D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die
| D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Access Games |
| Publisher(s) |
Xbox One Microsoft Studios Microsoft Windows Playism |
| Director(s) | Hidetaka Suehiro |
| Producer(s) | Nobou Tomita |
| Artist(s) | Hitoshi Okamoto |
| Writer(s) |
Hidetaka Suehiro Hiroyuki Saegusa Kenji Goda |
| Composer(s) |
Tomomi Teratani Yuji Takenouchi Rio Okano Atsushi Yamaji |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3[1] |
| Platform(s) | Xbox One, Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) |
Xbox One 19 September 2014 Microsoft Windows 5 June 2015 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player[2] |
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is an episodic graphic adventure video game developed by Access Games and originally published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One. The title represents the phrase "Dark Dreams Don't Die," as well as the fourth dimension (time).[3] The game is unrelated to the D video game series.[3][4] The initial release contains a prologue and two episodes that make up season one of the series. A PC version was released on 5 June 2015, published by Playism in partnership with Access Games. In October of 2016, Hidetaka Suehiro announced via Twitter that he had left Access Games and that there would not be more episodes of D4.
Gameplay
The main character is David Young, a private investigator whose wife has been murdered.[3] The traumatic events surrounding her death left Young unable to recollect those memories, but has allowed him to travel through time.[3] Young travels through time to undo the murder.[3] The player cannot time travel arbitrarily, as the powers are activated upon finding certain objects that bring the player to specific points in time.[3]
D4 is an Xbox One title that uses Kinect controls with "simple gestures and voice" to uncover the mystery.[3] The game uses cel-shaded graphics similar to that of a graphic novel.[3] For the PC version, however, Kinect has been disabled in favor of mouse controls. Some improvements have also been implemented in the PC version, such as upgrading the frame rate to 60 fps, shortening load times, and fixing bugs that were present in the original version.[5]
Plot
After the death of his wife, former Boston police narcotics officer turned private detective, David Young gains the supernatural ability to travel into the past by touching left-behind items referred to as "mementos". Two years earlier David's wife was murdered and David received a blow to the head which caused him to lose his memory of the event except for his wife's final words "Look for D". David with his newly gained ability uses it to uncover the unknown assailant by investigating everyone whose name starts with "D". With help from his former partner Young gets a lead about a man, whose boss's name starts with D, went missing on a plane after it was struck by lightning and David uses a memento to travel back into the past to investigate.
Reception
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D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards the game's depth, attention to detail, and bizarreness, with many drawing comparison to Deadly Premonition. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox One version 75.80% based on 30 reviews and 76/100 based on 43 reviews[6][8] and the Microsoft Windows version 63.20% based on 9 reviews and 67/100 based on 14 reviews.[7][9]
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die was nominated for "Destructoid's Best of E3 2014" as "Best Xbox Exclusive" at E3 in 2014.[19] It was also nominated for "TGS Awards 2014" in the category Xbox at TGS, and for "4Gamer Awards" as "Rookie Exclusive" on 1 October 2014.[20]
References
- ↑ Darwich, Aki (1 December 2014). "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (Prologue, Episodes 1 & 2) AUTOMATON Review". Automaton. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ "D4 Brings the Bizarre to Life, David Lynch-Style". Xbox Wire. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Arendt, Susan (13 June 2013). "D4 Brings Stylish Murder to Xbox One". The Escapist. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ↑ "D4 and the Evolution of the Noir Adventure Game". Xbox Wire. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ↑ Jenkins, David (12 May 2015). "D4 on PC interview – SWERY talks PC gaming and Deadly Premonition". Metro. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- 1 2 "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die for Xbox One". GameRankings. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- 1 2 "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- 1 2 "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- 1 2 "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ Carter, Chris (19 September 2014). "Review: D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (Prologue, Episode 1, Episode 2)". Destructoid. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Reiner, Andrew (23 September 2014). "Murder With A Sense Of Humor - D4 - Xbox One". Game Informer. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ↑ Vazquez, Jessica (30 September 2014). "D4 Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- ↑ Vazquez, Jessica (10 June 2015). "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (PC) Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ↑ VanOrd, Kevin (19 September 2014). "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die Review". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Navarro, Alex (30 September 2014). "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- ↑ Shea, Cam (22 September 2014). "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die Review". IGN. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ↑ Blyth, Jon (5 June 2015). "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ McElroy, Justin (19 September 2014). "D4 review: fire walk with D". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ CTZ Aziz, Hamza (12 June 2014). "Destructoid's Best of E3 2014 nominees!". Destructoid. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ↑ TAI, TAI (1 October 2014). "Announced the results of the Media Awards "4Gamer Grand Prize & Excellence Award"! Two works of 4Gamer chose title in --TGS the "Evolve", "Never Alone"". 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 1 October 2014.