N-LOG Soft. A short history of a small Korean studio.
Greetings honorable audience. Today I will tell you not about how to beat another moldy masterpiece, but about a rather interesting game that no one knows. It’s unlikely that any of you have heard the name Mystic Nights. Unless by chance. Actually, I only found out about it somewhere last year or the year before. This project was announced on September 29, 2005, the release took place a month later, on October 20. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Korea (SCEK). The game was released exclusively for PS2 and only in Korea. In July 2020, a certain enthusiast (Jeremy De Cola) translated it into English, making it accessible to a mass audience.
The developer of this, dare I say it, masterpiece, was the Korean company N-LOG Soft, which had previously created only one small MMO.
In 2004 they released game B into open beta.O.U.T./B.O.T.S. (바우트) for Windows.
It was a simple online beat-em-up, which, apparently, still exists today. I don’t know thanks to whom, the fans, or the Western publisher. I was able to find the site, but I was frankly too lazy to register, and we’re not talking about this game. This was followed by the one we are considering today, Mystic Nights (미스틱나이츠), and after it another MMORPG for Windows – Darkness and Light/Battle of Shadows (다크니스 앤 라이트). The latter entered open beta in 2007. The game was a simplified real-time strategy. But let’s be honest, it’s really just a regular MOBA. True, back then there was no such concept. It will appear two years later, along with the launch of League of Legends. Do you feel it, yes?? While everyone was playing a mod for Warcraft, N-LOG just made their own Dota 2. I’m not big on the history of this genre, but I’m inclined to think that this was the first variation on the theme that had its own client and was not a mod for another game. DemiGod was released, like LoL, in 2009, which means N-LOG were, if not the first, then one of the first in this field.
There were 24 heroes to choose from, some of them were available immediately, some had to be purchased for in-game currency. There were all sorts of artifacts to strengthen the character, various cards, and also, of course, a guild system and PVP. In short, as I said, it was a MOBA, with more of an RTS bent. Moreover, it’s quite an advanced MOBA, and, judging by some screenshots, maybe even with a map editor.
The fate of the project, at least in the West, was not very rosy. As far as I understand, there were problems with one of the publishers. The American CDC Games violated a contract under which they had to pay a certain amount for supporting the game.
Actually, this is where the trace of the developer is lost. DAL received several updates with new characters, but was still closed around 2008. From that moment on, I haven’t heard anything about N-LOG Soft.
Darkness and Light
Darkness and Light
Darkness and Light
Darkness and Light
Darkness and Light
Darkness and Light
The killer is a gardener. About the plot superficially and in detail.
I suspect not many people will want to play it in person, so I’ll lay out the plot in full. However, just in case, I’ll put it under the spoiler. Well, you never know, suddenly you still have a desire to complete the game. The developers threw three very famous horror films into the blender at once. Resident Evil, Parasite Eve and the Thing. Mixed it all up, dumped it all on a baking sheet, sprinkled Silent Hill on top, and then stuck it in the oven. True, we didn’t finish it a bit, but we’ll talk about that a little later.
So, it all starts out rather banal. The main character, Bruce McCallen (in the game his name sounds like Bruce Meckelen, apparently Korean actors have a hard time pronouncing American names), receives a letter from his old friend Allen. He invites him to be an adviser at the military institute for scientific research. Bruce is tormented by memories of events that happened five years ago. It was then that he broke up with his beloved Monica, who now works with Allen. Hoping to see his old love, the hero goes to college. There he gets into the elevator, but during the ascent, a huge explosion occurs. The elevator car falls, Bruce loses consciousness from the impact, and comes to his senses already on the second floor of the complex.
Actually, here it is all, so to speak, a batch. The first monsters crawl towards us from the darkness of the corridors and our terrible adventure begins.
As the game progresses, we will meet a group of survivors, take part in the investigation of mysterious murders, and also try to figure out what happened here. The narration is conducted mainly through a kind of visual novel, with extremely fast scrolling text. Unfortunately, there is no way to stop the flow of information. But, having reached the new game+, you can squander it. Probably VN inserts replace cut scenes. There are plenty of them in the game too, but almost none of them have voice acting. It’s not entirely clear what the problem was in making it for cut scenes, because in VN moments the voice acting is quite present.
