The Church in the Darkness

Lore & Background

The Church in the Darkness is set inside an isolated religious colony called 'Freedom Town' in the 1970s. The player controls Vic, an ex-law enforcement officer who attempts to check on his sister's son, Alex. The colony is led by Isaac and Rebecca Walker of the 'Collective Justice Mission', who preach socialism and sustainable agricultural living in a Christian society. The leaders are voiced by the married couple John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain. The story unfolds through their regular updates on the camp's public address system.

Some elements of the game are procedurally generated, with each start changing people's allegiances, beliefs, and camp layout. The game's premise arises from designer Richard Rouse III's lifelong fascination with cults. Rouse has been a fan of 'open-narrative' games since the mid-'80s and was 'stunned' to see the many popular games of 2016 with fixed narratives. The game has been said to have 'very obvious echoes of Jonestown'. Rouse was particularly intrigued by the Source family, a spiritual commune in the late 1960s situated in the Hollywood Hills.

Reader's Guide

The Church in the Darkness received 'mixed or average' reception from critics according to Metacritic, and weak approval from OpenCritic, with only 24% of critics recommending it. Robin Burks wrote for Screen Rant that 'the big ideas don't live up to the hype with a game that's so small and gives the player very little to do.' The game's significance lies in its attempt to blend procedural generation with narrative, allowing each playthrough to alter character allegiances and camp layout. Its thematic inspiration from real-world cults, particularly Jonestown and the Source family, gives it a distinct historical context. However, the critical response suggests that its execution fell short of its ambitious design, resulting in a game that was noted more for its concepts than its gameplay depth.