If David Lynch had created X-Files for a public access channel, it would probably have looked a lot like Dark Nights with Poe and Munro. This new FMV title from D'Avekki Studios (The Shapeshifting Detective, Dr. Dekker) may barely be considered a video game, but that certainly doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile experience. Those with a surrealist sweet tooth will be entertained by Dark Nights' six episodes of supernatural camp thanks mostly to the committed and bizarrely charming performances of the leading couple.
Poe and Munro are hosts of a late-night radio talk show in the rural town of August. Between their flirtatious banter and pre-recorded horror stories, the hosts field calls from the residents of August. These calls are often bizarre and usually threatening, and lead the couple into encounters with ghosts, psychics, serial killers, and demons. It sounds a lot more thrilling than it actually is. Still, Dark Nights is uniquely bizarre enough to warrant a sincere recommendation.
Interactive Theater
FMV often work quite well as detective stories. Her Story, Telling Lies, and D'Avekki's previous FMV game The Shapeshifting Detective all do a fantastic job of bringing the player into the world of the game and giving them the agency to interact with the scenes and explore. In each of these those titles, the player has a goal and the narrative of the game moves forward based on choices.
Dark Nights isn't anything like that. In fact, the interactive components are so paper-thin, I almost would have preferred that Dark Nights was instead packaged as a traditional mini-series.
Throughout each episode, the player will occasionally be given a choice to make. What exactly the player is choosing is often unclear, but as it turns out, these choices are entirely without consequence. Many decisions simply change a line of dialogue, a few lead to entirely different scenes that provide additional context to the story that the player otherwise would not have seen, but all of them are inconsequential insofar as they make no impact on the story being told or the resolution of events.
The player engagement is a step removed from even something like Netflix's Bandersnatch where the choices themselves are part of the narrative. This isn't a chose your own adventure story. It's a TV show with alternate/deleted scenes presented chronologically. If you make no choice, one will eventually be made for you. Players can watch the entire series with one hand on their mouse so as not to miss any "choices," but honestly, I found it more enjoyable to just sit back and let it play it. It makes no difference either way.
At the end of each episode, your choices are laid out Walking Dead-style along with the stats on how many other players made the same choice. There's no way to click back into the scene and make the other choice; one can only replay the entire episode to see what's different. This is a pet peeve of mine and kept me from seeing every possible permutation of choices, again, not that those choices made any narrative difference.
The Inimitable Poe And Munro
Dark Nights is a pretty low budget production. Dodgy special effects, harsh lighting, and the occasional compression artifacting (turn off HDR) took me out of the experience often. What always brought me back was watching Klemens Koehring and Leah Cunard fully commit to the roles of Poe and Munro. Watching them interact is endearing at times, bewildering at others, but always captivating.
Koehring's Poe is an overly expressive, heart-on-his-sleeves entertainer. His desire to protect Munro is at odds with his cowardice and perhaps complementary to his selfishness. His radio persona and off-air personality are almost equally hammy, and his larger-than-life personality actually grounds the series, even when the plot is incomprehensible.
Cunard's Munro, on the other hand, is a pack of personality C4 with a broken timer. She emotes wildly and unpredictably like a femme Nic Cage. Her on-air personality, which oozes saccharine sexuality, is not nearly as threatening as her off-air personality. Where Poe is a constant ham, Munro comes across completely unhinged. I really can't tell how self-aware her performance is, but I was completely unable to look away. Even her accent seems to change with the direction of the wind. Munro is, frankly, bizarre, and a joy to watch.
Why So Tame?
The content in Dark Nights is tamer than a PG-13 movie edited for network television. Don't expect sex, scares, violence, or even a single curse word, and I'm not entirely sure why. Mature content isn't a qualitative necessity, but when you play in the space of erotic-thrillers, murder mysteries, and monster movies, your audience may have a certain expectation.
The audience for Dark Nights is likely as small as the town of August where these stories take place, but I found a lot to enjoy. The six episodes are almost entirely disconnected despite a fascinating setup in Episode 1 that carries over into the start of Episode 3. None of the episodes have clear or satisfying resolutions. There are alternate endings to seek out, but they just reinforce the fact that there isn't a particularly meaningful story being told. It's more of an atmospheric experience. Each episode has a unique presentation and all of the performances, even the side characters, definitely impress. If you're a fan of the surreal, Dark Nights With Poe And Munro is bizarrely captivating enough to add to your list.
A PC code for Dark Nights With Poe And Munro was provided to TheGamer for this review. Dark Nights is available now on PC.