By the way, traditional notes, all sorts of memory cards and other information attributes inherent to the genre are in place. The plot itself is not bad at all, there are even a couple of “twists”. However, for an experienced player a lot will become obvious, if not immediately, then definitely by the middle of the game. This does not make the story less interesting, but rather once again confirms the thesis about the gun hanging at the beginning of the play. The events are quite interesting to watch; notes that shed light on what is happening turn out to be much more informative and interesting than in the same Resident Evil. Actually, the ending of the game depends on them. There are four finals in total. Two good, two bad. To get a good ending, you need to collect all the documents. This is not difficult to do, the game is quite linear. However, the most important thing is to find flash drives with research data. The latest memory card is generated randomly, its location will be helpfully highlighted on the map. It always appears, but may refer to two different studies, designated H and B. Which one you get in the end will be decided randomly. But even after obtaining the necessary information, you can still end up with a bad ending simply by making the wrong choice at a crucial moment.
In general, almost all the endings in the game are rather bleak, but one of them clearly hints at a possible continuation. Unfortunately, we will never see it. The huge potential hidden in this game simply died, unrecognized and undisclosed.
After the incident where Bruce was in the elevator, we are faced with two problems. Monsters and lack of electricity. The explosion must have damaged the main substation, which is why some of the doors are now closed. All that remains is to rely on additional food. Having found the switch, we find ourselves in a huge, dilapidated hall, in the middle of which lies a girl. Bruce recognizes her as Monica, but it turns out that he was mistaken. Her name is Jennifer (sounds extremely cute in Korean pronunciation, Jenipu) and she doesn’t remember anything at all.
Bruce decides to leave Jennifer https://casinoandfriend.co.uk/games/ in the hall, since this is the safest place right now. He himself leaves to look for a way to get out of this place.
After getting rid of several monsters, Chief McCullen discovers a descent down. He returns for Jennifer and together they go into the bowels of the laboratory.
On the staircase there is an unexpected meeting with two more survivors. Security Lieutenant Jane and the rather nervous Dr. Nielsen. Jane reports that the main entrance of the building is blocked, and the only way out is the emergency exit on floor B7. You can go down there through the escalator system through which supplies were delivered. There is another option – VIP elevator. It’s not far away, but the lieutenant isn’t sure they’ll be able to reach it. The survivors have absolutely no weapons (two pistols and a katana for four), and it is unknown how many monsters are waiting for them in the corridors. Brave Bruce decides to go exploring. It’s strange that Jane herself didn’t volunteer for this role. After all, she is a security lieutenant, which means she should be much better prepared than an ordinary civilian.
Be that as it may, before the hero leaves, she gives him a wrist transmitter for communication. Cautiously looking outside and not finding a threat, Bruce McCullen goes to investigate the area. There were no monsters anywhere, but that was where the good news ended. The elevators were damaged by the explosion. So there is only one way left – escalators. After passing a couple of turns, the brave young man discovers a small control center, to which he immediately leads the entire group. The systems are turned off, but in the next room there is a panel that can be used to restore power to this wing of the floor. While Bruce was busy setting up, Jane went in search of survivors. Turning on the surveillance monitors, the heroes see four scientists being pursued by monsters. One unfortunate person could not escape a terrible fate; he was grabbed and dragged behind a strange scientific apparatus. Bruce goes to help the trapped people, but suddenly Jane gets in touch. The girl is in trouble and McCullen is forced to abandon the search for survivors in order to save the hapless lieutenant. Having reached the place, the hero sees that Jane is attacked by three creatures at once. Driven into a corner, she tries to shoot back, but is dangerously wounded. Bravely waving his katana and hitting Jane herself, the hero rushes to her rescue. The lieutenant was rescued, but seriously injured. Dr. Nielsen, who worked in these laboratories, reports on a newly created ESA drug, which is stored in a cold chamber nearby. Rushing back and forth, Bruce brings the medicine that brings Jane back to her senses. After apologizing to everyone and thanking McCallen, the girl goes to rest. Meanwhile, our brave hero finds surviving scientists.
Their names are Kelly Post, Henry Anderson and Frank Fisher. During the conversation, it turns out that the monsters snooping around are not just mutants, but vampires. They appeared, naturally, as a result of experiments carried out in the laboratory. Bruce contacts Jane, who is feeling much better, tells her that everything is fine and asks her to bring Jennifer and the doctor to the others. One of the scientists, Henry Anderson, tells the hero about the drainage system through which you can quickly get down. Having received the key, Bruce goes to the indicated point. There he meets a huge vampire, defeating whom is difficult.
