Good Smile Company and IzanagiGames’ Dark Auction is among one of the most intriguing mystery adventure titles I’ve played, and it’s a game that certainly surprised me at times. This new game features a deeply engaging narrative that delves into the psyche of various characters to explore themes of trauma, but it’s also not as dark and demotivating as its premise might suggest. That being said, Dark Auction is both limited and thriving in its limits in terms of story and its overall presentation.
Before delving into the story, the pedigree of talent behind Dark Auction is definitely worth highlighting in order the set the stage. Dark Auction is set in 1981 West Germany with a story written by Rika Suzuki, who previously worked on the captivating stories of Another Code: Recollection and Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The game features character designs by GANGSTA. manga author and illustrator Kohske, along with music by Monster Hunter composer Yuko Komiyama and Megami Tensei composer Tsukasa Masuko—all of whom are credited with development studio IzanagiGames. It’s a dream team of niche Japanese game developers, and they certainly crafted a game that stayed strong throughout the dozens of hours I spent playing.
Dark Auction Offers a Compelling Story Rooted in Mental Health
The story of Dark Auction begins with Noah Crawford, an 18-year-old young man whose en route in a taxi to an ancient castle to bring his father Leonard back home. Noah’s father is a failed writer and an eccentric person who is obsessed with research regarding the infamous “Dictator X.” Upon entering the castle, Noah realizes that other people are inside, and once the coast is clear, he enters the auction room where his dying father sits with a strange contraption on his head.
After witnessing his father’s final moments, Noah is left in the room with a owl-headed man known as the Auctioneer, who reveals that Noah’s father was a victim of unfortunate circumstances during an auction. It’s here that the Auctioneer reveals that nobody can physically leave the castle until the auction is over, and in order to find out the truth behind his father, Noah must participate in the auction in Leonard’s stead while cozying up to the other participants and colluding with the Auctioneer.
Instead of going the usual “death game” route that more popular adventure games have explored, Dark Auction delves into the intrapersonal turmoil of the characters involved, including Noah himself. Each day, the auction has a target and prized item on the line, and in order for the auction to progress smoothly, Noah and the Auctioneer must ensure that each target lives. As Noah, the player will investigate each auction participant, learn about their life and struggles, and uncover the lies and hidden truths within their mind—trauma and all.
To order to uncover such a truth, you will have to succeed where Leonard failed, and you will have to use cunning and reason in a productive way. This is all while being treated some amazing music tracks by Komiyama, Masuko, and the jazz team brought together by IzanagiGames. The music in Dark Auction is truly superb, and when paired with a great set of headphones, you’re in for a real treat.
Mind on the Line
Besides Noah and the deceased Leonard, players will get to know an intriguing cast of characters with their own motivations for choosing to participate in the auction. These characters include Edgar Schulz, a reserved and anxious doctor, and Karla Becker, a young teenage girl who’s wise beyond her years. Each character is important and gets plenty of time to shine due to the nature of the auction and its rules, and they’re quite memorable thanks to the stellar and dramatic writing. The voice cast is also star-studded with the performances of Kengo Kawanishi, Rikiya Koyama, Daisuke Namikawa, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Maaya Uchida, Yui Ishikawa, Akira Ishida, and Show Hayami.
On each day, players explore the castle and its presently available facilities while investigating the auction target and talking to the participants. At first, I was expecting Dark Auction to be more like a visual novel with scenes that connect to an eventual climax for each chapter, but instead, players navigate the castle in a 3D map. As you explore and talk to the auction participants, keywords will be obtained and collected in “Noah’s Cloud,” which can be accessed at anytime. These keywords will help you determine what someone is lying about when the daily auction arrives at the end of the day.
The auction is the actual main event, where the narrative and gameplay segments intersect in a strange sci-fi way. As revealed by the Auctioneer in the game’s Prologue, this auction isn’t ordinary at all. It requires each target to willingly have their memories recorded in order to complete the “DNA memory film” of their loved ones who had passed away. The contraption that was used on Leonard is the very device that records these memories for the auction, plays them in real-time, and unlocks the target’s prize, if Noah (and the player) are successful.
The auction plays out in stages, with Noah using an external device to examine the target’s memories. In each stage, you’ll piece together fragments of the target’s repressed memories by slotting them into the right scene or determining whether the target is lying about certain memories, intentional or not. Although these segments are rather simple from a gameplay standpoint, you can sense the stakes at hand, especially when you make mistakes. The target’s brain health will start at 100% and will whittle away with each mistake, so you have to make sure you are using context clues, reading up on keywords, and paying close attention to details in the story to make sure you pass the auction with flying colors.
The Main Caveats
Dark Auction has a story and cast of characters that are slightly limited to the overall presentation of the game, for better or worse. The character artwork by Kohske is great and I thoroughly enjoy it, but the in-game character models lack expression and emotion. They get the point across when it comes to encounters and scenes in the 3D map, but I certainly wish the character models were as great to look at like the artwork.
One of the most glaring issues with Dark Auction involves the usage of images for artwork and photography, especially for memory film sequences. In an ADV game like this, illustrations are immersive and bring a level of cohesion to the overall game itself—character and background art included. For example, it’s strange to see a character like Edgar Schulz talk about his upbringing while viewing uncanny and realistic images that don’t fit the visual style of Dark Auction’s characters and setting.
I don’t know whether these images are stock images that were obscured to better fit Dark Auction’s overall aesthetic or are AI-generated (note: there’s no AI disclaimer on the game’s Steam page), but I will say that it’s distracting and takes away from the beautiful artwork by Kohske. I can certainly see other players becoming disconnected and/or distracted by images that don’t fit with the visual style of the game.
Dark Auction is a Great Game with an Equally Great Message
I really enjoyed the story of Dark Auction, and the game handles mental health subjects quite well by putting an emphasis on the connections that Noah builds and how people can overcome trauma. Dark Auction is a story about confronting the past and using it to move forward, and it’s also a story of deception while on the pursuit of good and a better future. The game uses the backdrop of World War II and a certain dictator’s infamy as a motif that illustrates how negatively life can be impacted.
Overall, Dark Auction is a clever game with a great message, a beautiful artstyle and aesthetic, and a memorable cast of characters. The game does falters at times with its portrayal of memories, since the images and artwork that were used clash with the Kohske’s established artstyle. Whether on purpose or unintentionally, this design choice can break immersion when it really matters, especially with an ADV title depends on consistency. I still thoroughly enjoy Dark Auction for what it brings, and for an ADV, it nails its story, character artwork, soundtrack, and general vibe quite well.
Dark Auction is available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam worldwide, and a free demo is also available now.
Disclaimer: IzanagiGames provided a Steam key of Dark Auction for review purposes.
