like I'll be losing too much progress when I barely know anything. I'll switch to 3 lives if I need to, or even unlimited lives. The Darkwood gets worse with every passing day though, so I don't think a reset is necessarily a bad thing.

[hops]

Spoiler: Day 1 - Introduction (click to show/hide)

Hello, I do not remember my name, but I am still human, I think. An old one, it would seem. My memory is foggy, but I think I was neither old, nor a man, before I got here in the Darkwood.

I came from outside the Darkwood, but something has happened. I remember being in a camp, perhaps we were keeping perimeter of the woods? Preventing it from consuming the rest of us outside? There was an attack... I must've escaped to the Darkwood through our secret underground passage. I'm not entirely sure why the past me thought that was a good idea, but I'll reserve judgement until I know what the hell is happening.

I was wounded somehow, and rescued by a doctor in this village. Perhaps I would have thanked him if he didn't then forcibly interrogate me for a way out, and took my key to the underground passage.

I don't... really remember what happened after that. Or I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. I escaped from my prison. I tried to find the doctor, but instead found another of his prisoner, who tried to kill me, so I did for him instead. Then there was... a nightmare.

I'm not sure if any of what I saw was real, and I'd rather not recount it unless I have to.

I found myself in a different house. I already boarded up a window, but I'll need to board up more, I think. It's not safe here. I find myself not needing to eat, so I have converted the kitchen into a chemistry lab, as well as a protective gas factory. It looks like I also already ran the pipes throughout the entire house, or perhaps this has been the home of one of us from the outside world? I have no idea. I found a piece of paper advising me to keep the house well-lit.

I shall be writing down my findings in my journal. Here's hoping a certain bastard doctor doesn't assault me and rip out the pages again.

Spoiler: Day 1 - Goals (click to show/hide)

The doctor took the key to the underground passage that would let me leave this place. The passage is secret, so maybe he hasn't found it. I don't know if I even got here through the passage, but it's the only way out. I fear something terrible will happen if he manages to leave.

I want to leave this place as quickly as possible, but something tells me that's not that simple, and then there's the matter of the attack. While I should go check on the passage at some point to ensure it's still locked and undiscovered, a more pressing concern would be to find more planks to board up this house. I should get a weapon too. Maybe just a board with a nail will be fine for now.

Spoiler: Day 1 - Magic (click to show/hide)

Strange mushrooms grow over the village. I don't find myself needing to eat or sleep, but I feel drawn to prepare the non-poisonous mushrooms at the lab. They strengthen me, and make me feel more in tune with nature. Maybe not a good thing in this place, but I'll need strange magics to survive in here.

Spoiler: D2 - Dogs (click to show/hide)

There are wild dogs all about the village. Feeding on corpses. Feeding on each other. Trying to feed on me. They seem to be the primary threat for now, but I get the feeling that the worst is yet to come.

Spoiler: D2 - Doors (click to show/hide)

Last night, something opened the door in the house's foyer. I didn't dare venture into the darkness and investigate, but a dog wandered in as a result and I had to fight it.

Let us not repeat that mistake again. I should make sure the entrance is lit somehow, so that I can see if anything wanders in.

Spoiler: D2 - Wolfman (click to show/hide)

A wolfman forced his way into the house this morning. He doesn't seem to be interested in a fight, fortunately. He is dressed and seems sapient enough, and mentioned that he has goods to trade. He also pointed out to me where I can find his camp, as well as his other camp deeper in the woods. The wolfman challenged me to make my way there, but I obviously am not ready yet.

Of all the goods he has to trade I'm interested in a watch. It would let me more accurately plan out my trips and time out how much distance I can cover. Parts to build a pistol would be nice too, but I doubt bullets would be all that common around here, and I don't think I can afford it any time soon.

I'll just scavenge for whatever I can find, and trade what I can spare for a watch.

[hops]

Spoiler: D2 - Goals (click to show/hide)

I recall that there is a fuel can at the house above the underground entrance, so I think now would be a good time to check the place out.

