Dark and Darker was released just a few months ago, and since it’s in early access, it has received mixed reactions. It’s understandable since the title is a mix of multiple genres where swords, magic, and blood-pilling battles occur.

As such, Dark and Darker has taken the best of many games. It includes games from the Collecting, Shooting, Stealth, Action, Fighting, Adventure, Simulation, and Role-Play genres. Below, we discuss some of these games and how they touch some similar fibers to DaD.

• Release Date: August 7, 2023

• Developer: Ironmace

• Publisher: Ironmace

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows

• Metascore: N/A

If you blend Dark Souls and Escape from Tarkov, the result likely would be Dark and Darker. Dark and Darker is a mix of dungeon crawler, battle royale, and role-playing, creating an interesting game that is out of the norm.

Dark and Darker smartly combines the weapon and gear system of RPGs, the procedurally generated dungeons of roguelikes, and the survival of “extraction” battle royales with a PvPvE system that really breaks the rules.

This blend of various aspects has generated some transversal opinion in most players. However, the Dark and Darker game controversy (some people believe that Dark and Darker uses stolen files of a canceled game called Nexon) has brought popularity to the game, currently making it one of the most laureled and commented games.

The general idea behind Dark and Darker is to survive in a dungeon full of monsters and other players. The playing area shrinks over time, with players and creatures meeting to fight each other. Kills give you loot, which you can use in further tries. 

The fantasy world is something that makes Dark and Darker stand out from the rest of similar games, although there are just a few games that mix all the characteristics mentioned above. Let’s check some similar games.

• Release Date: August 27, 2019

• Developer: Crytek

• Publishers: Crytek | Koch Media

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5

• Metascore: 81

The first game in this list, Hunt Showdown, is a first-person shooter set in the Southern United States region with plenty of swamps, vegetation, desolated towns, and deadly creatures. In several medium-sized open-world maps, you will have to find clues to find and hunt bosses and monsters to claim a bounty. 

Hunt Showdown also boasts a battle royale mode called “Soul Survivor.” There, four hunters get equipment and must activate rifts and become the Wellspring. The one being the last standing is the winner of the round.

Hunt Showdown and Dark and Darker share this tense battle royale mode, in which you will have to face other players in a dangerous environment to achieve victory. This survival mechanic feels like a similar experience to Dark and Darker. In this regard, both titles are clever, with smooth mechanics that work exceptionally well.

Moreover, PvP and PvE are interestingly mixed in both titles, creating a whole that really resonates with the fans of the genre. Additionally, the pinches of the horror of both titles generate a sense of urgency and despair that is really hard to find in other games, which fusions incredibly well with the ambiance, characters, creatures, and other aspects of the map.

Key Features:

• Hunt alone or with friends on the vast maps surrounded by deadly creatures and more.

• Find the clue, the treasure, and the boss, and claim your reward.

• PvP, PvE, and PvPvE modes will provide you with the best combat experience ever.

Hunt Showdown Global Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

• Release Date: July 27, 2017

• Developer: Battlestate Games

• Publisher: Battlestate Games

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows

• Metascore: N/A

As its name indicates, Escape from Tarkov is about escaping a Soviet-like city located in the fictional region of Norvinsk, northwest Russia.

But what is the similar aspect between Escape from Tarkov and Dark and Darker?

Among all the games similar to Dark and Darker mentioned in this article, Escape from Tarkov is the one that is closer to its main mechanic: survive and escape from the map. However, Escape from Tarkov has different maps of different sizes, but these are fixed and not procedurally generated, as happens in Dark and Darker.

Besides, Escape from Tarkov maps look like the game occurs in a post-apocalyptic world where buildings are devastated, bombs have been crushed and exploded, and many people have died.

Despite both titles differing with respect to setting and era, the general sensation of despair and vertigo bring them closer, providing a very similar gameplay, although with different weapons, speed, and types of enemies.

Key Features:

• Several open world maps from which you must escape alive.

• Looting, crafting, trading, perks, and other mechanics to improve weapons.

• Specific missions to open your path through the Soviet bunker.

Escape from Tarkov Global Official Website CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.

• Release Date: October 23, 2013

• Developer: Grinding Gear Games

• Publisher: Grinding Gear Games

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, macOS, Xbox One, GeForce Now

• Metascore: 86

Path of Exile has been on the market for more than a decade, and its popularity has not declined at all. At its peak, Path of Exile had 164,429 concurrent players online and in-game. It’s an MMO and action role-playing game set in a fantasy dark world, just like Dark and Darker.

Even though both titles differ in the perspective through which you experience them (Path of Exile has a top-down perspective), the environments are pretty similar, containing medieval devastated maps. However, I can say that Path of Exile takes place on an “open world” map with several interconnected smaller maps through which you can advance or backtrack. 

