Last Half of Darkness

Last Half of Darkness
Genre(s)	Adventure, horror
First release	Last Half of Darkness 1989
Latest release	Last Half of Darkness (2025) 2025

Last Half of Darkness is a point and click adventure horror video game franchise that began in 1989 with the DOS "early horror adventure" ^[1] video game Last Half of Darkness developed by SoftLab Laboratories. ^[2]

Other games in the series include: Last Half of Darkness II (1992), Last Half of Darkness III (1993), Last Half of Darkness (2000), Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants (2005), Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye (2007), Tomb of Zojir: Last Half of Darkness (2009), Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon (2011), and "Last Half of Darkness (2025)". The Society of the Serpent Moon was published by Iceberg Interactive. ^[3]

Gaming Lives said that the franchise "has many fans and offers traditional horror adventure gaming with some innovative 'hands-on' puzzle features". ^[4]

Production

The 2000 game Last Half of Darkness was a remake that combined the first three games in the franchise. ^[5]

Gameplay

The franchise is based around adventure game mechanics; for example the first entry allowed the player to manipulate items using four verbs: Move, Examine, Take and Operate. It is very rare in the franchise for the player to interact with other human characters. ^[6]

Plot

Consisting of an investigative ^[7] and horror-themed series of plots, the games are based inside locations such as a haunted mansion where cases must be solved.

Critical reception

• Last Half of Darkness received a 3/5 from Abandonia. ^[8] MyAbandonWare deemed it "one of the most obscure horror games ever made". ^[9] According to DocCollection, the game acquired a cult following. ^[10]
• Last Half of Darkness II received a 2/5 from Abandonia. ^[8]
• Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants received a B+ from GameBomers, ^[11] and 4/5 stars from Metzomagic. ^[12]
• Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye received 90/100 from AdventureLantern ^[13] and 4/5 stars from Metzomagic. ^[14]
• Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir received a 6/10 from Gamer.nl. ^[15] DiehardGamerfan wrote that "the atmosphere is spectacular, the music is chilling, the game is creepy as hell and it features some really innovative puzzles". ^[16] AdventureLanterm gave it 4.5/5 stars ^[17] while AdventureGamers gave it 3.5/5 stars. ^[18]
• Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon received 3.5 stars from AdventureGamers, ^[19] and a B from GameBoomers. ^[20] Adventure Classic Gaming called it "absorbing, thrilling, and enjoyable". ^[21] Diehard Gamefan deemed it "solid, [and] mostly stable". ^[22] It received 5.5/10 from CapsuleComputers. ^[23]

References

1. Cobbett, Richard (9 August 2014). "Saturday Crapshoot: Haunted Casino". PC Gamer .
2. "Last Half of Darkness for DOS (1989) - MobyGames".
3. "Iceberg Interactive To Publish Latest Last Half Of Darkness Game - GamingLives".
4. "The Great GL 2011 Adventure Roundup - GamingLives".
5. "Last Half of Darkness (Game) - Giant Bomb".
6. "Last Half of Darkness Society of the Serpent Moon review for Windows". 5 July 2012.
7. "Last Half of Darkness returns in Society of the Serpent". 19 April 2012.
8. "Last Half of Darkness II, The".
9. "Last Half of Darkness".
10. "Last Half Of Darkness - #1 Place To Download Last Half Of Darkness".
11. "Last Half of Darkness review".
12. "Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants Review by metzomagic.com".
13. "Last Half of Darkness: Beyond The Spirit's Eye Review - Adventure Lantern".
14. "Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye Review by metzomagic.com".
15. "Tomb of Zojir: Last Half of Darkness". gamer.nl. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
16. "Review: Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir (PC) - Diehard GameFAN". Archived from the original on July 26, 2009.
17. "Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir Review - Adventure Lantern".
18. "Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir review - AdventureGamers.com". 26 October 2009.
19. "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon review - AdventureGamers.com". 26 August 2011.
20. "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon review".
21. "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon - Review - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums".
22. "Review: Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon (PC) - Diehard GameFAN". Archived from the original on July 28, 2012.
23. "Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon Review - Capsule Computers - Gaming & Entertainment News, Reviews, Interviews & Competitions". 28 July 2012.