Dark Eye, The Download (1995 Adventure Game)

The Dark Eye is an interactive adventure through the works of Edgar Allan Poe featuring the voice of William S. Burroughs and the music of Thomas Dolby Robertson. While experiencing an original Poe-esque adventure, the player is transported into several of Poe's most famous works including The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart. All of the stories are surrealistically rendered with claymation figures and haunting music. Burrough's reading of The Masque of the Red Death is not to be missed.

Outside of Poe's literature, the game tells the tale of a nameless protagonist who is visiting his uncle Edwin (Played by William S. Burroughs) and his brother Henry and the young Elise. As time goes on, Henry & Elise engage in a sordid relationship that Edwin does not approve of and the story takes many dark turns that ultimately leads to the characters insanity.

One of the rare games based on literature that "get it" right, The Dark Eyeis not so much a "game" as an electronic novel in the same vein as Portal : it is a melange of Edgar Allen Poe's most famous stories, changing the characters' names to fit an overarching plot while preserving the contents. The game uses three classic Poe stories: "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amantillado," and "Berenice." You go through each story twice - first as the victim, and again as the perpetrator. As if that's not creepy enough, the game also uses as a framing device an original story that is a very intriguing pastiche of Poe mythos.

Gameplay involves clicking on various objects and people to trigger events to advance the story. Despite this limited click-and-watch, the game's haunting atmosphere and style (with unique claymation actors) make it a must-have for horror fans. If you are a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, you'll tremendously enjoy this CD-ROM; if you're not, this is one CD that will spark your interest in his works. A must-have.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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