Veil of Darkness - A Weight Lifted (Won! and Final Rating)

Written by Zenic Reverie

Hindsight is often referred to as 20/20, but looking back on the last hurdle I needed to cross to complete Veil of Darkness has soured the experience just a touch because as far as can I tell there's no indication I needed to do this.

Thanks to Agrivar for the assist, I instantly realized this is a hole and not the tree's shadow.

Agrivar indicated it was indeed an item I hadn't used, and I should look to use it where I found it. I thought maybe I'd lasso the plane and pull a section out of the swamp. As soon as I loaded the screen though, I looked at this tree and tied the rope. The main problem I have with this type of solution to a puzzle is there's no way to examine the environment to know that shadow was a hole. Sure, I can't walk over it, but there's plenty of other fiddly bits of terrain that block progress that I didn't think much about not being able to walk under a tree. If there was an NPC that mentioned holes in the swamp, then I missed it, but as dialog is the main way the game gives descriptions I would have hoped for some hint about them or the mushrooms growing below.

Veil of Darkness - Dying a Charmed Death (Request for Assistance)

Written by Zenic Reverie

I'll start by admitting defeat. I'm stuck. I've been doing my best to avoid it thus far by scouring every place for items or clues, even replaying the game to make careful notes of words in dialogue before I learned to ask Seth for a light. I'll admit I've been a bit lax on doing so since then, and it might finally be time to pay the piper for that mistake. I thought the game would naturally give me all the pieces by the end. This game though seems keen on making me work for it. I'm facing Kairn, surely on the cusp of victory, and yet missing at least one vital step.

Maybe I need to blind myself.

I had thought avoiding the vampire's charms would require some item, and yet I've so far tried everything I have available. I hoped it was as easy as wearing the garlic necklace, but that must provide a different kind of protection. I reviewed the prophecy:

Veil of Darkness - A Good Ol' Coffin Hunt

Written by Zenic Reverie

A small correction from my last post. The Rowan staff is used to kill the Will-o-wisps, while the zombies are damaged only by the silver sword. Also, I thought I had killed Andrei to gain a crystal, but when I loaded the game up he was still alive. I attempted to kill him and realized why I didn't save, the disease zombies give is devastating. It drains continuously increasing damage, isn't cured by the gypsy woman, and I haven't found a cure for it yet. I'm not sure where I gained that crystal, but Andrei has a diamond specifically.

The machete I found by the plane proved the bane of these plant monsters.

Unlike the zombie's disease, the poison from the topiary creatures does get removed when healing at the gypsy camp. I also had many herbs that cure it, but I was hoarding them while I could make the trek back to camp. Only once I was deeper into the maze did I resort to using the nasturtium to remove the green lipstick. I could easily take out two or three creatures before needing to retreat, and as the only creature in the maze it proved easy to navigate despite the name. I picked up some comfrey plant and garlic throughout the maze. The garlic was strung together into a necklace by Annabelle. She warned to keep it hidden, lest those sided with Kairn might upon seeing it be embolden to strike me down. The comfrey doesn't seem to have a use other than trading for coin.

Veil of Darkness - A Weapon for Every Being

Written by Zenic Reverie

Thanks for hanging around.

The mace I found at the monastery was quite effective against the skeletons, and good thing too because no other weapon made a mark on their bones. Combat beyond normal wolves and bats has required a dedicated weapon to deal damage. This has led me to cautiously approach new enemies, and keep most weapons handy. I dispatched them one at a time, retreating to heal at the gypsy camp. With those two cleared I was clear to explore the graveyard and collected some betony. I found there wasn't much else to do without a means to banish the guardian in front of the crypt. Next location of interest was a crossroads that connected the towns. Here was the man hanged for the murder of Eduard. His soul, still attached to his body, had much to say. He warned me to stay away from a nearby hut that was home to an old crone.

I promise I won't give it to the witch unless it's part of the quest.

Ambrose, the hanged man, wanted his soul redeemed. Finding the true murderer was necessary. Continuing to claim full innocence, he elaborated that the magistrate had to make an example of someone to appease the Dark Lord Kairn. While in this limbo state he communicated with the spirits of the monks from the monastery, blaming their deaths on the nearby witch. The key she sought from the monks unlocks their library where a book called Etheric Rites is held. How Ambrose came by the key wasn't covered.

Veil of Darkness - A Quagmire of Relief

 By Zenic Reverie

Closest thing I could find to a lightbulb moment.

I’ve been stuck. Restarting, reaching the same point each time with no further insight. It’s difficult to consider options when they’ve virtually been exhausted. Thanks to the comments that alluded to a game mechanic as the key to progress, I believed I was on the right track in my last post. A hidden keyword was the only mechanic that made sense to trigger the plot, as I ruled out combat and items already. I reviewed the manual again front to back and back to front (skipping over the prologue story) to confirm. Breaking free of this cycle required me to review all the dialogue screenshots, and note down even the most mundane word that might act as a hidden word to trigger further dialogue. I tried each on a random NPC and cut ones that didn’t have the pause of a recognized keyword.

Veil of Darkness - Unspoken Curses (Request for Assistance)

 By Zenic Reverie

Discussing the current events with Deirdre

Last we left, Engatz had returned a bloody hammer to Kirill, completing the first task in a prophecy. He responded to the name Kairn with disdain, informing me that was the name of the ancient vampire that lords over the valley. Deirdre offered a token, her scarf, to Engatz in hopes that he would continue to fulfil the prophecy, freeing the land of Kairn's shadowy influence. They exchnaged further pleasantries, hoping for a continued relationship far away once these events were far behind them both (potential foreshadowing detected). On the topic of celebrating, she mentioned how we could break open a rare vintage wine locked away in her father's cellar. Before I headed out, I asked Kirill about wine, but he made no mention of his stock, only pointing me to the local tavern.

Veil of Darkness - The Story Begins

Written by Zenic Reverie

Honestly, it'd probably take about 8 months to fully recover from a plane crash.

Apologies for the delay. When last we left Engatz, he had just crashed outside a small forgotten town somewhere in Eastern Europe. Pulled to safety, he roused in an unfamiliar house some undetermined time later. Dierdra was watching over us, and what a sight to wake to. She instructed us to find her father down the hall. Of course, this meant we'd take the long way and explore the whole house first. As I left Dierdra's room (more than likely a guest room, but it's where Dierdra is found) I confirmed full combat difficulty. The game offered some tutorial screens as I made my way through the corridors of my benefactor's mansion. The first described doors that are inconsequential to the story with "There is nothing important behind this door." At least half of them had this message.

Game 120: Veil of Darkness (1993) - Introduction

Written by Zenic Reverie

Why is it always vampires?

Judging by its cover I wouldn’t have given it a chance. I’m not really a fan of horror, and Veil of Darkness suggests it’ll fall in that vein (not my pun). That is, until I saw the SSI logo at the bottom. Knowing them most favorably from their gold box series; I’d probably overlook that it was merely published by them and given the back of the box a look. Of course, I’m ignoring the fact that in 1993 I’d have been deeply engrossed in my growing SNES library.