Have you wanted to play the canceled Solomon Dark? There’s a whole history behind the game that we can get into, but if you know what’s up, then you want to go to the Raptisoft Solomon Dark abandonware page before 8pm EDT and download a Windows copy of the game. The game is apparently nearly done, and there are editor tools in there that will allow you to make and share your own content. The problem is that the game doesn’t have a completed story mode, and oh yeah, it’s only for Windows, not for mobile. It would be…difficult…to share an unfinished game like this outside of the App Store.
If you’re really not familiar with the Solomon games, basically Solomon Dark was meant to be a sequel/remake of Solomon’s Boneyard (Free), a cool RPG dual-stick shooter that along with Solomon’s Keep (Free) was a big hit around mobile gaming enthusiasts. However, some legal incidents caused Raptisoft to have to delay the game, and apparently it was so dispiriting that Raptisoft abandoned Solomon Dark without wanting to carry the project on any further. Raptisoft mentioned releasing this unfinished version as freeware, and well…here you are.
The good news is that Solomon’s Keep is getting remade for several different platforms, and some of the features of Solomon Dark will show up in Solomon’s Keep‘s remake. As well, Hoggy 2 is still in the works. Raptisoft mostly keeps folks updated on their forums, which are worth checking out for constant updates. It’s sad that Solomon Dark won’t be completed and on mobile, especially with it so tantalizingly close, but such is the realities of game development. As a combination between art and functionality, sometimes the emotional toll of a challenging release can be damaging. Here’s to hoping we see Hoggy 2 and the new Solomon’s Keep on mobile soon enough. And if ou want to know more about why these games were so appealing, Shaun Musgrave’s RPG Reload column on Solomon’s Keep is a worthy read.
