Return to Darkness by T4RAN
Descend into the dark depths of the caves as a miner armed with a pickaxe and pistol. Battle monsters and gather rare crystals that will help you survive in this grim world. Your goal is to reach the bottom of the cave, uncover its secrets, and restore the balance disrupted by darkness.




| Link | https://t4ran.itch.io/return-to-darkness |
| Link | https://t4ran.itch.io/return-to-darkness |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/return-to-darkness |
Ratings
| Overall | 29th | 4.023⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 56th | 3.682⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 152th | 3.295⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 15th | 4.326⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 28th | 4.239⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 5th | 4.205⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 94th | 3.133⭐ | 17🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 12th | 4.318⭐ | 24🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 12🗳️ | 6🗨️ |
@OldDog — Really happy you enjoyed the game! A boss underground is a great idea, I’ll definitely think about it.
@BarnabeWild — Glad the music and shooting while falling worked for you!
@Shakirovich — Thanks for the helpful notes! I’ll definitely consider tweaking the lighting, improving the ending, and adding new mechanics.
I Loved the ambiance, the digging, and the lights!
Having the bullets and the F light be the same resource could have been a nice twist, with some sort of mechanism around the light being necessary to get down.
I agree with another comment that said he didn't see a use for the lights, I also forgot about them until replaying it. One thing I kind of missed is having a reason to explore instead of just digging down, maybe something to collect or some hints that add to a bigger puzzle. Just throwing ideas out there.
Anyway, your game is really cool and I think you did a great job.
I am not sure what I was supposed to do, killed a few bats, dug to the bottom and saw the eyes. Is there something to do in particular to "restore the balance disrupted by darkness" ?
The idea of the wall drawings as hints was inspired by The Binding of Isaac.
As for the “restoring the balance disrupted by darkness” — it’s more of a hint towards a possible future expansion than a concrete goal in this version.
I really like digging and exploring, so that felt great! Kinda missed the final boss, the final room totally has that "prepare to fight" vibe. But still, great game!
I love the fact that aside you could choose your own path, you could mine gems to refill your health and ammo making digging to depths easier.