The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav

The Dark Eye: Satinav's Chains

Released

Release Date: June 22, 2012

Adventure, Fantasy, Point-and-click, 2D, Singleplayer

Developed by Daedalic Entertainment, The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is an adventure game that takes the players to a fantasy realm of Aventuria. We play as a young man named Geron, who, according to the prophecy, will bring unspeakable evil to the world. Together with two of his friends, he tries to prevent this from happening.

7.4

OpenCritic

8.7

Steam

6.2

Users

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Ratings

 Videos: 2 

Images: 10 

Plot
Mechanics
Techincal aspects

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is a classic fantasy adventure game based on the popular tabletop RPG Das Schwarze Auge. The game was developed by Daedalic Entertainment also known for working on such adventure games as The Whispered World and Edna & Harvey: The Breakout.

Plot

Players assume the role of a nineteen-year-old Geron who is accompanied by Nuri – a fairy. Each hero can cast one spell – Geron is able to destroy objects, while Nuri can fix them. The main protagonist is considered to a jinx ever since he became the part of the prophecy regarding the upcoming evil foretold by a dark wizard while he was being burned at the stake. Several years later the young man was very unfortunate and wherever he went, accidents tended to happen. The game starts with a murder of a famous knight. Let us just add flocks of weird behaving ravens and we can easily guess that the main protagonist is bound to have a lot of work ahead of him.

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The story is set in a fantasy world known as Aventuria. This universe was created in 1984 for the tabletop RPG called Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye) – its popularity has resulted in multiple video game adaptations including the Realms of Arkania trilogy, the Drakensang series, and several web browser games. Chains of Satinav for PC is the first adventure game based on this license.

Mechanics

In The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav for PC, the gameplay resembles other games of the same genre and involves interacting with NPCs, solving puzzles, and exploring consecutive locations to find new items necessary for beating obstacles to come. The game is designed in such way that players know what task they have to complete, and the difficulty lies in finding the way of completing it – this is why players can refer to the journal that includes pieces of information regarding both current and completed objectives.

Techincal aspects

The 2D visuals feature beautiful, hand-painted backgrounds and poor character animations. In spite of the fairytale-like themes, the game features intense and nostalgic atmosphere, and the in-game world looks very realistic. Interestingly enough, the game supports high resolution (1080p) and works properly on panoramic screens.

Platforms:

PC Windows June 22, 2012

PlayStation 4 January 27, 2021

Xbox One January 27, 2021

Nintendo Switch January 27, 2021

PlayStation 5 January 27, 2021

Xbox Series X/S January 27, 2021

Developer: Daedalic Entertainment

Publisher: Deep Silver / Plaion

Age restrictions: 16+

Similar Games:

Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness

The Whispered World

King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow

Features

Guide

Last update: July 20, 2012

The Dark Eye - Chains of Satinav Game Guide

The following guide is a complete walkthrough for Daedalic Entertainement’s game, titled The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav.

The Dark Eye - Chains of Satinav Game Guide

System Requirements

System Requirements for The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav Video Game:

PC / Windows

Recommended System Requirements:
Core 2 Duo 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM (2.5 GB RAM - Vista/7), graphic card 512 MB (GeForce 8800 GT or better), 5 GB HDD, Windows XP/Vista/7.

Ratings

Game Ratings for The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav Video Game.

7.4

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 60% of Critics. There are 8 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

FingerGuns: 5 / 10 by Sean Davies

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav has glimpses of ingenuity with its puzzle design, it looks great for its age and it has a satisfactory port of a point and click system on the PS4. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t pay off, often feeling disjointed along the way which isn’t helped by some uninspired vocal performances. Hopefully the sequel is better.

Full Review

Pure Nintendo: 7.5 / 10

Whether you're a fan of The Dark Eye franchise or point and click adventure games: The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is certainly worth your attention.

Full Review

VGChartz: 8.8 / 10

For any fan of challenging puzzles and wonderful storytelling, Chains of Satinav is a game that must be played — nay, an experience that must be had.

Full Review

87%

STEAM Score

All Reviews: Very Positive (2,409)

STEAM

User Reviews Summary generated by AI

The main pros of the game

Engaging Storyline: The narrative is well-crafted, immersing players in a dark fantasy world with themes of destiny and resilience. The character development, particularly of Geron and Nuri, is noted as a highlight.
Beautiful Art and Atmosphere: The game features stunning hand-painted visuals and a haunting soundtrack that enhance the immersive experience.
Clever Puzzles: Many players appreciate the puzzle design, which integrates well with the story and offers a mix of challenge without being overly frustrating. The magical abilities of the characters add a unique twist to puzzle-solving.
Strong Voice Acting: The German voice acting is praised for its quality, contributing to the overall atmosphere of the game.

The main cons of the game

Pacing Issues: Some reviews mention that the pacing can be slow, with segments that feel dragged out due to backtracking or repetitive item interactions.
Unintuitive Puzzles: While some puzzles are well-designed, others are criticized for being illogical or requiring trial and error, which can lead to frustration.
Character Animation: The character animations are described as stiff or awkward, detracting from the otherwise beautiful visuals.

The features or elements that are missing from the game according to users

Better Hint System: Some players felt that the game could benefit from more subtle hints or guidance for certain puzzles, as some solutions can feel obscure or illogical.
Improved Character Development: A few reviews pointed out that certain characters lacked depth or were not particularly relatable, which could detract from the overall engagement with the story.
More Varied Gameplay Mechanics: While the magical abilities were appreciated, some players suggested that the game could have explored these mechanics further for more diverse puzzle-solving experiences.

Summary

Overall, The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is seen as a beautifully crafted adventure with a compelling story, although it has its share of pacing and puzzle design criticisms.

Summary generated on: October 29, 2025

6.2

USERS Score

Average score from votes.

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