Dusk

Mostly PC, but console and mobile too
Post Reply
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Dusk

Post by Leisher »

Another game I got from a Humble FPS bundle.

The story is something about cults and the supernatural.

Let's start with the bad:
-The graphics are very dated. Somehow this looked worse than the other retro FPS I just played, Ion Fury. Not really an issue for most of the game, but definitely cause for annoyance here and there based on how important visuals are later. Rats were also more annoying than any other enemies because of the visuals. They do no real damage, but fuck them.
-I'm not 100% certain the damage stats are really balanced. Some enemies seemed to soak up a bit too much damage and ammo for the more powerful guns was limited. (This might have been due to the difficulty level I played?)
-The game's use of "jump scares" that were really attacks gets really heavy later in the game. Also, the game shifts dramatically from typical FPS to Serious Sam type battles, which is a bit shocking.
-The save system sucks ass. How the fuck do you not have auto saves in your game? Particularly at the start of levels?
-Some of the levels got a bit silly in design forcing me to randomly search already defeated levels for far too long for a key.
-This is both good and bad: Every FPS gimmick possible is here. Portals, a BFG, power ups, a level that fucks with physics and gravity, keys, bosses that become regular enemies, secrets, water, lava, and so on and so forth.

The good:
-I don't know what the lore was here, but this really is a horror FPS. The designers absolutely NAIL atmosphere. I'd love to see them work on other FPS horror, but I hope they scale back on the gimmicks next time. I cannot praise them enough for the mood they create in this game via the visuals, design, and sound. It's really, really exceptional.
-The weapons are a good mix, although missing a true grenade.
-Monster design was "fine" to "ok, that thing is cool".
-There's some tongue in cheek stuff scattered about.
-A few fights are HUGE.
-It's fun, but I will admit, for it's level of tech and the gimmicky stuff thrown at you, along with WAVES of enemies late, probably a bit too long.

This is a kick ass first(?) effort from this group. Parts of it I didn't enjoy because they were a slog, but others stuff I loved enough that I'll follow their next work to see if they keep improving. Overall, I would recommend it, but with caveats. If none of the stuff I said above turns you completely off, give it a look, but only if you're an FPS and horror fan.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Post Reply