Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Dark Side of the Moon delivers a compelling blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and tense combat that keeps players on the edge of their seat. From the moment you step off the shuttle onto Luna Crysta, the game introduces mission objectives with clear on-screen prompts, yet leaves plenty of room for organic discovery. The mining facilities, abandoned research labs, and winding tunnels are ripe for scavenging—encouraging a careful balance between resource management and risk-taking.

The game’s control scheme is intuitive, whether you’re piloting the shuttle, operating mining drills, or engaging in zero-gravity firefights. Movement feels weighty without being cumbersome; jumping in low gravity offers satisfying airtime, while the atmospheric environments slow your descent just enough to make each leap feel significant. Combat encounters with alien creatures are strategically challenging, requiring players to conserve ammunition, improvise with environmental hazards, and deploy a limited but lethal arsenal of weapons.

Puzzles are integrated seamlessly into the world: repairing mining equipment, hacking security consoles, and deciphering cryptic logs left by your uncle Jacob all contribute to the sense of unraveling a deeper mystery. These tasks never feel like arbitrary fetch quests; instead, they serve both narrative and gameplay functions, reinforcing your role as Jake—heir to a legacy that may be more perilous than profitable.

Graphics

Visually, Dark Side of the Moon is an impressive showcase of futuristic sci-fi environments. Luna Crysta’s pale, cratered surface shimmers under a distant sun, casting long, dramatic shadows across its terrain. Interiors of mining outposts feature rugged textures convincingly worn by time and neglect, while the alien-infested corridors are illuminated by flickering lights and ominous gels of bioluminescent flora.

The character models, including Jake and the various alien antagonists, are rendered with high fidelity. Facial animations during key dialogue sequences convey emotion and urgency, especially when uncovering your uncle’s recordings. Alien designs are grotesquely inventive—elongated limbs, chitinous armor, and unsettlingly organic movement animations all underscore the otherworldly threat you face.

Performance-wise, the game runs smoothly on a wide range of hardware. Frame rates remain stable even in the most graphically intensive areas, such as explosive mining sequences or creature swarms. Subtle post-processing effects—bloom, lens flare, and volumetric smoke—enhance atmosphere without sacrificing clarity, ensuring that every shaft of light and plume of dust contributes to the immersive experience.

Story

The narrative of Dark Side of the Moon unfolds like a well-crafted sci-fi thriller. It opens with a shocking set-piece: your uncle Jacob, a prominent ore mining magnate on Luna Crysta, meets a desperate end at the hands of an unseen alien force. By adopting his name—you become Jake, inheritor of both his estate and his unanswered questions—you’re immediately invested in uncovering what drove him to such a tragic finale.

As you sift through Jacob’s personal logs, dispatch drones to remote mining nodes, and interrogate surviving staff, the plot thickens. Whispers of a “worthless” ore turn into tantalizing hints of a powerful discovery—one that could alter humanity’s understanding of alien biology, energy extraction, or even time itself. Each revelation is shadowed by creeping dread: is Jacob’s death a suicide borne of guilt, a murder orchestrated by rival corporations, or the tragic consequence of tampering with forces beyond mortal ken?

Supporting characters—from grizzled miners to corporate executives—are given memorable moments of depth. Side conversations reveal conflicting motivations, heightening the sense that everyone on Luna Crysta has secrets to protect. The pacing is expertly managed, balancing quieter investigative sections with sudden bursts of horror as alien denizens close in. By the final act, the stakes feel personal: what began as a quest for truth becomes a fight for survival and the legacy you choose to uphold.

Overall Experience

Dark Side of the Moon stands out as a thrilling entry in the sci-fi adventure genre, combining tight gameplay with an engrossing story. Exploration never feels aimless and every new area offers environmental storytelling that complements the main narrative. The dynamic mix of puzzles, combat, and stealth sequences ensures that momentum carries you forward, eager to see what lies behind the next sealed door.

While the game’s atmosphere is its greatest strength, occasional moments of backtracking and similar-looking corridors can momentarily sap the tension. However, smart level design—landmarks, unique textural cues, and strategic lighting—mitigate confusion and help maintain the game’s flow. Coupled with an evocative soundscape of distant rumbles, echoing drilling, and alien shrieks, the experience remains immersive from start to finish.

For fans of story-driven sci-fi with horror elements, Dark Side of the Moon offers a satisfying balance of mystery, action, and emotional resonance. Whether you’re intrigued by the fate of Uncle Jacob, enticed by the promise of uncovering forbidden knowledge, or simply craving frigid lunar landscapes and hostile alien encounters, this game delivers. Prepare to embark on a lunar odyssey where every fragment of data, every abandoned shaft, and every flicker of motion in the shadows could be the key to unraveling—or sealing—humankind’s future.

Retro Replay Score

6.7/10