Player Comments on The Only Lights in the Darkness are Flames

The Only Lights in the Darkness are Flames Review

I like Steve's stories a lot, but this wasn't one of his best ones.

Still, there's definetly something cool here.

What I like about Steve, is that even when his stories sometimes don't work as well, or hit as hard, he still goes out with a bang. He's always doing something interesting and cool, and while this story wasn't like really good, there are several commendable aspects about it.

The constant perspective shifts were kind of jarring, but at the same time, I respect Steve for trying to pull it off. It feels like a Navy Seals Movie, something in the vein of Lone Survivor or American Sniper, but with this cool horror twist of fighting a strange cult that's able to summon creepy demons and monsters.

The constant shifts in perspective were actually tolerable in the beginning, and they made the usual lore dump a bit more interesting, since each time you're learning about a new character, you're learning about it from their thoughts. This isn't a character-driven narrative, it's clearly an action-packed horror bloodfest. Like, we came to see Navy Seals beat up a bunch of supernatural creatures, so I'm obviously not going to judge this story the same way I might judge a story that's trying to be a more character-driven narrative. Therefore, the fact that Steve simply boils each of the navy seals down into easily digestible classic archetypes(one dude is the super holy religious guy who doesn't drink, the other one is the classic stoic soldier/leader type, and so on, you get the idea), is a strength of the story because it's able to quickly hustle the characterization along and let us get to the good parts.

Yet, I got to admit, I think the exposition could be trimmed down a little. I feel like it takes them a while to get to the house, but once they do, that's when shit goes down!

Steve excels at describing some incredibly fucked-up images in visceral detail! This paragraph goes hard:

"The room has a grand stairwell, and piled all along it are mutilated bodies, all missing arms, legs and heads with their torsos hacked apart, gaping holes where each of their hearts would be. You see some have their mouths and eyes stitched shut, but thankfully they're all dead. Then, you see at the top of the grand staircase is a massive crucifix. Affixed to it is a pale man, his eyes gouged out to leave two bloody holes that stare into your eyes. His mouth has been carved into a brutal Glasgow grin, before being stitched shut, leaving a creepily long smile that stand in contrast with the sheer desperate terror on what remains of his face. His naked body is covered with scars, some old, some recent. His genitals are missing, a horrified, infected hole where they once were. He stares at you in terror, somehow seeing you. His body writhes in pain as his joints twist despite being nailed to the cross, desperately moving as his stigmata begin to bleed onto the floor suddenly. "

And it's just one example. I feel like with the type of horror that Steve is going for, you have to really have that ability to imagine these detailed and incredibly graphic images, and have the capability to transmit it across the page. Steve does that great.

He doesn't really focus on the emotional state of the characters. I get that they're battle hardened soldiers, but some inner thoughts/palpitations, maybe describing/lingering on the fear they must feel would go a long way. Then again, it's a lot harder to do with an ensemble-cast story, and Steve isn't really aiming for that kind of story.

I loved the variety of choices. They make the story feel like a video game, but the dialogue isn't exactly the story's strong suit. I feel like the dialogue between Blanco and the mysterious Father, the villain who did all of this crazy shit, could be improved. It felt functional but bland, as Steve opted for a profanity-laden dialogue to give the readers a gut punch. And it definetly works, although I think dialogue was a lot better in Prophecy and Path of Death, but that's neither here nor there.

Also, we don't really know much about the Father or why he's doing all of this. I would have liked to have seen more clear motivations for his character, but his scenes were great though because of how tense I felt.

The descriptions for the demons were the story's strong suit! And I think Steve does a great job with the action. It feels quite brutal and unforgiving, and you can die so many different ways(especially since you are 4 people, so that compounds the number of deaths by a lot).

I think as a whole, the story is fun and amusing, but it's not the best at keeping you hooked. Like the scenes are really cool in the beginning, but after a while, it's hard to stay as interested. And once you start having problems being fully hooked, the constant perspective shifts only add to the frustration as it gets harder and harder to get what's going on, and remember who's who, since they're basically just defined by some key character traits. They don't have a sense of individuality, and for all intents and purposes, are extensions of the unit itself.

I got the ending where Rivera abandons his entire team and escapes. I think this story is a really fast-paced fun story that sometimes fails to hook you. But it is very expansive, very violent, and does a great job in the horror aspect. I do think what keeps this story from moving up from "good" to "great" is the fact that it's not very memorable or replayable. Still, it was a fun ride and all in all, I liked it enough to give it a 6.

The Only Lights in the Darkness are Flames is a pretty good horror story, but there were a few things I disliked about the formatting.

First off, I rather like the title. It sounds cool and conjures up thoughts of Hell right away for me.

