When the Darkness comes

About When the Darkness comes

When the Darkness comes was made by Sirhaian and released free on Steam in March 2019. The store calls it the culmination of its maker's self-exploration into their own psyche, made as a creative outlet, and says it will not be updated beyond fixing major bugs.

The store opens with a warning, A Game Without Meaning, A Game Nobody Should Play, and asks questions instead of explaining: a clock, a piano and a girl, what do they mean? What has meaning? Do you have one? You walk through a world filled with loneliness and fear, where despair breathes and hope dies.

The places you pass through change from empty dark rooms to bright forests, cosmic voids and blood-red spaces, glitching as you go. Words fill the walls and floors around you, from Enter the Door to No and Leave me alone, and the tale grows darker as it goes. The store says the first Arc takes about an hour.

It is psychological horror about mental illness rather than about monsters, and its maker is direct about the risks: it explores depression, anxiety, verbal abuse, manipulative control and suicide, it could trigger epileptic attacks, and it may not suit streaming. It suits players who want an experimental, personal walk through dark feelings and are ready for its subjects.

How to play When the Darkness comes

1. Read the warnings on the store page before you start.
2. Download it free from Steam and choose AZERTY or QWERTY in the game if needed.
3. Walk with WASD or the arrow keys, jump with Space and sprint with Shift.
4. Press F to interact, and follow the path and the words through each space.

Tips

• Do not play if flashing lights or the themes listed could affect you.
• Give it about an hour for the first Arc, in one sitting.
• Read the text around you; much of the story is written into the world.

Questions