The survivors make it to the next floor, where Jane says she only has access to level B3. On B4 and below, top-secret research was carried out, where only special forces, as well as top-ranking researchers, were allowed.
Let’s take a short digression to clarify the situation with vampires. Yes, they really are vampires, but look at their design. Nothing seems strange to you? Take a closer look. What’s missing? Absolutely right. Vampires are completely blind. They rely only on their instincts and ultrasonic waves. It’s funny that this is mentioned in the notes much earlier than in the plot. Also, if you talk to Henry on floor B2, where the group is now, he also mentions this feature.
Luckily, the descent to B3 is nearby, but Bruce and Jane were in for an unpleasant surprise. Due to the incident, a security system was activated, blocking some doors. The lieutenant hoped that she had already been disconnected, but she was wrong. Now the group has to return to B1, get to the server room and remove the blocking. While exploring level B2, Bruce finds a break room, where all the other survivors immediately go.
Dr. Nielsen points out the sharp decline in the number of vampires. The creatures are probably hiding somewhere, but where? In any case, as long as it plays into people’s hands. Jennifer doesn’t want to let Bruce go on reconnaissance, suggesting he take a break. Nielsen supports the hero, saying that someone should explore the dangerous corridors so that the others can take a breath.
While traveling through the dark halls, we discover many notes. From them it gradually becomes clear that scientists unearthed the bones of an unknown organism (they called it the Ancient One) and discovered strange vampire larvae. Actually, they were the reason for the appearance of such unusual mutants. The experiments revealed incredible features of the cells that made up the skin of the larvae. In the normal state, insect tissues did not stand out in any way, but with a little stimulation, their cells began to divide at an incredible speed. This gave scientists the idea of immortal super-soldiers. However, as always, there is one caveat. When stimulated tissue comes into contact with liquid metal, an explosion occurs. With this reaction we even have to open a couple of doors.
Despite this rather significant discovery, one problem remained. The average person’s body, 99% of the time, rejects tissue. Then it was decided to resort to cloning technology. Using Ancient and human DNA, researchers were able to create a perfect clone that showed no signs of rejection.
Previously, tests were carried out only on corpses and sometimes living people. Tissue transplantation or implantation of larvae led to the expected increase in cellular activity. However, such a process was accompanied by an uncontrolled physical mutation of the experimental subject.
One of the first we meet is a strange monster with a long tongue and virtually no animation. Thanks to the information received, it can be assumed that one of the corpses on which experiments were carried out was transformed in this way. Take a look at its structure. Legs like straight, unbending sticks with wheels at the end. The head is turned upside down and the back is arched as if it were a stomach. It is obvious that this was previously the body of the deceased lying on a gurney. Now it has come to life and is prowling the corridors of the complex, looking for a victim.
Among other things, the notes said that the larvae, unlike adult vampires, were guided not so much by ultrasound, but by the heat emanating from the body. To be precise, they were attracted by a chemical reaction that resulted in the release of heat. Based on this, the researchers created a special gas called "Prism". He literally drove the larvae crazy, forcing them to bite into the first victim they came across. The mixture was completely harmless to humans.
One of the employees accidentally discovered that this gas was planned to be released into the air. The diary author suggests a large-scale experiment on people.
They spun it wildly, and? This is not Resident Evil, which got confused in its own lore, full of holes like cheese, and has been plugging plot holes for a good ten years. But let’s get back to the main story.
On floor B2, as always, there is partially no power. Near the door leading to the room with the spare generator, Jane comes into contact again. Something happened to one of the survivors, Frank Fisher. Urgently, Bruce has to return to the break rooms. Arriving at the scene, he learns that Frank has been killed.
Kelly discovered the body. Dr. Nielsen suspects her, but Bruce interrupts the scandal that has begun to flare up. In the absence of hard evidence, the group has no choice but to increase its vigilance and move forward.
