A Fumble in the Dark Review | Hello from the other side

a fumble in the dark screenshot

After the good experience I had with the first game, I was eager to see how the new chapter, a Fumble in the Dark, would continue the story and it didn't disappoint.

Aesthetics

a fumble in the dark screenshot

It may look like it needs repairs, that's because it does

The pixel art graphics retain a similar style to its predecessor, with a small amount of details for the characters, but it's more vibrant and colorful this time around, definitely a step-up and it also has more varied visuals.

The animations too are very similar, without receiving any kind of improvement or downgrade, still used here and there to not give a completely still image, but not full movements are used.

The sequel hasn't received a dubbing or sound to simulate speech either, all dialogue texts are read silently.

The soundtrack is fine, although I think is less memorable, I don't have any memory of any track.

In short, there have been improvements on the visual design and the sound ones lacks behind.

Game Mechanics

a fumble in the dark minigame

Have you tried shutting it off and on again?

Because the two games are almost identical, you are going to read a lot of repeated lines from the previous review for this section.

A fumble in the dark is an old-school point and click adventure: find objects, solve puzzles and talk to people.

The game saves automatically, with the option to manually save at any time.

The difficulty of the game is fine, well balanced between continuation and stops for the puzzles, except for one part where I had to circle around a bit to find an item too well hidden.

One thing that was kept and I liked was the fact that the game removes an object when it has been used, unless it can be used in another puzzle of course.

I like it because often the solution for a puzzle is not always very clear and therefore I start using all the objects in the inventory with everything I can, taking as much time as many things I have in the inventory.

Eliminating the superfluous items, the game minimizes the possible combinations and the adventure continues faster, reducing boredom and frustration.

There are also several simple mini-games, short and making sense in context, that break up the experience from the main loop, this time a bit more varied and interesting.

By completing all the basic episodes plus the one released at the time of this review, I finished the game in 9 hours and a half.

Nothing new on the gameplay side of things, but everything present before worked and it works here.

Narrative

a fumble in the dark dialogue

Always a hassle to find proper clothing for divine creatures

The story takes place after the end of the last bonus episode of the predecessor, with the detective Francis McQueen looking for Dooley after his sudden disappearance. For the first episode, we are going to follow McQueen's struggles in the search of his police partner, after that things get back to normal and the adventures of the police duo continue, with something lurking in the shadows.

Like the predecessor, the story follows an episodic format with an overarching narrative to connect everything, with a big twist toward the final episode and it's all done well. 

The jokes are funny, the cases intriguing and the foreshadowing kept me stimulated

At the humorous tone is added a dose of drama and stakes, everything mixes nicely and it made me care what would have happened next.

As of the time of this review, only one of the 3 extra episodes has been released, its quality is on par with the main ones and it has even some unique elements of its own, easily suggestible to anyone who enjoyed the main story.

A lot of characters return and their personality has been expanded, not too much just enough to keep them interesting, plus the extra lines of dialogue given make for some funny conversations and bizarre implications.

Myths and legends do receive some space this time around, they are more used to create comical scenes more than actual world-building, so don't take anything too seriously.

In conclusion, a good continuation with some new ideas.

Recommendation:

A Fumble in the dark is a typical sequel, it doesn't create anything new, but it delivers more of the same goodness that made the first one an enjoyable experience.

Available on Steam and Gog.


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