Darkfall is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) currently in Closed Retail developed by Aventurine SA that combines real-time action and strategy in a fantasy setting. The game features unrestricted PvP, full looting, a huge, dynamic game world, and a player skill dependent combat system free of the class and level systems that typify most MMORPGs.

There are six playable races in Darkfall. Unlike other MMORPGs, racial choice does not heavily influence character choices or progression options: 95% of the skills may be learned regardless of character race, the remainder are race-specific abilities. Each race begins play in their own homeland, and have their own unique storylines, histories, and racial alliances/enemies. While certain races have friendships and hatreds with other races in Darkfall, these are not strictly enforced upon the players, and it is possible for allied clans to declare war upon both their own race and their racial allies. Declaring war against a clan will prevent players of the declaring clan from sustaining alignment penalties associated with attacking and killing players of the opposing clan, regardless of race.

It is possible to form mixed-race clans of opposing factions, but this choice comes with some disadvantages: NPCs will always behave according to their racial faction, and will thus react with hostility to racial enemies even if accompanied by and/or allied with friendly races.

The Alfar are the cruel, hate-spawned cousins of the Mirdain. Abducted eons ago by their insane god-king Melek, these former Mirdain have been mutated and warped by his diabolical influence and his mother`s Silver Circlet into fearless, rage-driven killers. Striking their enemies from the shadowy, spell-blasted lands of Nagast, the Alfar tear a bloody swath of destruction wherever they go, disappearing as quickly as they appeared. Gifted with an innate affinity for the magical arts, the Alfar are skilled spellcasters who draw their power from their volatile God. Due to this unpredictability, Alfar spells fluctuate in power, creating a slight variance in result with every cast. Alfar have a deep seated hatred for all other life on Agon; though they can join clans of other races, they loathe doing so

The ability to fully loot other players is a significant departure from other, contemporary MMORPGs, such as World of Warcraft and EverQuest II, in which the quest for better gear is the primary driving force for of player character improvement once maximum level has been attained. In Darkfall, character skills are the primary driver of character improvement, and while gear is expected to have some influence in determining a player character`s overall power, it will be of greatly diminished importance compared to other MMORPGs. In some respects the looting system of Darkfall resembles that of EVE Online, which allows players to loot much of a destroyed ship`s gear from the wreckage.