Another similarity between Path of Exile and Dark and Darker is the abundance of enemies and mythical creatures, leading to incredibly tense moments as you navigate through them. Looting, crafting, and the system of weapons and gear are also pretty equal in both games, allowing you to improve your stats. But be aware that whether you die, you will lose your loot.

Like other games of the genre, Path of Exile allows you to select your direction and do whatever you want. And like Dark and Darker, you can play with friends to help each other and reach victory.

Key Features:

• Total freedom of what you can do. Decisions are yours, and you build your path.

• Hundreds of weapons, gear, items, and perks to enhance your powers.

• Dozens of deadly missions. You will have to explore all the vast lands to complete them.

• Release Date: April 29, 2019

• Developer: Triternion

• Publisher: Triternion

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

• Metascore: 81

Contrary to Dark and Darker, Mordhau is a multiplayer fighting game with hack-and-slash elements. However, like DaD, it is set in a medieval setting where limbs fly away when the battle is unleashed.

Similar to Dark and Darker, Mordhau is based on melee combat that never leaves aside the strategy and planning. In Mordhau, controlled approximation in hand-to-hand combat is a mandatory step to survive on maps full of enemies.

The game also boasts a huge number of weapons and gear, which allows high customization and skill-based gameplay, something similar that you can experience in Dark and Darker. Both titles prioritize freedom when it comes to creating your own character and battle style, which will depend on the weapons you pick and loot.

Mordhau also features a battle royale mode in which 64 players compete until death. In this mode, you start without weapons or armor, and just like in Dark and Darker, you get weapons inside chests. This way, you increase the chance of survival. Besides, a ring surrounding the map will mark the area of the battlefield.

Key Features:

• Massive battles with hundreds of heroes fighting each other to achieve victory.

• Cooperative or offline fun with your team or solo while trying to conquer the territory.

• A wide arsenal of weapons to define your fighting style.

Mordhau Global Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.

• Release Date: October 25, 2022

• Developer: TaleWorlds Entertainment

• Publishers: TaleWorlds Entertainment | Prime Matter

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

• Metascore: 77

Mount & Blade II: Bannelord is a warlike game, really focused on strategy, action, and RPG elements. The game puts you in the middle of a war, where you have to do your best to survive and achieve the goals of your army.

Mount & Blade II: Bannelord provides you with a very similar experience to Dark and Darker since the general sensation of the first is crazy action all the time, with arrows flying everywhere and devastating battles with a lot of people dying simultaneously.

Since Bannelord is a role-playing game, you can get resources to construct several weapons to help you when attacking the enemy army. Besides, you also must build several teams of soldiers to complete quests and unleash battles to advance through challenges.

Bannelord and Dark and Darker also share similar graphics and aesthetics in medieval surroundings. Still, Bannelord has more realistic environments since it’s based on a period of humanity. This way, weapons, outfits, and battlefields are hyperrealistic.

Key Features:

• An acclaimed medieval combat simulator with multiple RPG elements.

• Bloodthirsty battles give you the opportunity to get different weapons and gear.

• Multiplayer PvP with highly customizable opportunities to create your warrior.

Mount & Blade II: Bannelord Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

• Release Date: September 22, 2011

• Developer: FromSoftware

• Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

• Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 

• Metascore: 89

Dark Souls is already a classic of all time. Together with other creations of Hidetaka Miyazaki, like Demon’s Souls (2009), this game built the foundations of the Souls genre, a unique experience characterized by the difficulty of its maps, mobs, and bosses, and the “souls” system, through which you collect souls to improve your stats.

Like similar games of the genre (Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, etc.), Dark Souls prompts you to fight against powerful enemies, almost impossible to kill bosses, and even play online.

Dark Souls doesn’t only share the word “Dark” with Dark and Darker. Both titles feature similar environments and surroundings, commonly dungeons, prisons, catacombs, and big castles with multiple passages and rooms from which it is very difficult to escape.

Besides, the system of loot, getting several weapons (swords, crossbows, bows, etc.), armor, and items, is also pretty similar to that you can find in Dark and Darker. If you play Dark and Darker and haven’t tried Dark Souls yet, you have to do it right now! Just remember that Dark Souls has a steep learning curve, so it will take you time to play it well.

Key Features:

• One of the most important games of recent years with difficult mechanics.

• A medieval fantasy setting in which surviving is pretty hard.

• Dozens of weapons and gear options to adopt several attack modes.

Dark Souls Remastered Global Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.

Dark and Darker is a relatively new game and a great adventure for people looking for survival in a medieval world. It’s also gaining hundreds of regulars every day, with multiple gamers entering its servers daily to enjoy this challenging approach. 

Anyway, with the titles we’ve mentioned above, you will be able to play alternatives to Dark and Darker based on genre easily. Consider them according to your taste. Maybe you’ll discover Dark and Darker’s surprises.