Darkward
Dark, surreal point-and-click text adventure inspired by the poetics of Dark Souls. Guide the Wanderer through ruins and tombs in a purgatorial world.
Does this feel indie?
Vote based on whether this game feels indie to you. You can change your vote at any time. Results earn an IGF score after 10 accepted votes.| ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan. | Status | Notes Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes |
|---|---|---|
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer. | ||
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher. | A separate publisher is listed without a proven bounded regional or service-only role. | |
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released. | The title released with a separate publisher relationship. |
Media
6 itemsAbout the Game
This game isn’t for everyone.
Darkward is a dark, text-driven point-and-click adventure that won’t hold your hand. Instead of a map, you’ll get traces. Instead of explanations, you’ll get consequences. And instead of heroism, more often a choice that hurts.
You’ll step into a world of crumbling sanctuaries, twisted vows, and old truths that should have stayed buried. The story is built from fragments: inscriptions, found records, the meaning of places, and what you decide to do — or refuse to do.
A Dark Souls mood without combat. Lovecraftian dread without cheap jump scares.
Just you, the words, the silence… and links that open the next step into the dark.
What to Expect
Text-based point-and-click gameplay: no typed commands — you choose actions by clicking links in the text.
Atmospheric exploration & lore: the world speaks indirectly and rewards attention.
Choices with consequences: some paths close forever; others open only later.
Dark fantasy: faith, ruin, and things beyond human understanding.
Who It’s For (and Who It Isn’t)
If you want fast action or clear explanations, you won’t find them here.
If you enjoy indirect storytelling, mystery, and slow revelation, Darkward will reward you.
Recommendation: don’t rush — read between the lines.
Around you now lies a time that does not flow. Your body is heavy, hollow and foreign – seated rigidly with your arms crossed over your chest. You feel no heartbeat. Your lips are cracked and mute, your hands are grey and cold. The silence around you is suffocating, as if this world has never known a voice. The chill of the stone bites into your skin like a thousand needles. You feel pain, but you sense it differently, as something distant. Your soul is empty, as empty as your mind and memory.
Slowly, you rise from the stone. Your limbs crack in the silence, as if they had forgotten how to move. Dust spills from your grey hands, and your muscles obey only under protest. You stand – not as one who lives, but as one who has been commanded to rise.
Rise, Wanderer!
