HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Dark Void Zero'' is a
platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Other Ocean Interactive Other Ocean Interactive is a Canadian-American video game developer based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Emeryville, California. Originally founded in 2006 in Charlottetown, as a studio for Foundation 9 Entertainment, the studio ...
's
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
studio and published by
Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
for
DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 20 ...
. It was made as an April Fools parody of the video game ''
Dark Void ''Dark Void'' is a 2010 third-person shooter game developed by Airtight Games and published by Capcom. In the game, players must face an alien threat that humanity had previously banished. It was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 3 ...
'' and was later decided to make it an actual title; it was promoted as a game "found" in Capcom's vault. The game was released in April 2010 for
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
and on
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
through
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
. Capcom announced through the Steam page that on May 8, 2024 Dark Void Zero, Flock!, and Dark Void would be delisted, meaning no additional purchases could be made on the platform. Dark Void Zero never received a physical release making it permanently unavailable anywhere due to all other versions being discontinued as well.


Plot

In an unspecified year, aliens, called Watchers, came from an extinct planet, searching for a new home. Then they found Earth. The military was able to hold them away from it, but then they built portals in an area in outer space, the Void. These portals linked to various locations on Earth, but they were unstable, and could not be used efficiently. But eventually, in the middle of the Void, they built a final, stable portal, which was still in the process of linking with Earth. Many skilled soldiers were sent into the Void, all of them meeting their ends. Until finally, the military sent in experts: A soldier named Rusty, who was actually born in the Void, and
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
. Once there, they began to charge through the Watchers' forces, stealing the portal control codes from two bases set up in the void, until finally moving onto a third facility, where the main portal was kept, and where the final code was also guarded, more closely than the previous two. There, Rusty and Tesla would finally attempt to shut down the portal and save mankind.


Development

Capcom-Unity manager Seth Killian stated that ''Dark Void Zero'' started as a joke after he had heard an 8-bit rendition of ''
Dark Void ''Dark Void'' is a 2010 third-person shooter game developed by Airtight Games and published by Capcom. In the game, players must face an alien threat that humanity had previously banished. It was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 3 ...
''s main theme in its end credits. This song, along with the soundtrack of ''Dark Void Zero'', was composed by ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
'' composer
Bear McCreary Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American composer of film, television, and video game scores. His work includes the scores of the television series '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', '' Black Sails'', '' ...
. At the beginning of the game, players must blow into the
Nintendo DSi The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival was ...
's microphone to clear the dust off of an in-game cartridge, similar to how
NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
cartridges would have to be blown into at times. Talk show host
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
lent his name in the game based on a fictional story where Fallon won a contest from Capcom during his younger years. He was included in it as "Captain Jimmy Fallon".


Fictional development

The fictional story of the development of ''Dark Void Zero'' is given in the official trailer as:
In the year 198X, the
PlayChoice-10 The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo, had numerous model variants produced throughout its lifetime. It was originally released in 1983 as the (and widely known as the ) in ...
was the first
arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...
to feature two interactive screens. Capcom soon began developing a game to make use of this advanced technology. This ground breaking title was called: ''Dark Void''. Unfortunately, the PlayChoice-10 was discontinued and the project was cancelled. In the year 20XX, Capcom found the project buried deep inside its vault. Its concept inspired a new adventure of the same name. But... the original game... locked away for decades... is now back from the void...
However, this story contradicts the one given in the DSiWare Shop summary, which states that ''Dark Void Zero'' was a "legendary 'lost project'" at Capcom, recreated for the DSi, rather than being forgotten until 2010 and being a port of the original.


Reception

The DS and iOS versions received "favorable" reviews according to the
review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. While '' 2D-X'' Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey L. Wilson initially criticized ''Dark Void Zero'' as being exploitative of the retro gaming genre, he later retracted his statement after playing it at the 2010
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
(CES), commenting that it felt like a NES-era title. ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' editor Dave Rudden called it one of the coolest games at the CES, comparing it to the "Metroidvania" genre, which is a combination of the styles of ''
Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic M ...
'' and ''
Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. ...
'', as well as video games such as ''
Contra Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerla ...
''. Kombo editor David Oxford commented that ''Dark Void Zero'' was better than its parent video game, comparing it to ''
Bionic Commando Rearmed ''Bionic Commando Rearmed'' is an enhanced remake of the 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System version of ''Bionic Commando (1988 video game), Bionic Commando''. It was developed by Grin (company), Grin and published by Capcom for Microsoft Window ...
'' in how both promotional games surpassed the games they were promoting.


References


External links

*{{moby game, id=/dark-void-zero 2010 video games Capcom games DSiWare games IOS games Metroidvania games Other Ocean Interactive games Platformers Retro-style video games Side-scrolling video games Single-player video games Video game prequels Video games developed in Canada Windows games Cultural depictions of Nikola Tesla Delisted digital-only games