Dark Fall: The Journal

About Dark Fall: The Journal

Dark Fall: The Journal was written and made almost single-handedly by the British designer Jonathan Boakes and first released in 2002. It became a cult favourite among adventure players and began the Dark Fall series, followed by Dark Fall 2: Lights Out, Dark Fall: Lost Souls and, in 2020, Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil. It is sold today on Steam and GOG.

It starts with a message on your answering machine. Your brother, an architect redeveloping an old railway station and its hotel, asks for help in a frightened voice, with talk of a disappearance and strange whispers behind him. You take the train out, and find the station and the Station Hotel deserted, as though the guests and staff left decades ago in the middle of what they were doing.

You explore in first person, one still view at a time, in the manner of Myst. The story is told through what was left behind: newspaper clippings, diaries, letters and notes, and you are expected to keep your own notes as you go. Puzzles are about logic and observation rather than inventory tricks, and a child ghost, Timothy Pike, turns up to offer cryptic help.

The horror is almost all atmosphere and sound. Phones ring in empty rooms, footsteps cross the floor above, voices speak from nowhere, and the game never lets you forget that although no one is there, you are not alone. There is no combat and no way to die by violence, which makes it a good pick for players who want a slow, eerie ghost story rather than chases.

It suits fans of Myst-style adventures and British ghost stories, and players of Barrow Hill or The 7th Guest who want something quieter. Its 2002 visuals and fixed screens show their age, and players note it is short for its price at full cost and has little to replay.

How to play Dark Fall: The Journal

1. Buy Dark Fall: The Journal on Steam or GOG and install it on Windows.
2. Click to move between first-person views of the station and hotel, and click objects to look at or take them.
3. Read every journal, letter and clipping, and note down names, dates and numbers yourself.
4. Use what you learn to solve the logic puzzles that open new rooms.
5. Listen carefully: sounds and voices point to where the story goes next.

Tips

• Play at night with headphones or the speakers up, as the maker suggests.
• Keep a pen and paper beside you; many puzzles depend on details from earlier documents.
• If you are stuck, go back over rooms you have already seen, as new events change them.

Questions