In The Dark 2 review (ModRetro Chromatic)

If you like Lights Out-style puzzles, then you’re going to love In The Dark 2. With a fantastic sci-fi design and an intriguing story, though, I can’t help but feel like it’s something of a wasted opportunity.

Designed especially for the ModRetro Chromatic but also playable on an original Game Boy or Game Boy Color, In The Dark 2 feels like a true feat of design and innovation. Its art style and aesthetic is incredible; it channels the likes of Alien in its depictions of spaceships and H.R. Giger-inspired futurism, and to pull that off on a Game Boy-sized screen is something special indeed. It’s just a shame that you don’t get to enjoy all that much of it: while In The Dark 2 has some elements of exploration, it’s very light — most of your time will be spent inside repetitive puzzles.

How much you enjoy In The Dark 2, then, will depend on how much you enjoy Lights Out puzzles. You know the sort: you press a light to turn it on and off, and it’ll also turn those around it on and off. In the game’s story mode, there are 200 of these puzzles to solve altogether, all carefully curated and with increasing difficulty as you progress. They are enjoyable, but quickly get repetitive — it’s a shame there aren’t different types of puzzles to keep things feeling fresh.

You do get to explore a little, though, which is where In The Dark 2 truly shines. There are some characters to speak to, which provide a great sense of place — I just wish there was more of this. Wander into your ship and you’ll find a console to interact with where you’ll find a vertically-scrolling shooter minigame to play. It’s a nice distraction and makes a nice addition, but it’s seriously tricky.

Outside of In The Dark 2’s main story mode, you’ll find a Challenge Mode and a Free Play Mode. In these, you’ll find even more Lights Out-style puzzles — more than 1,000, in fact. There are different themes to unlock in these modes, too, so you can switch out the sci-fi aesthetic to something more cutesy if you wish.

In terms of its visuals, In The Dark 2 is absolutely stunning, and makes full, clever use of the hardware to create something that manages to look modern in a retro setting. It’s just a shame that the aesthetic is largely wasted, with much of your time with the game spent in the same type of puzzles. Sure, they’re fun, but unless you absolutely love them, you’ll likely get bored quickly, and that’s a real shame.