Developer: David Szymanski
Publisher: New Blood Interactive
Rrp: £14.99 (Gog.com, Steam), £15.99 (Humblebundle)
Released: 10th December 2018
Available on: Steam
Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard
Approximate game length: 12 hours
Have you ever started a game that you know you’ve never played before and yet it feels instantly familiar? That was my experience with Dusk from start to finish, I do have a theory as to why this feeling of familiarity stuck with me and it’s to do with Dusk’s influences. From reading the games Steam page blurb it lists off; Doom, Quake, Blood, Heretic, Hexen, Half-life and Redneck Rampage… These are all games I grew up playing (with exception of Redneck Rampage, that one never appealed). To me each of these influences is readily apparent, however this game is more than just a bunch of references, it’s clear that the developers understood the what made those games fun and built on that creating a new, highly polished game that anyone into first person shooters would be a fool to skip.
To say that this game looks dated graphically would be an understatement, it looks like it came straight from the days where the words ‘Doom Clone’ we’re still used to describe any first person shooter. Don’t let those graphics fool you though this game is fast paced and absolutely brutal, in fact this game is brutal enough that it encourages you to ‘savescum’ (meaning use the quick save and reload feature regularly).
As is the way of classic shooters the storyline is… barebones, don’t come to this game expecting Shakespeare as that just isn’t the way these sorts of games work.
Dusk is seperated into three ‘episodes’ each of which is around ten levels long. Some of these levels are pretty complex and most are absolutely chock full of secrets to discover.
Something to remember is that each episode is self contained, meaning the weapons, health etc are not carried over.
The game also comes with an endless mode, allowing you to test your skill against wave after wave of enemies that get increasingly more difficult until you succumb.
What I wasn’t expecting from this game was to have some genuinely scary moments, not just simple jumpscares but actual scares that are built up over time and through tension. Of course, it’s hard to be all that scared when you’re walking around with more weapons than the average action hero, but still, points for effort!
I implore you, if you have any love of first person shooters, give this one a go. I don’t think you’ll regret it. It’s just a matter of remembering that gameplay is the most important part of any video game, far more important that graphical fidelity.
Also I love the music in this game enough to have bought the soundtrack, its’ not quite as good as the more recent Doom or its sequel but its still pretty damned good, if you’re into heavy metal that is.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Half-Life
Doom (2016)
Devil Daggers
