Our first but, as you
will see not our last, independently developed game on the list (Though
the game was later distributed by publisher Tri-Synergy). Created
by William R. Fisher, Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit’s
Eye is, like Fatal Frame II, the middle
game of a trilogy.
According to JA
reviewer Shannon Hall-Harris the “…storyline revolves
around Captain Marcos, Dr. Benzor and his daughter Tia, a mysterious
old gypsy woman, and the creepiest eye you’ve ever seen. Captain Marcos,
a world-class explorer, has brought back something twisted and evil
from his last voyage. Based on a tip from an anonymous stranger, he
recovered a jewel called the Eye of Acarous, cursed by an old pirate
and guarded by fiendish, vampiric beings. Marcos was soon taken over
by this mysterious Eye, and Dr. Benzor searched for a cure for this
deadly disease. Benzor grew too close to uncovering the secret, and
the now-mad Marcos killed him to eliminate the threat. The Eye soon
begins to take over the town of Shadowcrest and its inhabitants, and
you (an unnamed Stranger) have been summoned to use your knowledge
of magic and medicine to release the town from this curse.
WRF Studios obviously
put a lot of time and effort into making this a creepy-crawly, spine-tingling
horror game. The sound files alone must be enormous. Sometimes you’ll
work with a background of moans, groans, drips and scrapes; other
times you’re greeted by eerie silence. None of the locations are what
you would call “well lit.” While this does create a bit
of hunting, it also adds to the haunting that’s such an important
aspect of this game. For the most part, your character will work alone,
guided only by the stray note or journal. You will, however, have
occasional aid from Tia– a ghost with lips sewn shut for reasons
I never discovered– and a creepy old gypsy.”
9.
