I don’t know why I should be the only one enthralled by this, so I present to you: A Dark Room.

A Dark Room is a simple browser-based game that works from a simple point-and-click interface (though certain aspects are better done through keyboard controls).

It starts off quite slowly, with no apparent goal or purpose, but as time goes on, there’s this story told to you through nothing but environmental cues. There’s no old man who shows up and tells you a story – it’s left for you to piece together.

All you get to start with is a dark room, and the ability to start a fire. From there it tells a story that quite possibly varies from imagination to imagination.

One of the things I like about it is the simple aesthetic. I’m reminded of the early days of Fallen London when the best review about it described it as “mostly beige, mostly text”, and it was the story that made it a success, not fancy graphics.

A Dark Room is done entirely with JavaScript and CSS with no fancy graphics in the time old tradition of the oldest RPGs, and that simplicity hasn’t stopped it winning awards for its concept and design.

Go, play it, and come back and tell me what you think the story is.

It’s also available on Android (unofficial ports) and iOS (for £0.79).