With all the advantages they have, digital platforms have an evident problem. Games don’t last forever. Companies have various reasons to stop selling their video games, making it impossible to acquire them legally. Something that doesn’t happen with physical format and second-hand sales. Something we will have to experience again in less than ten days.
This time it’s Capcom’s turn, which is removing three games from its digital stores. The three games in question are the action adventure Dark Void by Airtight Games, the retro platformer Dark Void Zero by Other Ocean Interactive, and the sandbox puzzle game Flock! by Proper Games’.
The first two, as their names indicate, are part of a franchise. Dark Void was released in 2010 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, allowing us to embody William Augustus Grey, who must face an alien threat using a jetpack. With an original vertical cover system, it did not achieve success among critics or the public. Something that did not happen with Dark Void Zero, which came out on DSiWare, iOS, and PC that same year, and is considered a solid retro action platformer, in the style of Contra or Bionic Commando Rearmed.
Flock!, on the other hand, is a game that was released for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 that went by without much noise and with divided opinions. In the game, we controlled a UFO and had to guide different farm animals through 55 different levels, trying to avoid the multiple environmental threats that could end our flock. With a cooperative system and three stations, the game did not stand out for its excellence, but it was a solid puzzle game.
Although it is true that they are not among Capcom’s most famous and beloved games, once they are retired it will not be possible to acquire them in any legal way. Unless Capcom decides to put them up for sale, since only Dark Void had a physical edition. The three games will leave the digital stores on May 9th at 3:30 in the morning.
