Darkfield Arcade Review: Choose Your Path, Face the Darkness

★★★★

Sometimes the most powerful theatrical device is the human mind, and Darkfield know exactly how to exploit it. Arcade begins outside an unassuming shipping container, but once inside you step into a “choose your own adventure” like no other. Armed with a single button for decisions and a token to spend, without knowing what you will be buying, you plunge into total darkness.

From there, your imagination becomes the stage. You might find yourself tearing through neon lit nightclubs, squaring off against shadowy gangs, or trading for cursed weapons. The blackness is almost absolute, yet every so often a red flash cuts through, making you wonder if your fellow players have met their end before you. That flicker of competition sharpens the tension, as do sudden sprays of air that hit your skin like blood splatter when the characters in your mind do not survive another round. All of this is heightened by astonishing binaural sound design, which makes the world feel as if it is unfolding all around you, even though you cannot see a thing.

The experience lasts around 30 minutes, and you will be standing for the duration, although seating is available for those who need it. The gamification is brilliantly executed, making the time fly by. It is immersive, unpredictable, and utterly addictive.

When the lights finally returned, I was buzzing, replaying every decision in my head and wondering how differently it could have gone. Chatting to fellow participants only added to the thrill; their adventures were wildly different to mine, confirming the huge replay value. This is not just an experience you take part in. It is a world you step into, and one you will want to explore again and again until you have braved every shadowed corner.

Arcade plays at multiple points each day

Potterrow Plaza

Until 25th August

Buy Tickets Here