Niche Spotlight – Ark Noir: Doomed Japanese Dungeon Crawler / Visual Novel

This is Niche Spotlight. In this column, we regularly introduce new games to our fans, so please leave feedback and let us know if there’s a game you want us to cover!

Today’s Spotlight is Ark Noir, a Japanese dungeon-crawling RPG by Amamori Lab and Playism that made its debut on Steam earlier this year.

Ark Noir blends elements of traditional Japanese-style dungeon crawling, resource and time management, Visual Novels, and roguelikes. You control a group of survivors onboard the Noir, an emigration ship that is now slowly sinking into the ocean following a terrible incident.


Scavenge for resources, fight strange monsters, and choose to help or ignore fellow survivors as you ascend the ship’s floors on your way to the deck to avoid a watery grave. You can check out a trailer above.

Ark Noir is available on Windows PC and Mac via Steam and Playism for $9.99. The Steam version is 20% off until the 29th.

Here’s a rundown of the game:


Ark Noir is a resource management-heavy RPG in which you’ll use a wide variety of Perks to build characters to your liking and take advantage of all sorts of seemingly randomly appearing items in order to survive the extreme conditions in which you find yourself.

While the game features completely original systems with special, custom-made elements, it plays out with the familiar flow of traditional RPGs, so the rules are quite simple. Players are able to quickly get the hang of gameplay and start thinking – and surviving – right away.

The story takes place aboard a huge emigrant ship known as the Noir that is slowly sinking into the ocean. Whether you choose to increase your own “Fortune” and help the various survivors you encounter or focus on following the trail of clues leading to the truth of this terrible “accident” is completely up to you.


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About

Frank was a former Niche Gamer contributor.


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