Having reached the next safe place (a bare room, with several levers on the wall), the survivors find themselves attacked by a strange insect, very similar to a hybrid of a moth with a mosquito. The creature crawled out of the ventilation, ready to attack Jane, but Bruce managed to shoot the flying creature. Henry suggests that this is one of the vampire larvae that can penetrate the human body, subjugating him and transforming his DNA. He doesn’t know all the details, however, new details clarify the situation somewhat. It turns out that Kelly saw something similar to a similar larva near Frank’s body, but did not pay much attention. Jane and the dead scientist were wounded. The vampire was probably attracted by the smell of human blood, which means Frank was most likely killed by one of the insects. Dr. Nielsen removes suspicions from Kelly, however, continues to believe that the girl is not telling something. Tensions rise, no one can feel safe anymore.
Bruce turns on the emergency power to open the way to the backup generator. In the room with the switch, he is attacked by a new type of vampire. The adventures of the brave young man could have ended there if two more survivors had not come to his aid. They turned out to be security guard Michael Isaac and. The one whose letter brought Bruce to this damned institute. Former friend of the main character. Dr. Allen Dern. This is a meeting, this is a meeting. Unfortunately, Bruce’s rescuers also do not know the reasons for the explosion. However, when asked about Monica, Allen replies that she is not in the laboratory. She took two days off to visit her parents. However, the girl left a letter for Bruce, which he immediately reads.
I’m sorry, Bruce.
How long has it been? 5 years? All this time, I lived regretting what happened. Not a single day has passed without memories of you.
I miss you very much. and Allen too.
He’s sorry.
You were the only one he could trust.
How I wish everything was like before. I miss you. There’s so much I want to tell you, but I want to do it in person.
I’ll be waiting.
Monica Delfi.
Memories overwhelm the hero. He was happy with Monica and was ready to give her the whole world if necessary. He closes his eyes to see her smile again.
But harsh reality pulls Bruce out of the warm bonds of the past. Now he is faced with the task of surviving and the fate of other people depends on his success.
Behind the security gates there is an arsenal where you can get hold of new weapons. After receiving the map from Isaac and rebooting the power grid control to remove the blockage, Bruce heads there. Having dealt with the monsters, he acquires a military rifle, with which he makes his way to the server room. Having brought the survivors, the hero loses consciousness and relives the events of five years ago.
Allen stole McCullen’s research, thereby achieving recognition in the scientific field. Following this, Monica began to gradually move away from the hero. Now she was smiling at Bruce’s former friend, not at him. He could have exposed the fraudster, but he was only concerned about the happiness of his beloved. Soon Allen and Monica got married. The young man did not interfere. His best friend took everything from him. There is nothing left but bitter resentment and a feeling of cruel betrayal.
Five years have passed. The past must remain in the past. Bruce comes to his senses. While he was unconscious, a second murder occurred. This time it was Isaac who died. The security officer barely had time to join the group and immediately found himself a new victim of the vampire larva. Or maybe there is still a traitor hiding among the survivors?? Allen talks about secret experiments in which the larva penetrated a person’s skin, attaching itself to the spine. This caused genetic mutations that gradually turned the test subject into a vampire. Those infected often exhibited aggressive behavior. After 30 minutes, the larva is completely assimilated, making it impossible to visually detect the infection. However, on floor B3 there is a detector that allows you to determine the presence of danger.
The larvae are very resistant to physical impact and emit a strong magnetic field. When electrically stimulated, their skin hardens, absorbing the charge within two to three minutes. In addition, adult individuals turned out to be practically immune to firearms. These data made it possible to use larvae as an alternative source of energy. Having absorbed the charge, the insect begins to give it back, in double volume. When test objects were immersed in an electrolytic mixture, the amount of energy produced increased significantly. By placing the larvae in cylinders filled with electrolyte, scientists powered a significant part of the laboratory from them. Some types of larvae were characterized by low tolerance, which is why they exploded after prolonged exposure to electrical stimulation. For reliability, the power plant was launched on 8 cylinders. 4 main and 4 main. The electrolyte acted on the larvae as a paralyzing agent, while absorbing their energy.
The group descends even lower. Allen, meanwhile, continues to reveal chilling details. The letter he sent to Bruce included a photo of the dead whale. The unfortunate animal became a victim of experiments. While working on the Ancient project, a new species of larvae was discovered. With its help, it was possible to remove a giant bio-weapon. The creature was named Kaiser. Its genetic properties were capable of healing any human disease. However, the monster could not be controlled, so the project had to be suspended. All attempts to find a way to control the Kaiser have failed. Without this ability, the creature posed a huge threat. Thus, a project that was supposed to save humanity from disease and maybe even give immortality, became a deadly threat. The news added fuel to the fire. Now some participants wanted to study the creature, while others wanted to destroy it. Whatever decision they make, first they all need to survive.
