Dark Earth is a post-apocalyptic adventure game with action elements, developed by Kalisto Entertainment and published by MicroProse for Microsoft Windows in 1997.

There is also an option for Arkhan to react to situations with his 'dark side' (i.e. he'll say rude things in dialog or treat his environment more aggressively while searching).

By the time of the game, many centuries after the establishment of Sparta, most of the citizens have forgotten their history and now worship the light as a god, Solaar.

He then goes to see the head of the Guardians of Fire, Provost Dhorkan, who orders him to guard the council chamber door at the Temple of Solaar, while the High Sunseer Lory is holding a meeting.

On his way to the Temple, Arkhan overhears his father Rylsadhar, also a Sunseer, telling Lory that he fears a great danger is about to engulf Sparta.

Arkhan goes to see Rylsadhar, who tells him he is forbidden to bring him to the secret and must break his vows as a Sunseer to do so, but only after getting approval from Dhorkan.

Arkhan then sees Kalhi, his wife, who is horrified at what has happened to him and tells him that Dhorkan has taken control of the city, declared martial law, locked the gates, and sent the Guardians of Fire out to search for more attackers.

He learns that Lory has gone into hiding and that his best friend, and fellow Guardian, Zed, is leading the hunt for more "heretics" in the Lower City.

Whilst Kalhi remains with Danrys, Arkhan heads into the sewers and discovers that the Konkalites' leader, Sordos, is planning to take over the Upper City.

Zed tells Arkhan that Thanandar is behind everything and seeks to find the ancient secret to destroy it and banish the light from Sparta forever.

Telling her that the Well of Light has been destroyed, that Rylsadhar is dead and that Thanandar is no longer human, Leona is shocked to hear of what has happened.

Arkhan enters Rylsadhar's vault and finds research on how to gain access to the Runka Tomb, the source of the Well of Light.

Arkhan then enters the source, which tells him it is time for the "Great Awakening" as a tower of light shoots into the sky high above the city, banishing the Darkness.

[7] Although both Sony and Konami expressed publishing interest, a PlayStation 2 port of Dark Earth was canceled early in development.

Microprose's Tom Nichols blamed this performance on competition from The Curse of Monkey Island and Blade Runner, which he said drew retailers away from stocking Dark Earth and customers away from buying it.

He also noted that "we signed the game late in its development, so we didn't have enough time to build the preawareness and hype that you need to have in order to be successful today".

"[15] PC Zone's Chris Anderson opined that despite considerable flaws in the game's cinematic production, "the rich storyline alone will be enough to keep most people happy, and with the added diversions of hand-to-hand fisticuffs and puzzle-solving elements, Dark Earth offers a well-rounded gameplay experience that should appeal to many gamers who wouldn't normally be attracted to the adventure genre.

"[16] The combat was more negatively received, with most critics finding it clunky and frustrating due to the minimal control over the player character.

[6][15][19] The use of fixed camera angles was also criticized as causing frustrations with both the combat and the puzzle solving,[6][15][16][19] but the graphics were a subject of overall praise for most reviewers due to elements such as the distinctive character models, gorgeous environments, and impressive effects.

[6][16][19] GameSpot's Jeff Sengstack, although he was critical of the fixed camera angles, wrote that "Dark Earth features superb graphics, outstanding 3D character animation, and unique action-adventuring in one beautifully crafted package.

Adventurers longing for a deep and rich story, with carefully crafted characters, coupled with swashbuckling fighting action and challenging puzzles and problem solving, look no further.

"[19] Next Generation similarly commented that Dark Earth was one of the better adventure games on the market, but that it retained the usual limitations of the genre.