Dark Auction: A slow-burning mystery that asks you to confront the past, one fragile memory at a time.
When you first hear about Dark Auction, it is hard not to feel curious. You see the names attached to it, and suddenly your expectations start rising. You have Rika Suzuki, who previously worked on story-driven titles like Hotel Dusk and Another Code. You have Ryoko Kiyama and Tsukasa Masuko handling the music. You have character designs by Kosuke. And you have Izanagi Games and Good Smile Company bringing everything together.
On paper, it feels like a reunion of creators who specialize in thoughtful, narrative-heavy experiences. It does not feel like a loud, flashy release. People who enjoy sitting down on their couch, lying back, and getting lost in a story are the target audience for Dark Auction.
Dark Auction is not a sequel, but it carries the spirit of older mystery and adventure games that focused more on atmosphere and character than on constant action. It is a modern attempt to bring that style back, mixing adventure storytelling with some sci-fi ideas.
You can tell early on that Dark Auction is not trying to chase trends. It is trying to tell a specific kind of story in its own way, even if that means appealing to a smaller audience.
The game takes you to West Germany in 1981, to an old, isolated castle where something strange is happening. You play as Noah Crawford, an 18-year-old who is traveling to find his father, Leonard. Their relationship has always been strained.
Leonard is a failed writer, an eccentric man who becomes obsessed with researching a mysterious historical figure known as Dictator X. Before he leaves, he warns Noah that he is heading into danger, but he never really explains why. A few days later, worried and confused, you decide to follow him.
When you finally arrive at the castle, you do not get the reunion you might have hoped for. Instead, you find your father dying, connected to a strange machine that seems to be reading his mind. Moments later, he is gone.
You are left alone in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers, with no clear explanation. Soon, you meet the auctioneer, also known as the Perryman or Parrot Man, an unsettling figure who calmly explains that your father broke the rules of the auction. And in this place, breaking the rules means death.
From that moment, Dark Auction makes its intentions clear. This is not just a mystery about solving puzzles. It’s about knowing why people are here, what they hide, and what they will give up to get what they want.
You quickly learn that nobody can leave the castle until the auction is finished. There are other participants: Edgar, an anxious doctor; Carla, a young girl who seems wiser than she should be; Otto, Kristoff, Lorraine, and others who each carry their secrets.
None of them is here by accident. Each has come for a specific item connected to Dictator X, who is revealed to be Adolf Hitler. This connection immediately adds moral weight to everything. These are not just collectibles. These are objects tied to real history, guilt, and personal trauma.
Instead of judging these characters right away, the game asks you to listen. Why would someone want something connected to such a figure? What does it mean to them? Are they trying to make peace with something in their past? Dark Auction does not give you easy answers. It lets these questions slowly unfold through conversation and investigation.
Reluctantly, Noah agrees to take his father’s place in the auction.
The Perryman offers him a deal. Help make sure the auction succeeds, and you get to stay alive. More importantly, you get a chance to learn why your father came here in the first place. In many ways, this mirrors your role as a player. You are not just trying to survive. You are trying to understand.
The story’s structure is built around daily cycles. Each day, there is a target, a participant whose memories will be examined. There is also an item connected to them. Your job is to investigate that person, learn about their life, their regrets, and their connection to Dictator X, and just like you did, make them survive the auction.
This is where Dark Auction separates itself from typical “death game” stories. Instead of focusing on shock value or constant betrayals, it focuses on internal struggles, often on the emotional side. You spend time talking to people, walking through the castle, listening to their stories, and slowly building trust. Trauma is not just a plot device here. It is central to how the characters are written.
By the time you reach the final chapters, the story delivers several major revelations that reframe earlier events. These twists are handled well, maintaining strong pacing and emotional impact. You may find yourself less focused on “solving” the mystery and more focused on seeing how it all ends.
You are not trying to outsmart everyone. You are trying to understand them well enough to guide them through something terrifying.
Gameplay-wise, Dark Auction is more involved than a standard visual novel. Instead of just clicking through dialogue, you explore the castle using a 3D map. You move between rooms, visit different facilities, and talk to characters in person. As you investigate, you collect keywords, which are stored in Noah’s “Cloud.” These keywords represent emotional triggers and contradictions in people’s stories, as well as important information you may need.