The detector was found quite quickly, but, unfortunately, it was not in working order. An important part that ensures the operation of the entire device is missing.
During her search, we come across a note that talks about a possible mental connection between the Ancient One and the Kaiser. Regular vampires can be controlled using electrical impulses, but the new bio-weapon was sensitive to them only for a short period of time. Scientists were faced with a fundamental task – to resurrect the Ancient One, which they, to some extent, coped with.
Having discovered the part, Bruce returns to the scanning room. After undergoing the examination procedure, everyone is impatiently awaiting the results. Many people are nervous, but Dr. Nielsen does not show concern; he is absolutely confident that he is healthy.
The ringing silence of waiting is cut through by the sharp creaking sound of a printer printing results. With bated breath, the heroes check the sheets that have crawled out of the bowels of the machine. The result is shocking. Killer Henry Anderson. Jane tries to calm the poor guy down, saying that they will find a cure. But he, tormented by the deeds he has committed, puts a pistol to his temple and, without hesitation, pulls the trigger.
Red light hides blood splatter on the floor. A terrifying silence reigns in the room. Dr. Nielsen is the first to break the silence. Despite the sad event, he believes that now the survivors can at least relax a little. Still amazed by what happened, people continue their way down.
Floor B4, where top-secret research was carried out, is literally covered in blood. Hordes of vampires walk along the corridors, but Bruce and his comrades continue on their way.
From the next note, which is actually a decree of the Ministry of Defense, we learn that the Minister of Homeland Security, Grant McDavid, based on the commission’s report, decided to stop all research on the Ancient project and delete the data obtained during it. The Kaiser was recognized as a threat to humanity. However, this did not stop scientists from continuing their experiments in complete secrecy. Even the head of the institute did not know about them.
While exploring the floor, the walls of which now resemble Giger’s creations in places, Bruce sees Jennifer wandering through the deadly corridors. The characters notice each other and are about to talk, but they are suddenly separated by a series of rapidly closing organic doors. A girl finds herself locked up with several monsters. Actively working with his katana, McCullen breaks into the room and saves Jennifer from certain death. She was driven to leave the safe room by the desire to regain her memories. At this moment Allen appears. He is extremely concerned about Jennifer’s disappearance. Noticing that everything is in order, Dr. Dern calms down a little. Jennifer wasn’t the only one who ran away, Kelly followed her. However, neither Allen nor Bruce met the young scientist. Leaving an old friend to look after Jennifer, the main character goes in search of Kelly. I didn’t have to search for long, the second girl was literally in the next office. She really knows more than she says. A certain Doctor Byrne told her about experiments being carried out underground. Kelly wants to show Bruce something extremely important and offers to follow her to level B5.
Having descended, McCullen and company find themselves in a huge hall. In the middle there is a giant elongated pool filled with a strange liquid. The tank is covered by a large transparent hatch. On the sides of the room there are giant capsules built right into the walls. In one of them, Bruce notices Monica. He demands an explanation from Allen. Taken by surprise, Dern explains that Monica was sick. Bruce does not believe him, but he tries to convince the hero of the veracity of his words. The girl was diagnosed with an incurable serious illness back in college. Perhaps it was because of this that she decided to break off relations with Bruce. After the wedding, Monica’s disease began to progress sharply. She soon required constant medical supervision. Allen had no choice but to try to restore the cells affected by the disease using the DNA of the larvae. The research progressed successfully, but the girl’s condition quickly deteriorated. Then Dern made a strong-willed decision to inject her with a test sample. It was the last hope. Allen betrayed Bruce and stole his research to try to cure Monica. The young man still can’t believe the words of his former friend, but Allen invites him to ask the girl herself about everything. Despite the illness, she is still alive and is in an induced coma. However, he did not take into account one thing. The implanted cells were able to develop into a full-fledged organism and, as soon as the capsule door opened, a larva burst out of the body of Bruce’s beloved. The insect immediately heads towards the opened pool. Having dived there, the creature instantly mutates and a huge moth with Monica’s face appears on the surface. Shocked by what happened, Bruce cannot move. Jane saves him from death. Unfortunately, the lieutenant herself is mortally wounded and dies on the spot.