The frequent point of view switching was a cool idea, but it made it a little hard for me to keep track f what was happening to whom and which character was which. Because of this, the four main guys all melded together into one in my mind, and I think some of the characterization was lost on me because of that. I couldn’t tell you much about what any of the characters were like. I THINK Rivera prayed a lot and Mendez was the one who ends up possessed, but I’m not sure. Perhaps it would have been better to stick to two or so main characters.

There are a lot of one link pages because of all the switching around that might make this story seem like it has few choices.
There was a lot of re-branching, and I had to go through a lot of re-reading the same passages over and over again to find all the endings, which was very tedious after a while. The horror elements of the story just aren’t as effective after you’ve read a scene four times in ten minutes.
There was one exception to my dislike of the re-branching and choices leading to the same outcomes--the scene where the one guy dies and is possessed by the demon no matter what the reader chooses. It added to the story for me to make me think that the next choice HAS to work and have it not. That just goes to show that pointless choices can actually add to a story when done right.

Overall this was an entertaining read, but it may be best for whoever you faggots who read reviews before stories are to ignore trying to read every branch and find every ending if you are someone like me who ordinarily does that.

I agree with Aman, your goft is pretty prominent Steve :) Haha you (and Chase) are truly fantastic writers, this horror is gripping and the story reminded me of a creep's cellar where you're a bit horrified by it but you want to keep going in further to see what else you might find. :) Having a good amount of writing skill in genres as varied as Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror is a sign of a truly excellent all-round writer and I definitely think you should write more Horror stories :)

this was awsome

To much shifting...

"Hell Is Nothing But Darkness
As the sun set, the old wooden mansion lay still. The entire SWAT team had been massacred upon entry, awakening dark spirits and terrifying demons that would spill out to the earth. That day, several priests did something, or failed to prevent something, that led to such a massacre."

Oh wait, actually only one team member need to die at the fire place to save the team and prevent all hell from breaking lose. Do find that last two lines a kind of irony though... and apparently burning Blanco would not help at all. ;)

"Too few ratings to be ranked"
based on 58 ratings since 10/20/2017
played 31 times (finished 1)
your rating: unrated

WoW, only finished 1? How is that even possible given that there are 58 ratings!? The machine is making less and less sense nowadays. But anyways, I like the concept of the game switching points of views of different characters to give a full picture of the whole story. =) Not to mention that it is indeed skillfully written with an intruiging plot.

"Blanco's Escape
Blanco
You watch in the rear mirror as the sun sets over the mansion. You know everyone else is dead. You can feel it. You wince as you feel your horrific burns, wishing you could've done something. No, you think. There was nothing you could've done. At least you've survived. Your entire team is dead, but you made it. You continue driving down the road.

Yet One Walked Out...
Yet One Walked Out...
Adversary
You stand, reborn, at the doorway to the mansion. You pull off what remains of this form's former occupant's SWAT armor. Captain Mendez is no more. Now, you are here. You watch as your first born child giggled as he slowly walks outside as the sun falls, his stitches opened to allow him to grow to his full potential. The unchained Beast walks alongside it, its many heads hissing as it sniffs for pray as its massive clawed feet stomp along. You smile as you take your first steps into the outside world
"Now... the trio is formed. Now, we are reborn. Sound the trumpets," you say."

Yet, I wonder, who walked out and who was reborn? Blanco or whatever resides within him?

Make a sequel. 8/8

Only saved Rivira and Porras. But my goodness was that quite the ride! Great sorry, plenty of atmosphere and adrenaline pumping action!

I got out with Parros, Rivera, and Sindile.

Where's The Nuke!

Damn... you did a good job. I enjoyed it.

7/8

Yes! I made it with 4/5 alive!

Great horror story - would love if it would connect to something larger in a sequel or something!

Nice game, Steve. I like how you can see what happens to each character. I plan to play this again some more, and see all the different endings! Great job! I wish I could write at this pace... :P

Wheeeew. What a ride! This was a thrilling read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. You have an incredible gift for writing visceral, gripping scenes, and horror is your best genre, in my opinion.

And what makes your horror so gripping is that your characters are so instantly relatable and fleshed out. The beginning of the story, showing the squad just hanging out together, was an excellent opening that established their personalities through dialogue. I liked everyone on that squad (though Rivera and Blanco were my favorites to play as), and making us care about the characters really ratcheted up the dramatic tension.

I liked how the horror and gruesome deaths were also balanced out by opportunities for genuine bravery and camaraderie between what is clearly a close knit squad. You managed to convey a sense of helpless terror while still giving the player a sense of control over the fate of the characters, which is a very fine line that was brilliantly executed.

Awesome game, and thank you for continuing to churn out games of this quality.

Whoa. 8/8.

Ah, this is beautiful. I proofread and I couldn't help but read it about 5 more times!

I got the good ending, I think. The last guy survived, but the trio was formed.

Absolutely phenominal, Steve. You have a goft for horror.