Dark and Darker: Release Date and Why It's Not on Steam

Dark and Darker is a multiplayer fantasy RPG where you and your friends will search for treasure in dark dungeons, fight monsters, and try to survive against other teams. Whether you can stay alive long enough to extract your loot, or die and lose everything, is entirely up to you! Let's see what else we know about Dark and Darker. We researched the Dark and Darker release date, trailer, gameplay and much more for you! We also think we can answer the question, why isn't Dark and Darker on Steam?

What Is the Dark And Darker Release Date?

Dark and Darker entered early access on Monday, August 7, 2023.

Why Isn't Dark And Darker on Steam?

Developer Ironmace says it will still seek a return to Steam for the game's release. Dark and Darker was removed from Steam following Nexon's alleged cease-and-desist decision, but thanks to updates to the ARPG's backend on the platform, it's thought that it could return to Steam soon.

Dark And Darker Trailer

Currently, only one teaser trailer exists for the game. In the trailer, you can see some weapon options, including melee and ranged attacks, and even a classic fireball, along with a handful of enemies waiting for you in the dark:

How Does Dark And Darker Play?

Dark And Darker combines classic fantasy and role-playing with dungeon-crawling and even extraction mechanics. To acquire new loot, earn gold and level up your character, you need to survive long enough for your escape portal to appear. As we'd generally expect from RPGs, there are specific ways to level up and strengthen your character before heading into battle. In Dark and Darker, these are mostly perks and skills. Alongside that, some Dark and Darker classes can also use magic. Perks are passive and offer a buff when a certain condition is met. For example, one of the barbarian's perks gives a 10% physical damage bonus while not wearing chest armor.

Skills sit on your Q and E buttons and each has its own cooldown that must be triggered when needed. Some of these, for example, can temporarily boost everyone in your group's HP, supporting your teammates for a while, and all of them need to be used at the right time. For example, if you're a ranger caught out, especially while fighting a mobile opponent, you can trigger the Multishot skill, which lets you fire five arrows at once.

While you're limited in both perk and skill choices to start, you can add to them through training, which is separate for each of your characters.

When Is the Next Dark And Darker Playtest?

The next Dark and Darker playtest hasn't been announced yet, but we'll keep you updated as soon as we hear from the developers...