[hops]

Update 3

Spoiler: D2 - Power (click to show/hide)

The mushrooms can be distilled into an injection that grant me abilities. There are multiple tiers of abilities, but for each ability I gain I must also gain a downside. It took me 5 mushrooms to give myself the Moth ability, which allows me to heal once a day when standing near an electric light source. In exchange, I now have the Darkness negative trait, which causes the darkness to do bad things to me.

Since Darkness is the only tier 1 negative trait, I can now gain another tier 1 ability without needing to gain another negative trait. I will need 15 mushrooms for the next ability. I believe I will improve my visual acuity next so that I am able to see further.

Spoiler: D2 - Dry Meadow (click to show/hide)

The area that I am in is called the Dry Meadow. To the east is the Silent Forest, where the Wolfman has directed me to go. To the north, the Old Woods.

Spoiler: D2 - Scavenging (click to show/hide)

There are burned houses all over the Dry Meadow, which occasionally have useful items in them, but more often than not are home to territorial dogs. I haven't been able to find many resources yet that I didn't loot off corpses or crates. I need to find a logging area so that I can find some wood logs to convert into planks, which I will be needing to board up my window and craft weapons.

Spoiler: D2 - Underground Passage (click to show/hide)

I went to check the underground passage. The door is still locked, with no sign of use. Good, that means the doctor hasn't found it yet. On the other side of the door I heard a voice calling my name, which... is mildly concerning, but not as concerning as some sort of red reptile that chased me out of the tunnels. I think I will not be returning here until I get the key back.

There is a maze of corns next to the house in which there is a crate. I wasn't able to loot all of it, so perhaps I should return there at some point.

Spoiler: D2 - Silent Forest (click to show/hide)

I explored in the direction of the Silent Forest today to scout out my path to the location the Wolfman has directed me to. There is a house blocking the entrance into the wood, which is outfitted with a generator. A room is locked and needs a key, and the entrance into the Silent Forest has a combination lock. I forgot to ask the Wolfman today if he knows anything about the code, but I'll get around to it later.

Spoiler: D2 - Darkness (click to show/hide)

There are some things prowling in the darkness at night, and I am able to sense their presence. Ghosts, or something similar? It would be dangerous for me to be caught out without any light when they are around. They also appear to cause disturbances to the electrical system leading to light in a room going out, which I must counter by fleeing to another well-lit room.

Spoiler: D2 - Invitation (click to show/hide)

In the night there was a knocking on my door. Curiosity getting the better of me, I answered it to find an invitation letter urging me to join some event occurring at the southern border of the Dry Meadow, past the cornfields.

I have a feeling this will be dangerous, but perhaps I can find someone to help me there.

Spoiler: D3 - Trader (click to show/hide)

Today I met with another person of sapient nature. I remember them as the one who saved me from whatever it is that transpired at the doctor's house. They wear a mask which completely obscured their feature and seems to not be able to talk much. They communicated to me through what seems to be a prepared message on their arm that we should cooperate. I would still like to get a watch, but I have yet to scavenge enough to afford one despite having been all over the Dry Meadow.

Spoiler: D3 - Antler People (click to show/hide)

There are antlered humanoids throughout the Dry Meadow. They seemed to ignore my presence but are armed with staves which they use to scribble some form of symbol on the ground near my shelter.

I had taken them to be harmless until one tried to climb through my window last night. Fortunately, the chain trap below the window triggered and I was able to repel it until sunrise.

I think that this wasn't the first time they tried to invade the house, and it won't be the last.

[ThtblovesDF]

Small mechanical meta spoiler about permadeath:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's not perma - once you make it past chapter 1 i think it "only" resets you to the start of the last chapter (so area 2). Game is amazing imo

[Iduno]

I feel bad that I missed this.

It looks like a fun game, but there aren't enough PWYB updates to make it worth checking this subforum regularly, so nobody plays along, so nobody plays, etc.

[EuchreJack]

Can we get some pictures, if there are any?