The return of "Dark and Darker" to Steam was to be celebrated as it should have been: after being removed from the platform in 2023 in a legal dispute with Nexon, developer Ironmace was finally able to bring it back to the store last week. Unexpectedly, the price was also reduced and the game was relaunched as free-to-play instead. And that's where the trouble began.

In other words, Dark and Darker is not really free to play. What is free to play is a reduced, restricted mode of the full version of Dark and Darker. While it is not uncommon for free-to-play games to restrict free players in various ways, many simply sell cosmetic or convenience items to generate revenue. However, the free-to-play version of "Dark and Darker" feels more like a demonstration.

Unless you purchase the full version for $30 in-game currency, you get one character slot and access to normal mode. Normal mode is a bit of a misnomer, but on the surface it doesn't sound too bad. What it really means is that most of the loot you find in a dungeon cannot be taken into the next dungeon.

After successfully exploring my first dungeon, I acquired a well-equipped barbarian. I got a meaty double axe, some fashionable boots to increase my speed (which was much needed since Barbarians are slow on their feet), and a few more small items. This was because none of these items were marked as "common".

In a game that is all about fighting in dungeons for loot, it seems absurd that you are not allowed to actually use the loot. They can be used in the dungeons where they are found, but after that, you are out of luck. This goes against the game's modus operandi: as explained on Steam, Dark and Darker is all about diving into dungeons with your friends to "discover mythical treasures." Not surprisingly, the removal of this aspect of the game has resulted in a "Mixed" rating on Steam.

Ironmace quickly responded to the criticism. The developer stated, "The game has always been pay-to-play and we intend to keep the full experience as is. So why is it listed as free to play?" Ironmace has an answer, and frankly, it is a poor one." The main reason we released the game as Free to Play (F2P) is because we promised our early loyal adopters of Blacksmith (the standalone client) that we would do everything possible to not force them to repurchase the game if they moved to a major platform Because we did. We don't believe in double-dealing or taking advantage of our fans, who are the only reason we've gotten this far.

Rather than distribute Steam or Epic keys to Blacksmith players, "which was neither feasible nor fair to our platform partners," we made it free to play and eventually allowed Blacksmith players to link their accounts to be able to link their accounts. In other words, to avoid "technical, logistical, and contractual hurdles," Ironmace promoted a game it still considers a "paid product" as a free-to-play game. Hmmm.

That means free players can only play in normal mode; Ironmace cites another reason." A secondary reason for restricting free players to normal mode was to act as a barrier and lower the incentive for hackers to sabotage the game."

According to Iron Mace, hackers primarily target high-roller dungeons, so restricting free accounts to normal mode was "a precautionary measure to try to compartmentalize their damage. However, since most players are not hackers, restricting access to the game to mitigate potential damage from a minority of troublemakers is questionable.

It should be noted that the normal mode was not designed exclusively for the free-to-play version; it was added in November and Iron Maes claims it is a "fan favorite." I'm not sure I want to play a loot driven game where I can't use loot, but apparently "blacksmith players saw this mode as a solution to the divisive item disparity, and many players saw this mode as the most fair and balanced mode, not a restrictive system". I think there are all kinds of people. Some people enjoy playing Dark Souls on Bongo. Humans are strange.

Iron Mace admits it was wrong. 'Contrary to our intentions, we failed to anticipate the expectations that new players would have when approaching our game. We did not intend to deceive our players and we realize now that the current normal/high roller dichotomy is not well designed for F2P players. We built a complete loot extraction game, and then forced a large portion of our player base to not be able to access their hard earned loot without a workaround. We now understand the absurdity of the situation and wish to make amends.

Naturally, this will not happen overnight, but Ironmace is willing to reach a compromise soon. The studio is "currently working on a solution that takes into account the needs of both existing and new players" and aims to "respect the loyalty of existing players while giving new players the ability to experience the full loot harvesting loop and put their loot at risk. Players can expect to hear about the studio's plans "very soon," the developer said.

It is unfortunate that the relaunch was marred in this way, but "Dark and Darker" is a very nice game and we hope it gets resolved soon. However, it seems wild that such a reaction was not anticipated. Even if the normal mode is preferred by veteran players, those are the ones who already have the loot. For new players, it is the worst possible first impression and does not live up to the fantasy the game promises.