Heart of Darkness
Genres
Summary
Heart of Darkness casts players as a young boy named Andy who embarks on a mission to save his dog, who has been taken by mysterious beings called The Dark Souls. The game includes roughly thirty minutes of cinematic storytelling, thousands of hand-drawn 2D animation frames, and pre-rendered background environments. It was overseen by game designer Éric Chahi, famous for Another World, this time working alongside a team of artists and developers. The game also boasts an original soundtrack composed by Bruce Broughton, a renowned composer in film and television. A port for the Game Boy Advance was announced in 2001 but ultimately never saw release.
Storyline
The game centers around Andy, a young boy who despises his cruel teacher, adores his dog Whiskey, and suffers from nyctophobia, a fear of the dark. One day, Andy and Whiskey head to the park, where a solar eclipse takes place. During the eclipse, Whiskey is mysteriously taken by a shadowy creature. Andy then hurries to his treehouse, where he keeps his inventions, and boards a spaceship to search for Whiskey. He launches into the skies and lands in the Darklands, a realm within the Heart of Darkness. This dangerous land is filled with night creatures and ruled by a sinister sorcerer known as the Master of Darkness. Andy must find the strength within himself to rescue Whiskey and return home. During his journey, Andy crashes his spaceship into a winged shadow creature and lands in a canyon on the edge of the Darklands. There, a massive beast swallows his gun. Andy narrowly escapes into the swamps, where he faces more threats without a weapon. At the same time, the Master of Darkness is punishing his servant when a winged shadow arrives with Whiskey in a sack. Enraged that the shadow captured the wrong target, the Master of Darkness kills the creature and vents his fury on his servant by hurling him into a spiked wall. Just then, the monster that devoured Andy’s gun appears, unintentionally saving the servant and explaining Andy’s presence in the Darklands. The Master of Darkness then sends his minions to search for Andy. Deep in the swamp, Andy rescues a winged being named Amigo, who agrees to carry him to his home island. However, a fireball from a shadow creature stuns Amigo, causing him to drop Andy into a lake. At the lake’s bottom, Andy discovers a magical stone that gives him the ability to control plants and defeat enemies. After resurfacing, Amigo rescues him again and brings him to his home, introducing him to his people. Andy earns their respect by growing an apple tree for them. The Amigos agree to hide Andy in their village, but when night falls, the shadows attack and destroy the settlement. Andy manages to escape and reunites with the Amigos. He witnesses one of them fall to the evil ground, transforming into a winged shadow. Andy convinces the Amigos to harness the magic stone’s power and launch a war against the Master of Darkness. Empowered, the Amigos help Andy infiltrate the Master of Darkness’s lair. Inside, Andy is captured and locked in a cell with Whiskey, but he escapes and sets Whiskey free. Meanwhile, the Master of Darkness’s minions recover the magic stone and present it to him, who then destroys it, stripping Andy and the Amigos of their powers. Stripped of weapons once more, Andy is forced to flee from the shadows. During his escape, he stumbles into a hole and is swallowed by the giant monster that had eaten his gun. From inside the creature’s stomach, Andy retrieves his gun and shoots it in half, escaping. He then meets the servant and compels him to help defeat the Master of Darkness and locate Whiskey. The servant reveals that the only way to defeat the Master is to drop the completed magic stone into a dark portal. Andy then sets out to gather the stone’s fragments to restore it. He collects all but one piece, which is located on a bridge near the portal. As Andy fights his way to the bridge, the servant betrays him by pushing Whiskey into the portal. After battling numerous shadows and dodging fire attacks from the Master of Darkness, Andy reaches the bridge and retrieves the final piece. The Amigos then bind the servant and lower the stone onto the bridge, crushing him in the process. Ignoring the Master of Darkness’s warning that everyone will die if he proceeds, Andy places the final piece, which falls into the portal. The castle and the Master’s floating platform begin to collapse. The Master of Darkness is pulled into the portal, dragging Andy along with him. They emerge in the central chamber of the Heart of Darkness, where they engage in a final battle. Andy defeats the Master and hears a door creak open, revealing red eyes approaching. He prepares to fight, but the lights flick on, revealing it’s just Whiskey. They are back in Andy’s treehouse—the entire adventure was a product of his imagination. Andy’s mother calls them for dinner. After a kiss goodnight, Andy teases Whiskey about his fear of the dark and then turns off the nightlight, showing he has overcome his own fear thanks to his imaginary journey. The scene shifts to the Amigos recovering the wreckage of Andy’s ship, with the servant tied up and being mocked, proving that Andy’s adventure was real after all.