This system encourages you to pay attention. You cannot just skim through dialogue and expect to succeed. Small details matter. A throwaway line early in the day might become crucial later during the auction. The more carefully you read and listen, the more prepared you feel.
Each day usually follows a pattern. You learn who the target is. You talk to them. You speak with other participants. You meet with the Perryman. You explore new areas, like the library, where you meet Hell, a librarian who is both helpful and suspicious.
You piece together fragments of information while trying not to reveal too much about yourself. There is always a sense of tension in the background. Everyone knows that lying can be fatal. Everyone knows that memories are being used as currency. And everyone knows that one mistake can cost a life.
The main gameplay highlight is the auction itself. This is where investigation and narrative come together. The auction uses a strange device that records and plays back a person’s memories in real time. These memories are then examined to create a “DNA memory film” of loved ones who have passed away. If the process succeeds, the target gets their item. If it fails, their brain health deteriorates.
You examine bits of memory during these Dark Auction sequences.
You slot them into the correct scenes. You decide whether certain statements are true or false. You compare what you see with the keywords you have collected. From a mechanical standpoint, these sections are fairly simple. You are not solving complex logic puzzles. But emotionally, they carry weight. And Dark Auction makes it clear what it values more when ut comes to mechanics or narrative.
Each mistake lowers the target’s brain health, starting at 100 percent. Make too many errors, and you risk killing them. The situation adds pressure, even if the gameplay itself is not difficult. You feel responsible. You know that careless guessing is not an option. The game rewards patience and attention.
This design fits the tone of the game. It would feel wrong to attach RPG-style grinding to a story about trauma and guilt. Instead, Dark Auction treats knowledge as your main resource. If you invest time in learning about characters, you are rewarded later.
Visually, Dark Auction is a mix of strengths and weaknesses.
Kosuke’s character artwork is excellent. The illustrated portraits are expressive and stylish, capturing each character’s personality well. These designs help make the cast memorable, even long after you finish the game.
However, the in-game 3D models are less impressive. While they accomplish their purpose, they fall short in terms of subtle facial expressions and emotional nuance. During intense scenes, you sometimes wish the models could reflect what the writing is trying to convey. The contrast between the strong artwork and the stiff models is noticeable.
One of the most controversial visual choices involves the images used in memory sequences. Instead of consistent illustrated scenes, the game sometimes uses realistic or photo-like images. These may be stock photos or AI-generated visuals.
When you are listening to a character talk about something deeply personal, and the screen suddenly shows an uncanny, realistic image, it can pull you out of the moment. In a game that relies so heavily on immersion, this is a real issue.
On the audio side, Dark Auction shines. The soundtrack by Kiyama and Masuko is consistently strong. Each area of the castle has its mood. Some tracks feel melancholic. Others feel tense or mysterious. Together, they create a soundscape that supports the story without overpowering it.
This is the kind of soundtrack you leave on even when you’re not playing. With good headphones, the experience becomes even better. The music helps convey the feeling of being trapped in an isolated place, slowly uncovering buried truths.
The voice acting is another major highlight. The cast includes Kengo Kawanishi, Rikiya Koyama, Daisuke Namikawa, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Maya Uchida, Yui Ishikawa, Akira Ishida, and Sho Hayami. These are experienced actors, and it shows.
Their performances bring the characters to life in a way that 3D models sometimes cannot. Emotional scenes hit harder because the voices feel genuine. At times, you might find yourself letting the game play automatically just to listen, almost like watching a dramatic anime.
In the end, Dark Auction is a game that trusts you. It trusts you to pay attention. It believes you will think before you judge. It trusts you to think about things that make you uncomfortable. It doesn’t rush you. It doesn’t always try to impress you. Instead, it slowly builds a world, introduces flawed people, and asks you to listen.
Despite its flaws in presentation and some narrative shortcuts, it succeeds where it matters most. It tells a thoughtful story, supported by strong music, solid voice acting, and memorable characters. It may not appeal to everyone, but Dark Auction doesn’t try to appeal to everyone. You walk away feeling like you have experienced something personal rather than something mass-produced. And in today’s gaming landscape, that alone makes Dark Auction worth paying attention to.
