Spark in the Dark Review: Hardcore Dungeon Crawling With No Mercy

A punishing dungeon crawler where the dark is not just atmosphere, but a threat

Spark in the Dark is the latest addition to the brutal hardcore dungeon crawler action RPG genre, and one where you’ll die, again, and again, and again. To say it is unforgiving would be an understatement, but games like this have a unique charm to players who like to punish themselves with the self-destructive conviction and unforgiving nature of bastard-hard games, all in the search for great gaming experiences, even ones with permadeath.

The dying part is relatively easy, and quite expected, so there are really no surprises to the punishing gameplay hook when you know what you’re in for from the start.

Light is not just atmosphere in Spark in the Dark. It is survival.

Light is survival, not decoration

What sets Spark in the Dark apart, though, is its approach to the core mechanics within the genre. In this case, when your character spends too much time in the dark, he’ll be adversely affected by a debuff that slowly depletes health.

What balances this is the constant need to tread carefully and light the way, where you’ll be at an advantage to reap the benefits with loot, armour, or weapon upgrades the deeper in you go. It’s this gameplay mechanic that drives you forward. There’s not a lot of time to wait and catch your breath unless you find a safe room, or one in which you’ll find sources of light to maintain your health.

Natural light removes the debilitating debuff, as does your own lantern and lamps situated on tables, which makes the need to explore and search every nook and cranny essential, not only to reap the personal gains you’ll make as progression in upgrading armour and weapons, but as a way to heal too.

To say this game is dark is an understatement. Apprehension builds the deeper you explore the myriad of dungeon chambers, passageways, and dead ends, and because you’ll die a lot, you’ll learn the dungeon layout, albeit with adversaries and things like traps in different places on the replay.

Reviewed on PC.Score: 7/10

Spark in the Dark

Release: April 7, 2026, Early Access

Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG, Early Access

Developer / Publisher: Stellar Fish

Platforms: PC via Steam, macOS via Steam

Spark in the Dark – Early Access Release Trailer

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Classes, punishment, and the choice of how much pain you want

Players can choose from four different characters, all equipped with their own unique attributes, abilities, and combat skills: Blacksmith, Warrior, Hunter, and Thief.

The Blacksmith, for example, armed with an imposing warhammer, has crafting bonuses, ideal for armour fixing. The Warrior, as you would expect, loads up on combat abilities, but both are similar heavy-duty protagonists in that respect.

The Hunter, armed with a crossbow, has the devious and satisfying ability to repurpose traps, great for resetting or moving to use against your enemies if placed in strategic locations. Lastly, the Thief, armed with twin daggers, comes with the lockpicking ability and Child of Shadows ability, which is handy because it means you’ll take less damage being in the dark for extended periods of time.

The Thief class leans into shadows, stealth, and survival inside Spark in the Dark’s punishing dungeon.

In terms of difficulty modes, these are presented as Forgotten Dungeon, Cursed Dungeon, and lastly, for any sadists out there, the toughest in the form of Nightmare Dungeon.

As for game saves, you’ve got two options. Path of the Seeker allows you to save progress in safe rooms. Dying in this save mode means respawning from your last save location, but with some broken weapons. Path of the Survivor, on the other hand, is a complete brutal reset from scratch. These save options cater for novices or players that want a fighting chance, offset with the true hardcore aspect of permadeath.

Safe rooms offer a rare moment to breathe, repair, and prepare before heading back into the dark.

A dungeon built around punishment, memory, and smart survival

In terms of narrative approach, Spark in the Dark’s underlying story is that each of the protagonists is a criminal, and not necessarily by choice either. Falsely accused or not, the dungeon is your punishment and where you’ll likely end your days, as have many others before you.

This isn’t just a dungeon scoot-and-loot affair either. While chests, drawers, and bodies can be looted for gear, weapons, and better armour, gold coins become an essential commodity that glow in the darkness and act as handy markers. There’s no merchant setup to buy gear, so the coins have no progression value in that sense.

Leaving gold coins in places you previously explored, rather like expensive breadcrumbs, especially in doorways, helps you avoid backtracking or searching the same area twice. It’s not hard to get spun around during combat in the darkness, only to enter an area you thought was previously unexplored but isn’t.

Spark in the Dark builds its atmosphere through oppressive darkness, narrow spaces, and careful use of light.

Combat rewards patience more than panic

Combat, depending on which character you choose, varies between melee and ranged and is a fairly simple no-frills affair, in that there are no heavy attacks. It becomes apparent early on that arming yourself with a better weapon and armour than what you were equipped with is a high priority.

With no real guiding line of sight for the crossbow, every shot on target is valuable, and with scant ammo, your engagements need to be a sure-fire hit because you’ll find not all your crossbow bolts can be recovered either.

Fighting multiple enemies is ill-advised, so drawing enemies out or creating choke points where the advantage of attack can be leveraged through careful environment positioning is the best advice. Alternatively, the advantage of repositioned traps is the thinking man’s approach to staying alive for longer and packing a punch on heavier-armoured adversaries.

Combat against foes such as giant corpse spiders is all based on timing, dodging, and sidestepping lunged attacks to counter with well-placed strikes. Regaining vital health from poisonous attacks or booby-trapped chests means having to seek out a light source to heal and regain composure before setting off again.

It’s worth mentioning that your inventory page doesn’t pause the game. You’re still open to attack, so choose wisely when to access this while sorting your gear.

Verdict

Spark in the Dark provides a compelling hardcore dungeon crawler that rewards a cunning approach to combat. The dark labyrinth of chambers and passages notches up the atmospheric tension. Unforgiving at times, every step is a chance for better gear, but every engagement is fraught with deadly risk and uncertainty that keeps the adrenaline flowing.

You’ll pay dearly for costly mistakes in the fight, but replayability with different classes means there’s room to experiment in a world cloaked in darkness. Spark in the Dark isn’t for everyone, and it does have a couple of rough edges it needs to smooth out, but it’s absolutely more than a worthy addition to the hardcore dungeon crawler genre.

Related Reading

For more tough, atmospheric, and unusual PC reviews, you can also read our Pathologic 3 review and our Roots Devour review. You can also browse more reviews on the Fix Gaming Channel Reviews page.

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