Darkened Skye

Boston Animation

Industry	Video game development
Founded	2000s
Headquarters	Boston , United States

Darkened Skye is an action-adventure title presented from a third-person perspective, created by Boston Animation and launched on Windows and GameCube platforms in North America during 2002, with a subsequent release in PAL territories in 2003. The game was published by Simon & Schuster Interactive, Oxygen Interactive for the PAL PC version, and TDK Mediactive Europe for the PAL GameCube edition. It was also included as part of a bundle with Outlaw Golf. The storyline centers on Skye, a young heroine navigating a fantasy world in pursuit of her mother. She utilizes Skittles candies to perform magic spells and wields a staff that transforms into an energy weapon when combined with these candies.

Gameplay

The adventure begins in Lynlora’s forest near a small village and advances through various environments such as the murky Ogmire Archipelago, which features a submerged city and dungeon; Tikniki Swamp, containing a labyrinth and a segment where players ride shotgun on a giant turtle; the Sky Pirates’ Camp, composed of an airship fleet; Zen'Jai, a region inspired by Chinese culture with lava streams, dragon lairs, and the intricate Warlord’s Palace; Stone Heath, known for puzzles involving combination locks within ancient stone circles; the multi-level Goblins’ Lair dungeon; the Bone Lands surrounding a lava lake; Gargoyle Cemetery, a vampire necropolis leading to enemy-controlled Cathedral and Bell Tower; and floating stone skies that serve as gateways to Necroth’s Realm and Lair. Additionally, there is a brief puzzle set in Twell Country, a miniature village beside a stream.

Skye’s acrophobia extends to water, making aquatic hazards especially challenging in Ogmire. The gameplay integrates numerous puzzles that require avoiding falls from significant heights and includes an arcade-style sequence where players ride a fantasy creature through subterranean chambers filled with lava pools and rocky obstacles.

The overall tone is family-friendly with light humor; defeated enemies dissolve without generating graphic violence. Support features include easy access to previous dialogue and a notebook system that tracks current objectives.

Licensing

A distinctive feature of the game is its magic system that incorporates Skittles candies as core gameplay elements. Spells are cast by combining different colored Skittles, allowing for non-combat abilities such as revealing invisible objects, walking on fire, levitation, curing petrification, shrinking characters, reviving creatures, generating protective shields, boosting attack strength, and temporarily transforming individuals into mages (specifically limited to Skye’s mother). Offensive magic includes light beams, fireballs, iceballs, lightning bolts, confusion spells, and an undead-specific attack that permanently eliminates vampires. Each Skittle has limited Mana that regenerates over time; when depleted, the candy loses its color and cannot be used until recharged via blue power-ups. The variety of spells available depends on how many Skittles are collected during play.

Setting

The story takes place across five distinct realms known as The Five Worlds: Lynlora, Ogmire, Zen'Jai, Stoneheath, and The Gargoyle Realms.

Characters

Skye serves as the central character of Darkened Skye, portrayed as a shepherdess yearning for greater excitement in life. Her voice actor is Linda Larkin. Accompanying her is Draak, a witty gargoyle who opposes the evil sorcerer Necroth, voiced by Robb Pruitt.

Development

Simon & Schuster Interactive initially targeted creating games based on M&M's due to their recognizable candy mascots. During discussions with Mars, they also explored using Skittles as an alternative option. Mars eventually granted licenses for both brands but selected Skittles to help increase brand appeal among adults over 20 years old amid declining sales. Following the success of M&M's video games, producer Elizabeth Braswell was assigned to lead development on the Skittles project. Although initially hesitant, Braswell concentrated on gameplay quality and humor while overseeing a comprehensive 300-page script authored by lead writer and designer Andy Wolfendon. Mars requested minor adjustments to content including removing real snakes from the game.

Executive Producer Dale DeSharone revealed that the concept drew inspiration from Skittles’ "Taste the Rainbow" advertising campaign. He managed a team exceeding 50 members based in Kyiv over two years while developing Darkened Skye alongside M&M's The Lost Formulas. Despite considerations by Simon & Schuster to drop Skittles branding before launch, references to the candy were deeply embedded within gameplay mechanics and narrative text; however, no mention appeared on the box cover. Significant portions of development and programming were outsourced to a Ukrainian studio.

The PC edition was distributed in January 2002 followed by the GameCube version later that year in November.

Reception

According to the review compilation site Metacritic, Darkened Skye garnered a range of opinions across both gaming platforms.

The gameplay was often likened to well-known titles such as Tomb Raider and Star Fox Adventures.

In their "Top 10 Shameless Licensed Games" list, GameTrailers placed Darkened Skye at number two, trailing only behind Chase the Chuck Wagon for Atari 2600. Additionally, GamesRadar featured it among their "Worst Mash-Ups," highlighting the Skittles product appearance as one of the most poorly executed in video game advertising.