Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy

Did You Know?

• The player's goal is to prevent a global apocalypse by redeeming cursed spirits attempting to start various disasters.
• Once all possible disasters are prevented, the player must defeat the dark lord Gar Hob.

Development

Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy was brought to life by developer Tribal Dreams and publisher Interplay Entertainment. The surrealist French artist Gil Bruvel crafted the game's visuals. It operated on the EDEN engine from Heartland Enterprises. The title appeared at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo in June and returned for E3 1997. Actors Lolita Davidovich and James Woods provided both voice work and motion capture, with Davidovich as Angel Gemini and Woods as Gar Hob.

Release

Costco and other retailers refused to stock Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy before its launch, objecting to box art showing the character Angel Gemini curled up and nude. Interplay sales VP Kim Motika criticized this stance, questioning why stores would sell Tomb Raider yet deem this game’s cover too provocative. Interplay staff acknowledged that their own advertising might have alienated family-focused chains. The title later returned to digital shelves via GOG.com in December 2016.

Reception

Critics were split on Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy, according to Metacritic. Next Generation found its mix of real-time elements and puzzle mechanics intriguing but ultimately unengaging, comparing it to The Last Express, Zork Nemesis, and Myst. Aaron Curtiss of the Los Angeles Times admired the visuals, describing the Village of the Damned as a psychotic Disneyland. Commercially, the game was a major failure. In 2012, Complex ranked its ending among the worst in video game history.