The countdown is on! There is only a week left until Dungeons and Darkness drops in the Japanese Playism store. The anticipation is palpable here in the office, as fans from around the globe wait with eager eyes to dive into this dark, punishing dungeon crawler.

One thing that's very interesting is that Dungeons and Darkness has done something special: evoke. From screenshots and descriptions, Dungeons and Darkness has brought about a lot of excitement as people thought that we might be bringing another game to the Playism storefront. Even though the game in question is close to 20 years old and distinctly on the Playstation, it still generated hope in people that Playism was either bringing an HD remake or possibly an unheralded sequel to the PC.

It's really cool that this game has the power to evoke such strong ideas and memories in people just from a handful of screenshots. If you throw in the right words and ideas, you'd be amazed what you come up with. For example: dungeon crawler. Well, that's the 70s and PC gaming in a nut shell. Dark and foreboding. That's a ton of 90s era PC and early 32 bit system alike. Punishing difficulty. That's a tossup: on the one hand, Atari and Nintendo titles of yore were well known and respected for their insane difficulty curves. On the other, recent indie and AAA titles alike are respected for creating a no-mercy environment that stands in stark contrast to some of the "hold-your-hand" babying that we've encountered in recent big games.

When I play Dungeons and Darkness, it brings me back to my SNES days, playing certain dungeon crawling games involving a large, multi-eyed entity that would mess up my day every time. There's the thrill of exploration, the creeping dread as I get further and further away from the sun, the curiosity of what's in a treasure chest, and the absolute panic as I try and flee and fight at the same time. Someone who is better at the game might feel differently. But, as it stands now, I am getting roughed up even on low difficulty levels, and I have no desire to try stronger paths.

Be sure to keep checking the Twitter and our blog for more news, screenshots and updates as we rocket towards the Japanese release of Dungeons and Darkness and prepare for the Western launch soon!