Dark Auction

Dark Auction is an adventure visual novel video game that casts players in the role of eighteen-year-old Noah Crawford, an investigator searching for clues of his father's disappearance. The plot is set in 1981 in West Germany.^[1] The game features a 3D environment with point-and-click mechanics and a story that takes an approach towards the exploration of the life of a "fictional" dictator.^[2] Players explore the area in first person, rooms lock them into place, forcing them to investigate from a fixed perspective. In exploration phases, players talk to other participants, search rooms and floors, and reveal lies and trauma that leads you to the truth each person keeps hidden.^[2]

Once players retrieve information, it is then placed in their Word Cloud, which is used to solve mysteries during every auction.^[2] Rather than being an auction with bids of money, these auctions are instead bid with the participants memories. They must attempt to win by offering their own memories as bids. They use a memory reconstruction device known as EPO.^[2] Memories affected by trauma or secrets often differentiate wholly, becoming warped and fallacious. If participants offer incomplete memories, their bid fails. When a participant's auction is a success, the truth is revealed—showcasing the dramatic story behind each ill-fated auction exhibit.^[2]

In Dark Auction, players control the protagonist Noah Crawford, having just discovered his father's death, set out to find out clues about his father's disappearance. He is selected and chosen as a participant at an auction in a castle near the Black Forest mountain range in West Germany alongside nine other people. Noah doesn't realize until later that he and the other guests are trapped and unable to escape. In auctions, guests bid for items with their memories. Noah works to solve the mysteries related to the dictator hidden in the auction items, slowly revealing his father's secret. Guests are given an "EPO" device to bid their memories, when a false memory is bidden, the machine causes the participant's death. When a bidder completes all the 4 stages of memory retrieval, they win the item that they are bidding on. To help each character with their bid, Noah researches their life, discovering various connections to Dictator X.

Dark Auction was produced by Shinsuke Umeda, planned and written by Rika Suzuki.^[3] Character design for the game was done by manga artist Kohske,^[3] while the game's original score was composed by Yuko Komiyama.^[3][4] Shinsuke Umeda, the game's developer described it as "authentic" mystery adventure.^[5] In an interview with Netto's Game Room, Umeda explained during the initial stages of development, he and the rest of team sat down and talked with video game designer Rika Suzuki about multiple artworks that were lost to wars and natural disasters throughout history. Explaining "There are a wide range of artifacts and works of art have been lost that have a long history or certain legends about them that can really add an extra element to storytelling. We decided to incorporate that idea into the thematic core of the game."^[6]

The existence of Dark Auction was first teased around August 2023 with the announcement of the game under its original title.^[7] The game was initially met with controversy regarding the title, which they later renamed.^[4][8] Developers initially intended to release Dark Auction in 2024 to Steam and Nintendo Switch, later choosing to delay the game.^[9][10] Writer Rika Suzuki announced it was intended for a 2025 release.^[11] Good Smile Company broadcast a trailer titled "Story, Mystery & Bidding".^[12] Later that year, further announcements regarding the release on the game were publicized.^[3] A playable demo featuring the main cast of Dark Auction, was released on January 22, 2026.^[2][4] Later, on January 29, 2026, the game was released and made available to platforms such as Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Windows.^[3] In Japan, the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 versions of the game were sold digitally for 5,340 yen (¥),^[13] alongside physical pre-orders for Amazon and Bic Camera.^[8] In February 2026, it was announced that a Nintendo Switch 2 version would be released on June 11.^[14]

Upon release, Dark Auction received "mixed or average" reviews from video game publications based on the review aggregate website Metacritic.^[15] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 54% of critics.^[16] PSX Brazil writer José Viana commented on the game's story in the first few chapters calling it "quite interesting".^[19] Viana would further praise the game for its art and soundtrack, "Specific aspects are commendable, such as the art and soundtrack, but they are nowhere near enough to save this game."^[19] Jenny Jones from Push Square wrote "The story premise is slightly bonkers but surprisingly compelling. [...] even with its slow moments and uneven presentation, Dark Auction’s writing and mystery kept [us] hooked.^[18] Jones compared the auctions to the trials in Danganronpa, calling it "far simpler".^[18] Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40, which gained the game a Gold Award in the 2026 Weekly Famitsu New Game Cross Review.^[17][20]

Negative critical response to the game often focused on the "uneven" presentation.^[18] Multiple critics condemned Dark Fuction for its use of AI and the "handful" of grammatic mistakes.^[8][18] With Jenni Lada writing for Siliconera stating "Worst of all, there’s genAI used for some artistic elements. It’s just a shame."^[8] While Jenny Jones stated the game had "A handful of typos".^[18] Lada noted "[..] because of the combination of going with “Dictator X,” erasing parts of actual history, and certain characters’ reactions to some memories, it doesn’t feel as meaningful. The case investigations and piecing together timelines for each auction aren’t terribly exciting."^[8]