"Dominion of Darkness" - narrative driven RPG/strategy simulator of the Dark Lord/Lady

[Adeptus7]

"Dominion of Darkness” is a strategy text game in which the player takes on the role of a Sauron-style Lord of Darkness with the goal of conquering the world. He will carry out his plans by making various decisions. He will build his army and send it into battles, weave intrigues and deceptions, create secret spy networks and sectarian cults, recruit agents and commanders, corrupt representatives of Free Peoples and sow discord among them, collect magical artifacts and perform sinister plots. Note – one game takes about 1 hour, but the premise is that the game can be approached several times, each time making different decisions, getting different results and discovering something new.

Game is avalaible for free, online: https://adeptus7.itch.io/dominion

I am constantly improving the game, adding new content and mechanics, so Your feedback would matter.

If you are hesitant to play the game, I invite you to watch/listen to the reviews:

Indie Sampler (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM6f4UCEgWU

[BOKC] BlancoKix (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgNpSKToOSg

[pololy07]

I've looked through it  and the idea of the game is interesting

[Adeptus7]

Thanks! If You will play some more, please let me know about Your feelings.

[Adeptus7]

Ok, in the meantime, I am still improving the game. Some of the things I added recently:

– extended endgame, especially for the Influence based characters – you conquered all kingdoms? Now secure your eternal rule by proving your divinity. Or, if you play as Destroyer of Live, carry out a world-scale euthanasia plan,

– new subplot – Rise of the Witchlands. Remember that fallen ancient civilization which ruins You could pillage? That is not dead which can eternal lie,

- extended economy - now You can destroy/help economy of the Free People in new and more meaningfull ways,

- extended Chosen One plot - now sometimes You can corrupt him.

Also - there is new review, in Choice Beat zine. You can read it below, or in the zine (page 30): https://www.flipsnack.com/choicebeat/choicebeat-issue-13/full-view.html

[Adeptus7]

And now it is the time for the big update, focusing primarily on the endgame. Players focused on direct conquest will have new ways to find new battlefields - portals to crazy, Lovecraftian worlds, discovering new lands, and a magical slumber to wait for the rebirth of old enemies/the emergence of new ones (and seeing how the world changes in their absence). For players more interested in the less brutal side of world domination, the options for managing the territories of our empire will be expanded. Will you allow orcs to overrun Dark Elf cities? Will schools focus on training engineers for the army and economy, or on brainwashing them into blind obedience? Furthermore, I’m expanding the Dark Lord’s interactions with other characters, including available romances. Of course, new content requires testing, and since, as usual, it’s highly non-linear and dependent on player decisions (plus random generation), I can’t test every combination myself.

That’s why I’m seeking the help of testers. All you need to do is play once—one playthrough lasts about 1.5 hours (as I mentioned, the game is highly non-linear and is meant to be played multiple times, each time revealing a different story) and send me a short report (specifically, indicating if you’ve spotted any obvious bugs).

Game, as always, is available free here: https://adeptus7.itch.io/dominion No need for dowload or registration.

And another news - one of the players made a fan song inspired by the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mPcsUonuyo

[UpdateTelemetry]

On 24/02/2026 at 17:43, Adeptus7 said:

And now it is the time for the big update, focusing primarily on the endgame. Players focused on direct conquest will have new ways to find new battlefields - portals to crazy, Lovecraftian worlds, discovering new lands, and a magical slumber to wait for the rebirth of old enemies/the emergence of new ones (and seeing how the world changes in their absence). For players more interested in the less brutal side of world domination, the options for managing the territories of our empire will be expanded. Will you allow orcs to overrun Dark Elf cities? Will schools focus on training engineers for the army and economy, or on brainwashing them into blind obedience? Furthermore, I’m expanding the Dark Lord’s interactions with other characters, including available romances. Of course, new content requires testing, and since, as usual, it’s highly non-linear and dependent on player decisions (plus random generation), I can’t test every combination myself.

That’s why I’m seeking the help of testers. All you need to do is play once—one playthrough lasts about 1.5 hours (as I mentioned, the game is highly non-linear and is meant to be played multiple times, each time revealing a different story) and send me a short report (specifically, indicating if you’ve spotted any obvious bugs).

Game, as always, is available free here: https://adeptus7.itch.io/dominion No need for dowload or registration.

And another news - one of the players made a fan song inspired by the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mPcsUonuyo_here

The endgame expansion looks very promising! I'm particularly interested in the non-linear empire management part. I'll check out the itch.io link and see how it plays now. Great to see consistent updates after all this time!

Edited February 27 by UpdateTelemetry